Reading the rules is one thing. Seeing one move set up the next is how Binary really clicks. Here’s a small board solved from its first clue to its last cell, with a reason for every symbol.
This is the same board as the practice board in the Binary guide, so you can try it yourself afterwards. It has no bars or crosses, just the two main rules: each row and column holds two circles and two diamonds, and no three matching symbols may sit in a row. Fixed clues have a small dot underneath. An outline marks what changed in each step.
Row 1, column 1: fixed circle | Row 1, column 2: fixed circle | Row 1, column 3: empty | Row 1, column 4: empty |
Row 2, column 1: fixed circle | Row 2, column 2: empty | Row 2, column 3: fixed circle | Row 2, column 4: empty |
Row 3, column 1: empty | Row 3, column 2: fixed circle | Row 3, column 3: empty | Row 3, column 4: fixed circle |
Row 4, column 1: empty | Row 4, column 2: empty | Row 4, column 3: fixed circle | Row 4, column 4: fixed circle |
Starting board
Eight fixed circles
Rows are numbered from the top and columns from the left. Empty cells show a small dot in the middle.
Before you read on, see if you can spot one cell that has to be a diamond.
1. Finish the top row
Row 1 starts with two circles. A third circle in column 3 would make three in a row, so column 3 is a diamond. Row 1 already has its two circles, so column 4 must be a diamond too. The no-three rule finds the first move, and the count finishes the row.
Row 1, column 1: fixed circle | Row 1, column 2: fixed circle | Row 1, column 3: diamond, added in this step | Row 1, column 4: diamond, added in this step |
Row 2, column 1: fixed circle | Row 2, column 2: empty | Row 2, column 3: fixed circle | Row 2, column 4: empty |
Row 3, column 1: empty | Row 3, column 2: fixed circle | Row 3, column 3: empty | Row 3, column 4: fixed circle |
Row 4, column 1: empty | Row 4, column 2: empty | Row 4, column 3: fixed circle | Row 4, column 4: fixed circle |
One row, two reasons
Row 1 reads circle, circle, diamond, diamond. Check the columns those diamonds sit in, but don’t fill anything you can’t justify yet.
2. Fill the gap
Row 2 reads circle, empty, circle. A circle in the gap would make three in a row, so it’s a diamond. That’s the same rule as before, applied to a gap instead of the end of a pair. Row 2 now has two circles and one diamond, so its last cell is a diamond as well.
Row 1, column 1: fixed circle | Row 1, column 2: fixed circle | Row 1, column 3: diamond | Row 1, column 4: diamond |
Row 2, column 1: fixed circle | Row 2, column 2: diamond, added in this step | Row 2, column 3: fixed circle | Row 2, column 4: diamond, added in this step |
Row 3, column 1: empty | Row 3, column 2: fixed circle | Row 3, column 3: empty | Row 3, column 4: fixed circle |
Row 4, column 1: empty | Row 4, column 2: empty | Row 4, column 3: fixed circle | Row 4, column 4: fixed circle |
Gaps are as useful as pairs
Row 2 reads circle, diamond, circle, diamond. Still no guessing: every symbol so far follows from the clues and the rules.
3. Try the other edge
Row 4 ends with two fixed circles. A row can only hold two circles, so its first two cells are diamonds. It pays to scan from the bottom and the right as well as from the top and the left; a different edge can show you something your first scan missed.
Row 1, column 1: fixed circle | Row 1, column 2: fixed circle | Row 1, column 3: diamond | Row 1, column 4: diamond |
Row 2, column 1: fixed circle | Row 2, column 2: diamond | Row 2, column 3: fixed circle | Row 2, column 4: diamond |
Row 3, column 1: empty | Row 3, column 2: fixed circle | Row 3, column 3: empty | Row 3, column 4: fixed circle |
Row 4, column 1: diamond, added in this step | Row 4, column 2: diamond, added in this step | Row 4, column 3: fixed circle | Row 4, column 4: fixed circle |
The bottom row is done
Row 4 reads diamond, diamond, circle, circle. Only two cells remain, both in row 3.
4. Let the columns finish it
Column 1 already has circles in rows 1 and 2, so its cell in row 3 must be a diamond. Column 3 has circles in rows 2 and 4, so row 3, column 3 is a diamond too. Row 3 now reads diamond, circle, diamond, circle, and the board is complete.
Row 1, column 1: fixed circle | Row 1, column 2: fixed circle | Row 1, column 3: diamond | Row 1, column 4: diamond |
Row 2, column 1: fixed circle | Row 2, column 2: diamond | Row 2, column 3: fixed circle | Row 2, column 4: diamond |
Row 3, column 1: diamond, added in this step | Row 3, column 2: fixed circle | Row 3, column 3: diamond, added in this step | Row 3, column 4: fixed circle |
Row 4, column 1: diamond | Row 4, column 2: diamond | Row 4, column 3: fixed circle | Row 4, column 4: fixed circle |
Solved
Every row and column has two of each symbol, there are no runs of three, and every fixed clue is where it started.
Taking this to a bigger board
Rotate through your checks: rows, then columns, then pairs, then gaps. After each move, look at both the row and the column it touched. On larger boards each line needs half its length of each symbol rather than two. Bars and crosses add another source of information; the Binary guide covers how they work.
Now head back to the practice board and make the moves yourself. Its Hint button explains a next move, and Check board flags any conflicts. Nothing you do there affects your saved progress or your results.