Patterns to spot first
These three techniques fill a good part of the weekday grid on their own. Sweep every row, then every column, applying them each time.
1. Pairs
Two identical symbols side by side force the opposite symbol on both ends. In · ○ ○ ·, both empty cells take a ●. It is the most common deduction in the game, and each new pair you create often triggers another.
2. Gaps
When an empty cell sits between two identical symbols, it takes the other one. In ● · ●, the middle cell must be a ○. Gaps are less visible than pairs, so hunt for them actively, especially in columns.
3. Counting
On the daily 8×8 grid, every row and column holds exactly four ○ and four ●. As soon as one symbol reaches four, every remaining empty cell takes the other. On the 6×6 easy grid, the threshold is three.
Techniques for the Sunday grid
On Sundays the grid reveals only 18 of its 64 cells, against 26 on weekdays. The basic patterns run out sooner, and these three techniques take over.
4. The last symbol
When a row needs only one more copy of a symbol, try it mentally in each empty cell. Most positions create three identical symbols in a row and rule themselves out.
Example: ● · · · · ○ ● ●. The row already has three ● and a single ○, so it needs one ● and three ○. Placed 2nd, 3rd or 5th, the ● would leave at least three ○ in a row. It can only go 4th: ● ○ ○ ● ○ ○ ● ●.
5. Unique rows
No two rows may be identical, and no two columns. This rule mostly matters late in the game, when a row has two empty cells left, one ○ and one ● to place, and its other cells copy a row that is already complete.
Example: row A is complete, ○ ● ● ○ ○ ● ○ ●. Row B reads ○ ● ● ○ ○ ● · ·. Placing ○ then ● would make it identical to A, so the order must be reversed: ○ ● ● ○ ○ ● ● ○.
6. Back and forth between rows and columns
Each symbol placed in a row changes the column that crosses it. After every deduction, look straight away at the column of the cell you just filled: that is where the next deduction usually hides. Cells sharing the selected cell's row and column are highlighted, which helps you keep track.
Managing the endgame
7. Review before the last cell
Binero only judges the grid once it is full. As long as one cell is empty, you can change, test and undo with no penalty at all. Every full grid judged wrong, however, removes 10% of the performance score, with no floor.
Before filling the last cell, run a quick check:
- no run of three identical symbols, in rows or columns;
- four ○ and four ● everywhere;
- no two identical rows or columns.
Using notes and hypotheses
Notes mode lets you mark ○, ● or both in an empty cell without filling it. Use it to keep track of a partial deduction, such as "this cell can't be ○ if its neighbour is".
For a longer hypothesis, you can also fill cells directly as a draft: as long as the grid is not full, nothing is checked. If the hypothesis leads to a contradiction (three in a row, five ○ in a line), step back with the undo button, labelled Annuler: the starting cell takes the other symbol. Save this method for genuinely stuck positions, as direct deduction is faster.
Score and timer
The score out of 1000 combines performance, jokers and time. The reference time is 4 minutes on weekdays and 6 minutes on Sundays: finishing twice as fast earns the maximum 20% bonus, while a very long game gets a penalty capped at 25%. You can collapse the timer with a tap if the numbers distract you, but it keeps running.
To review the basics, read how to play Binero. If you enjoy this kind of deduction, try Sudolito, SIWA's 6×6 sudoku, as well.