Play Tents Online
Match each tree to a tent without any tent touching another.
How to Play Tents
Modes: Classic · Daily
Every tree needs exactly one tent next to it — up, down, left or right.
Tents may never touch each other, even diagonally.
The numbers around the grid tell you how many tents sit in each row and column.
Pair every tree with its tent to win.
Rules
Each tree is paired with one orthogonally adjacent tent.
Tents cannot be adjacent to one another.
Row and column tent counts must match the edge clues.
Scoring
| Solved | pitch every tent |
| Time | fastest solve wins |
History & Origins of Tents
Tents is one of the gentler members of the grid-deduction family that spread from Japanese puzzle magazines through the 1980s and 1990s into newspapers around the world. It trades abstract numbers for a tiny campsite: trees stand fixed on the board, and every tree must be matched with exactly one tent pitched in a square that shares an edge with it.
The charm is in the pairing. Because tents may never stand side by side, each placement quietly rules out its neighbours, while the row and column totals printed on the frame act like checklists that expose where a tent must hide. Most solvers find the camping theme makes stubborn logic feel far friendlier than bare digits and empty cells.
ThinkyPlay pitches boards at three sizes: Easy 7×7 with a handful of trees, Medium 9×9, and a denser Hard 10×10, each generated with one guaranteed solution. The Daily Tents gives everyone the same campsite to clear, timed against your personal best for the day.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Placing a tent diagonally from its tree: a tent must share an edge, up, down, left or right, with the tree it pairs with and may never touch it only at a corner.
- Setting two tents in orthogonally neighbouring squares, which the board highlights in red the moment the pair touch each other.
- Parking a second tent beside a tree that already has one; the tree then shows an overflow warning, and no amount of extra tents elsewhere can make it correct.
- Ignoring the running counters on the frame, which show how many tents each row and column is allowed, until a line silently fills past its target and turns red.
Tips & Strategy
A tree surrounded on three sides leaves only one tent spot.
Use row and column counts to rule out whole strips.
Grass-mark squares you are sure hold no tent to unlock neighbours.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Tents free to play?
- Yes — Tents on ThinkyPlay is free, with no download and no sign-up.
- How close can tents be?
- No two tents may sit next to each other, horizontally or vertically — that is the rule that keeps the puzzle tight.
- Is there a daily game?
- Yes — the Daily Tents gives everyone the same campsite each day.
- Can a tent sit diagonally next to its tree?
- No. A tent must occupy a square directly above, below, left or right of its tree so the two share an edge. A diagonal corner touch never satisfies the tree and is the most common beginner slip.
- What do the counters on the frame mean?
- Each row and column shows how many tents you have already placed there against how many it is allowed. A counter turns red if you exceed the target, so use them early to rule out whole lines of squares.
- Why should I mark squares with grass?
- Grass, drawn as a cross, records a square you are sure holds no tent, such as a corner blocked by trees or a line that is already full. It is only a note, but it stops you re-checking the same dead ends.