Magnet logic puzzles (also called Magnets in puzzle collections) give you a rectangular grid already cut into domino-sized plates. Some plates hold a two-cell magnet with one + pole and one − pole. Others are neutral: both cells stay empty of polarity. Your job is to decide which plates are magnets, which way each magnet points, and where the neutrals sit, so every row and column matches its clue counts and no like poles touch across an edge.
This page is a solving guide for readers and for publishers who print these boards. It states the rules precisely, walks a small board step by step, then shows how the same logic scales to larger grids and harder settings. If you generate books or worksheets, how to create magnet logic puzzles with Puzzle Maker Pro covers generation settings; this guide covers solving.
What you see on the page
A finished puzzle page from Magnet Logic shows three layers at once.
Domino outlines. Every play cell belongs to exactly one plate: either a horizontal or vertical domino that can host a magnet, or a neutral plate (still drawn as a domino for layout). You do not redraw the tiling; you only assign +, −, or neutral inside it.
Polarity marks. On the solution page, each magnet cell shows + or −. Neutral cells are blank or shaded. On the puzzle page those marks are hidden; only the outlines and clue numbers print.
Clue strips on the right and bottom. Along the right edge, each row shows two numbers side by side: the + count on the left and the − count on the right. Along the bottom edge, each column shows the same pair stacked, with + above −. Diagonal neighbors do not matter; only up, down, left, and right adjacency counts.
The sample below is a 6×5 board with all clues present (Easy difficulty, full clue ring). It is a real render from the Magnet Logic engine, not a mockup.
The rules, stated for solvers
One magnet, one + and one −. If a domino is a magnet, its two cells must show opposite poles. You never place ++ or −− on one plate.
Like poles may not touch orthogonally. Two + cells may not share an edge. Two − cells may not share an edge either. Touching across a corner is allowed.
Neutrals carry no poles. A neutral plate uses both cells but contributes 0 to every row and column count. Neutrals are part of the generated layout; they are not a separate “optional rule” you toggle while solving.
Clues count poles, not magnets. A row that reads +3 and −3 on a six-cell row is saying three plus signs and three minus signs appear in that row’s cells, not “three magnets.”
Unique solution. Boards shipped in Magnet Logic are generated to have exactly one completion that satisfies the rules and the printed clues.
The grid must have an even number of cells (width × height is even). Sizes in the software run from 4×4 up to 12×12; the default starting size is 6×5 (six columns, five rows). Difficulty is only Easy or Tricky (there is no separate Medium or Expert menu). Tricky rejects a 4×4 grid; use at least one side of length 5 or more for Tricky books.
How to read the clue arithmetic
Treat each row as a small ledger. Suppose a row has four cells and the right-hand clues read +2 beside −2 (plus on the left, minus on the right). If all four cells carry a pole, the row must contain exactly two + and two − signs. If the clues were +1 and −2, that is three poles on four cells, so exactly one cell carries no pole.
Zero clues are strong. +0 means no + appears anywhere in that line. −0 means no − appears. A line with +0 and −0 is entirely neutral along every cell that belongs to that line.
Asymmetric column clues expose neutrals. When one column wants more plus than minus but its neighbor wants the opposite imbalance, neutral plates are often the only way both columns can balance.
On the bottom strip, read + on the upper line and − on the lower line. On the right strip, read + on the left and − on the right. Count only play cells, not the clue gutter.
Beginner walkthrough: 4×4 board
The figures below use another engine render: 4×4, Easy, every clue visible. Rows and columns are numbered from the top and left (r0c0 is the top-left cell).
Step 1 — Fill row 0 with poles. Row 0’s clues are +2 and −2 on four cells. Three plates touch that row: the horizontal plate across r0c0–r0c1, the top half of the vertical plate in column 2, and the top half of the vertical plate in column 3. Balanced +2 / −2 on four cells means every cell in row 0 must carry a pole. A neutral cell in row 0 would leave too few pole slots to reach two plus and two minus.
Step 2 — Spot the neutral plate in row 1. Column 0 wants +2 / −1 and column 1 wants +1 / −2 (read + above − on the bottom strip). Those imbalances cannot both come from magnet-only columns through the whole height. The horizontal plate r1c0–r1c1 is neutral in the answer: both cells stay blank, which is how the column ledgers can diverge.
