Train Tracks Puzzle
Today's free puzzle: #3 · Wednesday, September 30, 2026 · Medium 8×8
Train Tracks puzzles by difficulty
140 puzzles in four levels. Each level opens with its first puzzle; your progress is saved in your browser.
- Easy6×6 · Curious · 40 puzzles · 2-5 minSolvable with counting, the two-connections rule and the no-loop rule.
- Medium8×8 · Clever · 40 puzzles · 5-12 minMostly counting and the loop rules on a bigger grid; a few puzzles also need the crossing-parity rule.
- Hard10×10 · Devious · 40 puzzles · 10-25 minUsually needs a short “what if” test on a single cell or connection.
- Expert12×12 · Milo · 20 puzzles · 20-45 minFewest clues; expect longer chains of reasoning. Still exactly one solution.
How to play Train Tracks
A Train Tracks puzzle hands you a square grid, an entrance marked A on the left edge and an exit marked B on the bottom edge. Your job is to lay a single railway between them. Each square holds either nothing or one piece of track, a straight or a quarter-turn curve, so the line runs smoothly from square to square without branching, crossing itself or closing into a loop.
The numbers are your clues. A number to the right of a row tells you how many squares in that row the track passes through; a number under a column does the same for the column. Start with the lines that are nearly full or nearly empty, mark squares that cannot hold track with an X, and remember that every track square joins exactly two neighbours. The step-by-step guide walks through a real 6×6 puzzle, and the strategy page covers the techniques for harder grids, including the crossing-parity rule.
A new puzzle every day
The daily Train Tracks puzzle follows a weekly rhythm: Easy on Monday and Tuesday, Medium from Wednesday to Friday, Hard at the weekend. Solve it on the day to keep your streak going. There is nothing to sign up for.
Want a longer session? The Train Tracks game has the daily puzzle plus 140 levels up to 12×12, with hints, undo and saved progress.
Fair puzzles: one solution, no guessing
Every grid is generated by our own puzzle engine and then checked. An exact solver tries every possible route and confirms that exactly one track fits the numbers. For Easy, Medium and Hard, a logic solver that only knows the human techniques on the strategy page then works through the puzzle, and the level you see is the hardest technique it needed. Read more about the method.
Stuck on a newspaper puzzle?
Train Tracks also appears in newspapers and puzzle books. The free Train Tracks solver takes the grid size, the numbers and the pieces shown, tells you whether the puzzle has a unique answer, and draws it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Train Tracks puzzle?
Train Tracks is a grid logic puzzle. You lay one continuous railway from the entrance A on the left edge to the exit B on the bottom edge. The number beside each row and below each column tells you how many squares in that line contain track. The track never branches, crosses itself or forms a loop.
Is there always exactly one solution?
Yes. Every puzzle on this site is checked by an exact solver that searches all possible tracks and confirms there is one, and only one, that fits the clues.
Do I ever need to guess?
Easy, Medium and Hard puzzles are confirmed solvable by a logic engine that only uses the techniques on our strategy page; Hard ones may need a short “what if” test on a single square. Expert puzzles use the fewest clues the logic allows and can need longer chains of reasoning, but they still have exactly one answer.
When does the daily puzzle change?
A new daily puzzle appears at midnight US Eastern time. Monday and Tuesday are Easy (6×6), Wednesday to Friday are Medium (8×8), and the weekend brings a Hard 10×10.
How do I play on a phone?
Drag your finger from square to square to lay track. Drag back over a piece to remove it, and tap an empty square to mark it with an X. Your progress is saved in your browser.
Can I print Train Tracks puzzles?
Yes. Every difficulty has a free printable page with answer keys, there is a free 6-puzzle sample PDF, and the full 24-puzzle pack is free by email.