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Binairo Pairs: Two Alike Side by Side

The pairs technique says: two alike side by side can’t have a third next to them, so the squares at either end of a pair are the other colour. It’s the commonest move in Binairo, and usually the first one in any puzzle.

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This is the first of the Binairo techniques.

The rule

  1. Look along a row or column for two of the same colour next to each other.
  2. If the square before them is empty, it’s the other colour.
  3. If the square after them is empty, it’s the other colour too.
Pairs: two teal side by side A row of six with teal in squares 3 and 4. The squares at either end of them, 2 and 5, must be yellow. 1 2 3 4 5 6 1
Two teal side by side, in squares 3 and 4: squares 2 and 5 must be yellow.

In a real puzzle

On the 10×10 every technique page follows, it’s the very first move. Row 3 ends in two yellow, in columns 9 and 10. They’re at the edge, so there’s only one end to fill: column 8 must be teal.

Step 1: pairs Hard level 2 at step 1, with row 3 highlighted and the squares this step settles marked. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Step 1: the two yellow at the end of row 3 make column 8 teal.

How often you’ll need it

All the time. Every one of the game’s 150 levels uses it, and on the 10×10 here it makes 33 of the 57 moves, more than every other technique put together.

Next steps

Questions

What if the pair is at the edge of the grid?

Then there’s only one end to fill. Two alike in the first two squares of a line make the third square the other colour.