Canals is a free daily pipe puzzle. A square grid is full of scrambled pipe pieces and one water source. Tap pipes to turn them until water from the source reaches every cell, and you're done.
How do you play Canals?
- Pick a board on the start screen: Easy (4 by 4), Medium (5 by 5) or Hard (6 by 6). Then press Play.
- Find the source. It's a dead end with a solid hub, and it never turns.
- Tap any other pipe to turn it a quarter turn clockwise. Your time starts on your first tap.
- Two pipes connect only when their open sides face each other. A side that points at the edge of the board, or at a closed side, carries nothing.
- Water shows in blue on every cell joined to the source, so you can see how far the canal reaches.
- Keep turning until every cell is wet, dead ends included. A pulse of water runs out from the source, and your results appear.
There is no way to lose. You play until the grid is full of water.
What pieces are on the board?
Five kinds, each with a different number of open sides:
- Dead end: one opening
- Straight: two, opposite each other
- Elbow: two, around a corner
- T-junction: three
- Cross: all four
The finished canal is one branching network with no loops. Every opening on every piece has to meet another one. If any pipe points at a wall or at a closed side, the puzzle isn't finished, even if most cells are blue.
How do you match the fewest taps?
Your results show your taps next to the fewest taps needed to reach the game's own solution. Match it and the heading says Perfect! Here's how that count works.
Every piece except the source starts turned one, two or three quarter turns away from where it belongs. Taps only turn clockwise. So a piece that sits one quarter turn past its goal costs three taps, not one. You have to go all the way around.
Pieces count differently:
- Elbows, T-junctions and dead ends cost 1, 2 or 3 taps each. There's only one right way for them to face.
- Straights cost 0 or 1. A straight turned halfway round looks the same, so about one in three already looks right.
- Crosses cost nothing. They look the same every way round. Tapping one is a wasted tap.
Here's one elbow. It should open up and right, but right now it opens right and down. Each tap turns it clockwise: right and down, then down and left, then left and up, then up and right. That's three taps. If it had started opening left and up, it would have taken one.
Add up every piece like that and you have the fewest count.
The catch is guessing which way a piece belongs before you tap it. Every extra trip around the clock costs you. Sometimes you'll find a different finished layout with fewer taps than the game's. The results screen says so: "You found a quicker way than we did."
Undo and Reset
Undo turns the last pipe back. It doesn't give the tap back, though. Your count keeps it.
Reset puts every pipe back where it started, after you confirm. It also sets your time and taps back to zero, so it's a true fresh start if your first attempt went sideways.
There are no hints.
Tips for solving in fewer taps
- Start at the edges. Every pipe has to connect to something, and nothing can point off the board. So every edge piece has fewer ways it can sit, and a corner has the fewest. Lock in the border first, then work inward.
- Work out from the source. It never moves, so the cells next to it are the first ones you can be sure of.
- Decide before you tap. Look at a piece, work out where it belongs, then tap the right number of times. Tapping to see what happens is how the count runs up.
- Skip the crosses. They never need turning.
- Watch for loops. Two pipes can face each other and still be wrong, if joining them closes a circle. The finished canal never has one.
How is Canals scored?
Each board is scored on its own. Your time is your score, and your tap count breaks ties. Signed-in players get a daily leaderboard for each of the three sizes, plus a friends-only board.
Each size has its own streak, best time and average. Only your first finish on each board each day counts. You can hide the timer in your preferences.
How do you share your result?
The Share button copies the board size, your time and your taps:
Canals #208 / Hard / 1:03 / 14 taps perdiem.games/canals
On a phone, Share opens your share sheet.
Is Canals like Pipes or Net?
Yes. It's a pipe-rotation puzzle, the same idea as the games often called Pipes or Net: turn tiles until one network connects. Canals adds three daily sizes, the same boards for everyone, and a fewest-taps count to chase. Canals isn't affiliated with any of them.
Common questions
Do I have to play all three sizes?
No. Each one stands alone, with its own streak. A check mark on the start screen shows which ones you've finished today, and "Play another puzzle" takes you to the next one.
Can I play past puzzles?
Yes. Past days open from the week strip on your results screen.
Can I play with a keyboard?
Yes. Every pipe is a button, so you can move between them with Tab and turn one with Enter or Space.
Do I need an account?
No. Canals is free and runs in your browser. An account keeps your streaks across devices and gets you leaderboards and friends.