Archive · Zip #35

Zip #35 (October 30, 2026): solution and route

The 7×7 Hard puzzle from Friday, October 30, 2026. Play it first; the route and the solved path are folded below. Replays don't affect your streak.

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Zip #35 was the 7×7 hard board of Friday, October 30, 2026: 9 numbered dots, 3 walls, and one path that visits all 49 cells in order. Our solver, a line-for-line port of the app's, needed 3,065 search nodes to prove the path unique, which puts the board at 5 of 5 on the difficulty scale. Along the answer, 52% of the moves had only one legal continuation; the other 23 steps offered a real choice, and those are where you have to look ahead. The path turns at 62% of its cells, and its longest straight run is 7 cells. The longest leg, between two consecutive dots, is 22 cells.

Zip #35 in numbers

Board7×7, Hard
Numbered dots9
Walls3
Cells on the path49
Solver search nodes3,065 (5/5)
Moves with a single legal continuation52%
Decision points23
Turns along the path62%
Zip #35 route, dot by dot

How many cells each leg takes and which way it runs, reading from dot 1. “Right 3” means three steps to the right.

LegCellsDirections
1 → 24down 2, right 1, up 1
2 → 32up 2
3 → 46left 1, up 1, right 2, down 1, right 1
4 → 55up 2, left 3
5 → 61up 1
6 → 722right 6, down 1, left 2, down 3, left 2, down 2, right 1, up 1, right 1, down 1, right 2
7 → 87up 1, left 1, up 1, right 1, up 1, left 1, up 1
8 → 91right 1

Where the choices are: step 1 at row 5, column 1 (3 ways), step 2 at row 6, column 1 (2 ways), step 4 at row 7, column 2 (2 ways), step 5 at row 6, column 2 (2 ways), step 6 at row 5, column 2 (2 ways) and step 7 at row 4, column 2 (3 ways) and 17 more. Everywhere else only one move keeps the board solvable.

Zip #35 solution

The number in each cell is its position on the path; the dots keep their own numbers and are highlighted.

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