Inlay: Block Packing Puzzle
A neon block packing puzzle: turn, flip and fit the glowing pieces until every cell of the board is filled. Endless puzzles at four levels, each with exactly one answer, and a daily board.
What is Inlay?
Inlay is a block packing puzzle, free in your browser on phone, tablet and computer. Each board has a few pieces locked in place and a tray of glowing pieces left over. Turn them, flip them and fit them into the empty cells until the board is completely filled.
The fifteen pieces are our own set: two of three cells, four of four, six of five and three big six-cell pieces, among them a rocket, a lightning bolt and an arch. Easy, Medium, Hard and Tubular each have endless numbered puzzles, built by computer and checked so that every one has exactly one answer. A new daily board arrives at midnight, the same for everyone, with a streak, a calendar and a board of the fastest solves.
How to play Inlay
- The goal: fill every empty cell of the board with the pieces from the tray. Every tray piece has to be used.
- Drag a piece from the tray onto the board. It snaps into place when it fits; drop it where it doesn't and it goes back to the tray.
- Tap a piece to give it a quarter turn, in the tray or on the board. The Flip button mirrors the piece you picked, so pieces like the Hook and the Bolt can face either way.
- Drag a placed piece to move it, or off the board to put it back. Locked pieces, dimmer and riveted, stay where they are.
- Undo and Restart are always there. A hint points out a piece in the wrong place, or the tightest empty cell and the piece that fills it, then the exact spot: two per puzzle on Easy, one on Medium and Hard, none on Tubular.
Inlay tips and strategy
- Start in the corners and the narrow pockets: a cell with only one way to be covered tells you where a piece goes.
- Count the cells in each empty pocket. A pocket of four cells walled off by locked pieces can only take a four-cell piece, or a three and nothing else.
- Place the awkward pieces first. The Spark, the Rocket and the Arch fit in very few places, while the small Bar and Notch can fill whatever gap is left at the end.
- Never leave a pocket smaller than your smallest piece left in the tray: it can never be filled.
- If a piece seems to fit nowhere, try flipping it. Half of the set looks different mirrored.
Four levels of packing
Easy boards are small, with three or four pieces to place, and every step can be worked out from what's already there. Medium boards have five or six pieces, Hard boards seven or eight, and Tubular boards, the biggest at up to 64 cells, ten or more with only a couple of pieces locked to start you off. Each puzzle is graded by a solver that plays it the way a person would and counts the moments where nothing is forced; Hard and Tubular puzzles need real trial and error, Easy ones never do.
The daily board
The daily board changes at midnight and is the same for every player. Monday is Easy, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday are Medium, Thursday and Saturday are Hard and Sunday is Tubular. Solve it on its day to grow your streak, play past days from the calendar, and see who fitted it fastest.
Inlay FAQ
Is Inlay free?
Yes. It's free to play in your browser with no download and no account. Make a free account if you want your times on the leaderboards on every device.
Does every puzzle have a solution?
Every puzzle has exactly one. Each board is cut from a complete tiling, and before you see it a solver searches every way the tray pieces could fit to make sure only one works.
Do the puzzles ever run out?
No. Each level has endless numbered puzzles, built from the puzzle's number, so puzzle 42 at a level is the same board for everyone. You can share a link to any puzzle and compare times.
Can I turn and flip the pieces?
Yes. Tap a piece to turn it a quarter turn, and use Flip to mirror the piece you picked. On a keyboard, R turns, Q turns the other way and F flips, even while you drag a piece with the mouse.
How do hints work?
A hint looks at your board as it is. If a piece is in the wrong place it points that out; otherwise it lights the empty cell with the fewest ways to be covered and tells you which piece goes there. Asking again on the same board shows the exact spot for free. Easy allows two hints per puzzle, Medium and Hard one, Tubular none.
Can I play with a keyboard?
Yes. Tab or the number keys pick a piece, the arrow keys move it over the board, Enter drops it in, R and F turn and flip it and Backspace takes it off again. U undoes and H asks for a hint.
Can I play on my phone?
Yes. Drag pieces with your finger; a piece you carry from the tray rides just above your fingertip so you can see where it lands. Tap a piece to turn it. Turn your phone sideways or tap Full screen for a bigger board.
Is my progress saved?
Yes. Unfinished puzzles, your best time on every puzzle, your daily streak and your stats are saved in your browser. Leaving the page and coming back picks up where you were.
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