Free printable Slitherlink with answers
Slitherlink is a loop puzzle: join the dots with horizontal and vertical segments to draw one closed loop, so that every numbered cell has exactly that many of its four sides on the loop. Every puzzle here has exactly one loop.
By size
Two things make a Slitherlink harder: a bigger board, and fewer numbers on it. The grades move both together, so start small and work up.
Easy Slitherlink
Free printable easy Slitherlink with answers. A small board with most cells numbered, so the loop almost draws itself. Print with the answer. No sign-up.
Medium Slitherlink
Free printable medium Slitherlink with answers. A bigger board with fewer numbers, so more of the loop is deduced. Print with the answer.
Hard Slitherlink
Free printable hard Slitherlink with answers. Half the board is blank, so the loop has to be reasoned out. Print with the answer.
Extreme Slitherlink
Free printable extreme Slitherlink with answers. A large sparse board for solvers who want a long sitting. Print with the answer.
Evil Slitherlink
Free printable evil Slitherlink with answers. The biggest board with the fewest numbers we print. Still exactly one loop.
By audience
The answer is a drawing rather than a filled grid, which is why this one suits children and new solvers better than most logic puzzles.
Slitherlink for kids
Free printable Slitherlink for kids with answers. Small boards, plenty of numbers, and a rule a child can hold in one go.
Slitherlink for beginners
Free printable Slitherlink for beginners with answers. Learn the loop rule on a small board, with the answer on page two.
Large print Slitherlink
Free printable large print Slitherlink with answers. A small board printed big, for easy reading. No sign-up.
One loop, every time
This is the guarantee that is hard to make in this genre, and the reason most free Slitherlinks are not worth printing. A board can satisfy every number and still be drawn as two separate rings, which is not an answer at all. Every puzzle here is built so its answer is a single closed loop, then proved by the same solver our Publisher Studio uses. The answer prints at the back.
How to solve a slitherlink
Join the dots into one closed loop so every numbered cell has exactly that many of its four sides on the loop. Unnumbered cells can use any number of sides.
The method
- 1Start with the 0s and the 3s. A 0 means none of its four sides are used, so cross all four off. A 3 means three are, which is nearly as strong. Two 3s side by side always share their touching edge.
- 2Work the corners. A 1 in a corner cannot use either of the two sides on the board edge, so both are out. A 3 in a corner must use both of them.
- 3Remember every dot has 0 or 2 ends. The loop never stops and never branches, so a dot with one line coming in must have exactly one going out, and a dot with two is finished.
- 4Refuse the early loop. If closing a line would make a small ring while any other line is still loose, that closure is wrong. There is only one loop in the finished puzzle.
- The one rule
- One closed loop, no branches, no crossings, and every number counts the sides used around its own cell.
- What the answer page shows
- The finished loop is printed at the back.
- How the grades differ
- Harder grades are bigger boards with fewer numbers, so more of the loop comes from the degree rule than from the clues.
- Good for
- Solvers who like drawing a line more than filling a grid.
Make one now
Pick a size, then print the puzzle and its answer. No sign-up, no watermark.