Step 3 — Force column 3 with a contradiction. Row 1 is +1 / −1 once the neutral plate is fixed, so r1c2 and r1c3 must be opposite poles. Test r0c3 = +. Then r1c3 = −, r1c2 = +, r0c2 = −, r0c1 = +, and r0c0 = −. Column 0 would then total +1 / −2, but its clue is +2 / −1, so that branch dies. Therefore r0c3 = − and r1c3 = +.
Step 4 — Propagate from r0c3. With r0c3 = −, edge repulsion makes r0c2 = +, then r1c2 = −, r0c1 = −, r0c0 = +. Row 0 now reads + − + −, matching +2 / −2, and row 1’s right half is − + atop the neutral pair on the left.
Step 5 — Finish from row 3. Row 3’s clues are +2 / −2 on four cells, so every row-3 cell carries a pole and the horizontal plate r3c2–r3c3 must be a magnet. Column 2 still needs one more + and column 3 needs one more −, so r3c2 = + and r3c3 = −. Column 2’s clue is +2 / −1 with only three pole cells in that column (r0c2, r1c2, r3c2), so r2c2–r2c3 stays neutral. r3c1 touches r3c2 (+), so r3c1 = − and r2c1 = +. Row 2 is +1 / −1, so r2c0 = − and r3c0 = +. That matches the solution figure: + − + − on row 0, neutral r1c0–r1c1, neutral r2c2–r2c3, and the vertical magnets in columns 0 and 1 as shown.
If you want a slower rules-first pass without tactics, the site’s Understanding Magnet Logic Puzzles page stays on definitions; this guide assumes you are ready to solve.
Intermediate tactics on a 6×5 grid
Open the featured 6×5 puzzle again. Row 0’s clues are +3 and −3 beside six cells. Five plates touch row 0: vertical plates in columns 0–3 (top cell of each) plus the horizontal plate across r0c4–r0c5. +3 / −3 on six cells means every cell in the row carries a pole, which is why the solved top row alternates − + − + − +. Row 1 matches the same full-row ledger.
Row 2’s clues are +0 and −1. +0 forbids any plus in that row. The only minus is r2c0, the top cell of the vertical magnet that spans r2c0–r3c0; the other cells in row 2 are neutral in the answer image.
When a row is “mostly neutral,” stop trying to orient magnets inside it early. Instead, work from rows above and below that still have full counts; neutrals fall out when the ledger cannot close any other way.
Expert moves: stripped clues, Tricky boards, and contradictions
Remove some clues (a generator option) deletes individual numbers from the ring while keeping the puzzle uniquely solvable. Treat missing numbers as “unknown” until a line is forced. Work on lines that still show both counts; defer lines with one number stripped until neighbors pin them.
Tricky difficulty changes which deductions the built-in grader expects; human solvers still use the same rules, but boards may need chain reasoning more often than Easy boards at the same size. Move up to 8×7 or 10×9 only after 6×5 feels routine.
Proof by contradiction remains the backstop. Pick an orientation on a domino that still has two options, pencil it lightly, and follow the tallies. If you force two plus cells to touch, or a row exceeds its + count, unwind that choice and take the opposite. Magnet logic rarely needs guessing on published puzzles, but the test is always local: one illegal adjacency or one overfull row is enough to reject a branch.
A short note for publishers
You do not need to lay out dominoes by hand. Magnet Logic builds the tiling, clue ring, and answer key from your width, height, difficulty, and clue-stripping choices, then exports print images (PNG, JPG, transparent PNG, and SVG) or assembles books through Instant Puzzle Books. Themed poles—letters, colors, or images instead of + and −—change appearance only; solvers still balance the same counts.
Every paid Puzzle Maker Pro edition lets you sell the finished books, worksheets, and packs you make to your own readers and customers. Supplying the generated puzzles themselves to other publishers and sellers needs the higher Magnet Logic edition. The tiers differ in what you can make (batch size, Time Saver, JSON export), not in permission to sell finished books to your own readers.
When you list a book, show one unsolved page with domino borders and readable clue pairs, and mention grid size plus Easy or Tricky. Mixed-type interiors need honest labeling; see when not to mix puzzle types if you bundle magnet logic with other deduction styles.
Other puzzles you might like
Domino Logic is the sibling product: a full domino set hides in the grid instead of polarity counts. If your buyers like tiling puzzles but want a different rule set, compare that module before you duplicate listings.
For Etsy packs built around deduction rather than long KDP interiors, logic puzzle printables for Etsy explains how short themed PDFs differ from book projects. On the Amazon side, logic puzzle books for KDP situates magnet logic among other logic modules you can mix or keep separate.