Packline is a free daily puzzle about drawing district lines. A map of orange and purple dots stands for voters. You drop block shapes onto it to make eight districts, and the bar at the top tells you how many each color has to win. Match the bar and you win.
How do you play Packline?
- Read the bar. It shows how many of the 8 districts each color must win.
- Each dot is a group of people. A bigger dot is more people, and its color shows its side.
- Drag a shape from the tray onto the map. It becomes a district. Tap a shape in the tray to turn it before you drop it.
- Inside each district, the color with more people wins it. The bar updates as you go.
- Tap a placed shape to send it back to the tray.
- Place every shape. If the result matches the bar, you win.
How can fewer voters win more districts?
This is the idea the whole game is built on. Here's a simplified map to show it.
Picture 25 voters, all the same size, split into five districts of five. Orange has 11 voters and purple has 14. Purple has more people, so you'd expect purple to win.
Now draw the lines like this:
- Three districts with 3 orange and 2 purple each. Orange wins all three.
- Two districts with 1 orange and 4 purple each. Purple wins both, easily.
Orange wins 3 of 5 districts with 44% of the voters. Purple's extra voters all sit in the two districts it wins by a lot, where they don't change anything.
That's the trick. Squeeze the other side into a few districts they win by a mile, which is called packing. Then spread them thin across the rest so they lose each one narrowly, which is called cracking. Your results screen shows it too: two bars, one for people and one for districts won.
Hint and Undo
Stuck? Hint shows which placed shapes are off track, or where the next one should go. It has a five-second cooldown. Undo takes back your last shape.
Tips for drawing the map
- Find the big dots first. One large dot can decide a district on its own. Plan around those before the small ones.
- Pack and crack. Decide which districts the other side gets, and pack as many of their people into those as you can. Then crack the rest: spread their remaining voters thin, so your side wins each district by a little. A narrow win counts the same as a landslide.
- Turn every shape before giving up on it. A shape that won't fit one way often slots in another.
Is Packline about real elections?
No. The dots are generated fresh each day and the colors are orange and purple, not any real party. It's a spatial puzzle about how lines on a map can change a result. For anyone curious about how redistricting works in practice, the results screen links to Redistricting Action, a nonprofit.
That also makes Packline a handy classroom example. It shows the idea in a couple of minutes without bringing real politics into the room.
How is Packline scored?
Each day ends in a win or a loss. Your winning time is your score, and signed-in players get a daily leaderboard and a friends-only board. A win extends your streak, and a loss resets it.
How do you share your result?
The Share button copies the day number and your time:
Packline #10 / 1:48 perdiem.games/packline
On a phone, Share opens your share sheet.
Common questions
Is the map the same for everyone?
Yes. Everyone gets the same map and the same target each day.
Can I play past maps?
Yes. Past days open from the week strip on your results screen.
Do I need an account?
No. Packline is free and runs in your browser. An account keeps your streak across devices and unlocks leaderboards.