How to easily solve Lights Out puzzles, such as the one in Mutiny!!
Light Chasing
All credit goes to Imban!
“Lights Out” puzzles are basically anything that looks like this:
And, while they can be tricky, there is a relatively easy and algorithmic way to solve most of them in seconds with a very small cheat sheet: light chasing. Basically, you start on the second row, and press every button which has a light on above it, then do the same on the third row, et cetera, all the way down to the bottom. Once you’ve reached the bottom row, you look at your cheat sheet to determine which buttons on the top row you need to press, press those, and then once you go through again, you’ve completed the puzzle. It’s not necessarily the most efficient method in terms of button presses required, but it solves them in seconds.
For a “Lights On” puzzle such as this one, you just press every button with a light off above it, instead.
5×5 Cheat Table
Numbering the rows 1-5 and the columns A-E, once you’ve chased the lights down to row 5:
- If the light at A5 is on, press D1 and E1.
- If the light at B5 is on, press B1 and E1.
- If the light at C5 is on, press D1.
6×6 Cheat Table
This is the one in Mutiny!!
Numbering the rows 1-6 and the columns A-F, once you’ve chased the lights down to row 6:
- If the light at A6 is on, press A1 and C1.
- If the light at B6 is on, press D1.
- If the light at C6 is on, press A1 and E1.
- If the light at D6 is on, press B1 and F1.
- If the light at E6 is on, press C1.
- If the light at F6 is on, press D1 and F1.
Remember that Mutiny is “Lights On” instead of “Lights Off”, so you want to press those if the lights on the bottom row are off, not if they’re on. This is the instruction set for turning all the lights off, since that’s the generic form.
9×9 Cheat Table
Mostly included as a bonus, since 9x9s look daunting but are hilariously easy.
Numbering the rows 1-9 and the columns A-I, once you’ve chased the lights down to row 9:
- If the light at A9 is on, press A1.
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