How to play Lights Out
Turn every light off by choosing which squares to press. Each press flips that square and its immediate neighbours above, below, left and right, so watch how one choice changes the board.
- Press any square to flip its light and each directly adjacent light above, below, left and right. On becomes off and off becomes on.
- Diagonal lights do not change. At an edge or corner, only neighbours inside the board change.
- Turn every light off to finish. Every starting puzzle in this fixed pack has a checked solution.
- Pressing the same square twice reverses its changes, but both presses count as moves. There is no timer.
Controls
- Tap or click a square to press it. Both lit and unlit squares can be pressed.
- Tab to the board, use arrow keys to move between squares, and press Enter or Space to flip the focused square. Home and End move to the ends of its row.
- Undo restores your previous board and move count, with up to 120 presses kept. Restart starts the current puzzle again after confirmation.
- Choose a puzzle from the selector and confirm the switch. Each puzzle keeps its own attempt and completion record in this browser when storage is available.
This original fixed pack contains four 3×3 puzzles and eight 4×4 puzzles. Board size and structure vary; puzzle order is not a calibrated difficulty rating. Moves count presses in the current attempt, including presses that reverse earlier ones; Undo reduces that count. Progress and completion records stay in this browser. No account or cross-device save is used.
Progress is saved in this browser on this site when storage is available. Clearing site data can remove it. There is no cross-device sync, and internet access is needed to load the game.
Frequently asked questions
Can I press an unlit square?
Yes. Any square can be pressed. Its own light and its direct horizontal and vertical neighbours all flip, even when the pressed square starts off.
Does pressing the same square twice undo a move?
It restores those lights, but it is still two presses in your move count. Use Undo to restore the previous board and reduce the move count instead.
What happens after all 12 puzzles?
The pack is complete. You can revisit any of its 12 puzzles and restart one to play again. No additional puzzles are implied.
What if saving is unavailable?
A warning appears and you can keep playing in the current tab. Closing or reloading may lose progress. Private browsing, browser storage restrictions or clearing site data can remove saved boards.