Skyscrapers Solver — Step by Step, Every Deduction Explained

Skyscrapers Solver — Step by Step

Click a clue around the edge (or a square) and type its number to copy in your puzzle — 0 or ⌫ clears it. Then press Solve and step through every deduction. Or play a generated puzzle and send it here with one click.

Skyscrapers Solver: rules, how to use it, tips

Fill the grid with towers so every row and column holds each height once — and the edge clues count how many towers you can see.

The rules

An N×N grid (here 4×4 to 7×7) is filled with towers of height 1 to N.
Each row and each column contains every height exactly once.
A clue outside the grid tells you how many towers can be seen looking along that row or column from that side.
A taller tower hides every shorter tower behind it, so you only see a tower if it is taller than all the towers in front of it.

Using the solver

Choose the grid size, click each clue around the edge and type its number; type any given heights into their squares (or press Sample).
Press Solve. Step through with ◀ ▶: each step names its rule — edge clue, distance, single, line check — and highlights the squares it uses.
Candidates are shown in empty squares; the ones a step removes are crossed out in red.

Tips

Clue 1 and clue N. A clue of 1 means the tallest tower stands right at that edge. A clue of N means you see every tower, so they climb 1, 2, 3 … N from that edge.
Distance from the edge. With a clue of c, the tallest tower is at least c−1 squares in, and the first square can be at most N−c+1 high. Write those limits in first.
Opposite clues. Clues at both ends of a line add up to at most N+1, and the tallest tower sits where the two views meet.
Try the line. When a row is nearly full, list the orders of the missing heights that still fit both clues. Often only one or two survive — anything they agree on can be filled in.

The full guide, with a worked example and common mistakes: How to play Skyscrapers.

Questions

Why can't I see a short tower behind a tall one?

Exactly like a real street: a shorter building behind a taller one is hidden. Count a tower only if it is taller than every tower in front of it.

Is there always one answer?

Yes. Every puzzle in the Skyscrapers game is checked to have exactly one solution, and Easy to Hard can be solved by reasoning alone.

Can the solver explain a puzzle from a book?

Yes. Type the clues and any given heights into the Skyscrapers Solver and step through every deduction.

What age is it good for?

4×4 puzzles suit ages 8 and up; 6×6 and 7×7 Expert puzzles challenge adults.