Outmark field guide
Four games. Four ways to think.
Every game is free to play in your browser. Choose a game below to learn its rules, then try a bot or the daily puzzle. You can play without downloading anything or making an account.
01 · Line building
Fives
Get five of your marks in a row on a 6×6 board. The catch: only six of your marks can stay on the board at once.
How a turn works
Place an X or O in an empty square. Horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines all count. Once you already have six live marks, placing a seventh removes your oldest mark before the new one lands. Your opponent's marks follow their own six-mark queue.
Picture the seventh move
Suppose your first six marks include one at the start of a promising diagonal. When you place mark seven, that first mark disappears. A line that looked close to winning may break, while the freed square becomes playable again. The order of your marks matters as much as their positions.
A useful first habit
Watch the oldest mark on both sides. Before placing a seventh, ask which line will vanish and whether the square it opens helps your opponent. You can play the bot ladder, a shared daily position, a friend by link, or a 3–4 player Party game.
Play Fives02 · Sliding puzzle
Drift
Move every X and O onto its matching outline. One swipe moves all the marks at once.
How a move works
Swipe up, down, left or right. On a keyboard, use the arrow keys; the buttons below the board work too. Each mark keeps sliding in that direction until a wall, the edge of the board, or another mark stops it. The puzzle is solved only when every mark sits on the correct outline at the same time.
Picture a stopper
If an X outline sits in the middle of an open lane, swiping toward it may send X past it. Another mark can act as a brake: position that mark on the far side of the outline, then slide X toward it. The collision stops X where you need it.
A useful first habit
Look at where each mark will stop, not merely which direction it travels. The daily puzzle tracks your moves against par and the bots' best paths; you can also revisit past puzzles.
Play Drift03 · Board bending
Matricks
Make four in a row on a 5×5 board. Instead of placing a mark, you can spend a turn changing the board.
How a turn works
Place a mark in an empty square or use one trick. Each player gets one Shift, one Twist and one Swap per game. Shift slides a row or column, Twist rotates a 2×2 block, and Swap trades neighboring rows or columns. Tricks move both players' marks, so inspect the result before you commit.
Picture a hidden line
Three X marks may appear scattered across two neighboring rows. A Swap can move an entire row into place and make four X marks line up at once. It can also complete an O line, so count both colors after the change.
A useful first habit
Save a trick until it changes the position meaningfully; you only get each one once. The daily puzzle starts with a prepared board and asks you to find the single trick that wins immediately.
Play Matricks04 · Connected moves
Tether
Every new mark must touch the last mark played. Win with four in a row, or leave your opponent nowhere to move.
How a turn works
Choose an empty square beside the previous mark, including diagonal neighbors. The highlighted squares are your legal choices. Your own four marks can win across, down or diagonally even if those marks were played at different points along the thread.
Picture a trap
Imagine the last mark is near a corner and the surrounding squares are mostly occupied. A move that leaves your opponent with no empty neighboring square wins through a trap, even without a four-mark line. Check the exits around your proposed move before you place it.
A useful first habit
Count your opponent's next exits, not just your own line. After X's opening move, O may take that first mark as theirs, so the first square deserves thought. The daily puzzle asks you to force a win against a defender in a set number of moves.
Play Tether