Variant · Bent tubes
Curved Thermometer Puzzles
In the curved variant, thermometers can turn corners. One tube can pass through three rows and two columns, so filling a single cell can affect lines far across the board.
How curved thermometers change the game
The rules are the same: mercury fills from the bulb toward the tip without gaps, and clues count filled cells per row and column. What changes is the geometry. A straight thermometer lies in one line or crosses each perpendicular line once. A curved one can touch the same row twice, run along a column and then turn into a row.
- Trace before you fill. Follow each tube from its bulb so you know which lines a fill will affect.
- Flow is your strongest tool. One mercury cell near the tip of a long curved thermometer can fill five or six cells across several lines.
- Corners hide capacity. A tube that turns inside a line may add two or more cells to that line, not just one.
Curved puzzles are available in every size: choose Curved above the board, or start with a 6×6 and switch styles. Read more in sizes and variants.