How to play
Rumor Village is a pencil puzzle. A rumor spreads through a village one house a day, and each house remembers the day it heard. From those days you work out where the fences are. The rules take a minute to learn.
The rules
- The well (marked 井) is where the rumor starts.
- Each day the rumor moves one house further, up, down, left or right.
- The number on a house is the day it heard the rumor.
- A house marked "·" is tight-lipped and will not say which day.
- A fence between two houses means those two are not speaking. The rumor cannot cross it.
Place exactly the given number of fences so that every house hears on the day it recorded.
There is always exactly one answer, and no house is ever cut off — the rumor reaches everyone eventually.
A worked example
A small 3×3 village. Two fences to place.
1. Neighbours whose days are too far apart
The house right of the well heard on day 1. Its neighbour heard on day 6. Neighbours pass it on the very next day, so day 2 was the latest it could have been. Four days late makes no sense.
So those two are not speaking. A fence goes between them.
2. Every "day n" house has a "day n−1" neighbour
The day-6 house heard it from someone, and its only remaining neighbour is the "·" below. So the "·" heard on day 5.
But the house to the left of "·" heard on day 2. If they were speaking, "·" would have known by day 3, not day 5. Another fence goes there.
3. The villagers check your work
Once the fences are up, the villagers check. The tight-lipped house admits it was day 5 after all.
Three things worth remembering
- Neighbours two or more days apart need a fence between them. This is the one you use most.
- A house that heard on day n has a day n−1 neighbour. If you cannot find one, either a fence is missing or a tight-lipped house is playing that part.
- The fence count is fixed. With one or two left, counting alone often tells you where they go.
Difficulties
| Easy | 4×4, 3 fences | A hamlet by the well. Start here. |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | 5×5, 5 fences | The size of the daily puzzle. |
| Hard | 6×6, 5 fences | More room, and more silent houses. |
| Expert | 6×6, 6 fences | Counting fences becomes the main tool. |
| Hidden Well | 5×5, 5 fences | The well is hidden too. Finding day 0 is the first job. |
Ways to play
- Today's village — one puzzle a day, the same one for everyone, with a leaderboard.
- Story — a journey through 60 villages, each introducing a little more.
- Weekly plan — one harder puzzle a week. You can leave and come back.
- Free play — any difficulty, as many as you like.
- Make your own — draw a village and send it to a friend by URL.
Every village you solve adds people to your own village, and buildings go up as it grows.
No sign-up. It runs in the browser, and you can add it to your home screen to play offline. The game is available in English and Japanese.