How to play

Lights Out comes down to a single rule. Below you will find it explained, then a move-by-move example and the method that solves any grid.

The rule

The grid is made of cells that are on or off. When you tap a cell, it flips, and so do the four cells touching its sides: above, below, left and right. Lit cells go dark, dark cells light up. Diagonal cells do not change.

On the edges there are fewer neighbours: a corner cell has two, a side cell has three.

The goal is to turn every light off. Each level has a minimum number of moves: match it and you get three stars.

An example, move by move

A 3x3 grid with six lights on. The purple outline marks the cell to tap.

Start. The lights form two corners, top left and bottom right. Tap the top left cell.
After one move. The corner and its two neighbours are off. Three lights remain around the opposite corner: tap that one.
Done. Two moves, the minimum for this grid: three stars.

Two facts that change everything

Order does not matter. Tapping A then B gives exactly the same result as tapping B then A. In the example above you could start from the bottom corner.

Tapping the same cell twice is like not tapping it. The second tap undoes everything the first one changed.

Put together, they mean a solution is not a sequence of moves but a set of cells, each tapped exactly once.

The method: work down row by row

It works on any grid and it is how even 7x7 grids are solved by hand. The idea: you turn off each lit cell by tapping the cell right below it. The row above stays clean and the mess moves down.

Row 1. There is a light in the first row: tap the cell below it.
Row 2. The first row is dark. Now there is a light in the second row: tap the one below.
Row 3. Same thing with the third row, tapping in the last one.
Done. Three taps, one per row, and the grid is dark.

If the last row stays lit

Often, once you reach the bottom, lights remain only in the last row, and there is nothing below to tap. The trick: look at which lights are left, tap certain cells in the first row and work down from the top again. This second pass turns everything off.

Which cells to tap depends on the size of the grid. For the 5x5 they are these:

The method always finds a solution, not always the shortest one. For three stars, look at the grid before you tap.

Game modes

Classic

50 levels in five blocks of ten: 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, 6x6 and 7x7. Stars depend on your moves: three for the minimum, two within one and a half times the minimum, one for finishing anyway. Later on, blocked cells appear, with an orange border: you cannot tap them, but they flip when you tap one of their neighbours.

Special

50 more levels with linked cells: two cells of the same colour are tied together, and tapping one also flips the other, along with its neighbours. They unlock when you get three stars on the classic levels of the same size.

Time

Two minutes to solve as many grids as you can. Every solved grid adds ten seconds. Each size unlocks when you complete the matching classic block.

Daily challenge

A new grid every day, picked among the sizes you have unlocked. Solve it day after day to grow your streak.

Hints

A hint shows you a cell to tap. You earn one for every three new levels you solve.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free?: Yes, every level. The Android app also has paid themes and effects, but they only change the look.
Do I need an account?: No, you can play as a guest. Signing in with Google keeps your progress safe and lets you find it on another device.
Does my progress carry over from the browser to the app?: Yes, if you sign in with the same Google account on both. As a guest in the browser, progress stays in that browser: clear its data and it is gone.
Does it work offline?: The Android app does, anywhere. In the browser you need a connection to open the game.
Why are there no themes or hint videos in the browser?: Purchases and rewarded videos only exist in the Android app. In the browser you earn hints by solving levels, and when they run out the game points you to the app.
Does every grid have a solution?: Yes. Not every pattern of lights can be turned off, but the game's levels are generated starting from a dark grid, so a solution always exists.

Play now