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Tents Rules: How to Play Tents and Trees (With Examples)

Tents is a logic puzzle about pitching tents in a field of trees. Every tree gets a tent of its own in a square right beside it, no two tents touch (not even at a corner), and the numbers outside the grid say how many tents each row and column holds. It’s also called Tents and Trees.

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The rules

Place tents so that:

  1. Every tree has a tent of its own, in a square beside it: left, right, above or below, not diagonally. Trees and tents pair up one to one.
  2. No two tents touch, not even at a corner.
  3. Each row and column holds as many tents as its number.

You can also mark squares as grass when you know they can’t hold a tent. Most squares end up as grass.

Every tree with its own tent A 5 by 5 grid with three trees, each with a tent beside it. No two tents touch, and the numbers count the tents in each row and column. 1 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0
Three trees, each with its own tent beside it. No two tents touch.

What breaks a rule

Tents touching, even corner to corner:

Tents touching at a corner: not allowed Two tents touching corner to corner, ringed in red. Each sits beside a tree, but tents may not touch.
Two tents touching at a corner (ringed): not allowed.

A tent only diagonal to a tree. It has to be right beside one:

A tent only diagonal to its tree: not allowed A tent at the corner of a tree, ringed in red. A tent must be beside its tree, side by side or above and below.
A tent at a tree’s corner (ringed): not allowed.

Two trees sharing a tent. Each tree needs its own:

Two trees sharing a tent: not allowed One tent between two trees, both ringed in red. Every tree needs a tent of its own, so this one is a tent short.
One tent between two trees (ringed): one of them is a tent short.

In the game, a row or column number turns red when it can’t be met and teal once it is, and tents or trees breaking a rule get a red ring.

A puzzle from the game, solved

This is the first level in the game: Easy level 1, a 6×6 with seven trees.

Easy level 1 from the game A 6 by 6 Tents puzzle with 7 trees. Row numbers: 2, 0, 3, 0, 2, 0. Column numbers: 0, 3, 0, 1, 1, 2. 2 0 3 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 2
Easy level 1, before you start. The numbers on the left are for the rows, the ones along the top for the columns.

It takes 7 steps. Here are the first three.

Step 1: far from trees

A tent always sits beside a tree, so a square with no tree beside it can’t hold one. Fifteen squares are like that. They’re all grass.

Step 1: far from trees Fifteen squares have no tree beside them, so none can hold a tent. They are all grass. 2 0 3 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 2
Every square with no tree beside it is grass.

Step 2: just enough room in row 1

Row 1 needs two tents. With the grass marked, it has exactly two open squares left, so both are tents.

Step 2: row 1 Row 1 needs two tents and has exactly two open squares left. Both are tents. 2 0 3 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 2
Row 1: two tents, two open squares.

Step 3: row 2 is numbered 0

Row 2 holds no tents, so its last open squares are grass.

Step 3: row 2 Row 2 is numbered 0, so its last open squares are grass. 2 0 3 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 2
A row numbered 0 is all grass.

The rest

The same counting finishes it: each remaining row either has all its tents already or has just enough room left for them.

Easy level 1, solved The finished grid, row by row (T tree, * tent): T*...* / .....T / .*.*T* / .T...T / T*..*T / ....... 2 0 3 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 2
Easy level 1, solved.

Where to start in any puzzle

Start by marking every square with no tree beside it as grass. It’s the first move on every one of the game’s 150 levels, and it settles about four squares in ten before anything else: 40% of the open squares on Easy, 37% on Medium and 36% on Hard. Then look for rows and columns numbered 0, all grass: 49 of the 50 Easy levels have one, 47 Medium and 40 Hard.

Common mix-ups

  • Diagonal doesn’t count. A tent has to share a side with its tree.
  • Tents can touch trees. Only other tents are off limits, and a tent may sit beside several trees.
  • Trees aren’t squares for the count. A row’s number counts tents only.

Next steps

Questions

Can a tent be diagonal to its tree?

No. A tent must be right beside its tree: to the left or right, or directly above or below.

Can two trees share a tent?

No. Trees and tents pair up one to one: every tree has a tent of its own, so there are always exactly as many tents as trees.

Can a tent touch a tree that isn't its own?

Yes. Tents may sit beside any number of trees; they just can’t touch other tents, even at a corner.

Does every puzzle have one solution?

Yes. Every puzzle on PeerPuzzles has exactly one solution, and can be finished by logic alone, without guessing.