Solve Tents & Trees with counts, spacing and matching
Work through Morning Dew, a six-by-six Playfield board, then test a diagonal exclusion and a tree-matching trap.
Playfield Arcade · Updated 2 October 2026 · Fixed practice board: 6x6-01
Tents & Trees combines three checks that must agree: row and column totals, space between tents, and a separate tent for every tree. This lesson solves Morning Dew, board 6x6-01 from Playfield’s existing bank, and finishes by checking the tree-to-tent pairing rather than stopping when the numbers match.
This is a fixed practice board. R1C1 means the top-left square; row numbers increase downward and column numbers increase to the right. Grass means a square ruled out for tents. Tree squares remain trees throughout the solve.
Start with the clues
Every tree must have its own tent in a square directly above, below, left or right. Diagonal proximity does not count. A tent may stand beside more than one tree, but in the completed pairing it belongs to exactly one of them.
Tents cannot touch along a side or at a corner. The numbers outside the board count tents, not trees, in each row and column. All these constraints apply together: satisfying a row count does not excuse a touching pair or an unmatched tree.
We first eliminate squares that cannot contain tents, then compare each line’s remaining spaces with its required count. When we place a tent, we recheck its neighbours and the affected row and column.
T in a circle is a tree; a triangle is a tent; × is grass; ? is undecided. Red outlines show changed cells. Numbers give the required tents in each row and column.
Coordinates count from the top left: R2C3 means row 2, column 3.
The game opens its normal saved board for this ID. This lesson does not change or clear your progress. Read the steps here or try the board first.
Follow the deductions
Every before-and-after board is included below. The optional step view shows one deduction at a time; it does not make game moves.
DEDUCTION 1 OF 10
Clear both zero rows and the zero column
Rows 3 and 5 each require zero tents, as does column 3. Mark every non-tree square in those lines as grass. Do not replace the trees in those lines: a tree in a zero row can still have its tent in the row above or below.
Every tent needs a tree immediately above, below, left or right. The nine highlighted squares have no tree in any of those four positions, so mark them grass. For example, R2C2 is diagonal to the tree at R1C3, but that diagonal does not make it a legal tent square.
Row 2 requires one tent. After the eliminations, R2C5 is its only available square. Place a tent there. It has a tree directly below at R3C5 and does not touch any other tent, so the location is compatible with the other rules as well.
Mark: R2C5: tent.
Before deduction 3After deduction 3
DEDUCTION 4 OF 10
Apply the diagonal exclusion
The tent at R2C5 rules out all eight surrounding squares for other tents. Most are already grass or trees; R1C4 is the remaining undecided one. Mark R1C4 grass because it touches the tent diagonally. A tree beside R1C4 cannot override the non-touching rule.
Mark: R1C4: grass.
Before deduction 4After deduction 4
DEDUCTION 5 OF 10
Place row 1’s tent
Row 1 requires one tent and now has only R1C2 available. Place it beside the tree at R1C3. Its separation from R2C5 is sufficient: the two tents are not neighbours along a side or diagonal.
Mark: R1C2: tent.
Before deduction 5After deduction 5
DEDUCTION 6 OF 10
Row 6 needs both remaining spaces
Row 6 requires two tents. R6C4 and R6C6 are its only available non-tree squares, so both must contain tents. The tree at R6C5 sits between them; the tents are two columns apart and therefore do not touch. Their exact tree assignments can wait until the final matching check.
Mark: R6C4: tent; R6C6: tent.
Before deduction 6After deduction 6
DEDUCTION 7 OF 10
Column 1 forces a tent in row 4
Column 1 needs one tent. All its squares except R4C1 have been ruled out, so place the tent there. It is directly beside the tree at R4C2. Row 4 now has one of its required two tents.
Mark: R4C1: tent.
Before deduction 7After deduction 7
DEDUCTION 8 OF 10
Column 4 is already full
Column 4 requires one tent, and R6C4 supplies it. Mark the still-unknown R4C4 as grass. Although it is beside the tree at R5C4, placing a tent there would exceed the column total. A possible tree neighbour is necessary, but not sufficient, for a legal tent location.
Mark: R4C4: grass.
Before deduction 8After deduction 8
DEDUCTION 9 OF 10
Column 5 is already full too
Column 5 also requires one tent, already placed at R2C5. Mark R4C5 grass. This removes another candidate from row 4 without changing any tree or tent already established.
Mark: R4C5: grass.
Before deduction 9After deduction 9
DEDUCTION 10 OF 10
Finish row 4’s remaining count
Row 4 still needs one more tent. R4C6 is now its only available square, so place the tent there. It is directly above the tree at R5C6 and does not touch R6C6: the two tents have a row between them. All row and column totals now match.
Mark: R4C6: tent.
Before deduction 10After deduction 10
Check the whole solution
Completed solution
The first three tree assignments are direct: R1C3 pairs with R1C2, R3C5 with R2C5, and R4C2 with R4C1. The bottom-right region needs more care because some tents touch more than one tree orthogonally.
The tree at R5C4 has only the tent at R6C4 beside it, so reserve that tent for this tree. The tree at R6C5 must then use R6C6. That leaves R4C6 for the tree at R5C6. Every tree and every tent appears exactly once in this pairing.
Pairing R6C4 with R6C5 first would look locally legal, but would leave the tree at R5C4 without a tent. This is why a completed board needs a full one-to-one matching, rather than a claim that each tree has some tent nearby.
Finally, verify the six row counts, six column counts and separation of every tent pair. These checks establish different parts of the rules. Open Morning Dew to rebuild the solve, or print the board and keep a small list of candidate tent squares as you work.
A one-to-one tree–tent assignment for this solution
Tree
Tent
R1C3
R1C2
R3C5
R2C5
R4C2
R4C1
R5C4
R6C4
R5C6
R4C6
R6C5
R6C6
Check yourself
Try each question before opening its explanation. These examples separate what is forced from what merely looks possible.
Practice: a candidate beside a tree
Practice position after deduction 3
R1C4 is next to the tree at R1C3. After the tent is placed at R2C5, can R1C4 still contain a tent? Which rule decides?
Show explanation
No. R1C4 is diagonally adjacent to the tent at R2C5, so it must be grass. Having a neighbouring tree does not make a square legal when another rule forbids it.
Practice: find a complete pairing
Practice position after deduction 10
On the completed board, can you pair the tent at R6C4 with the tree at R6C5 and still match every tree? Explain the three assignments needed in the bottom-right region.
Show explanation
No. The tree at R5C4 has no other adjacent tent, so R6C4 must belong to R5C4. The tree at R6C5 then takes R6C6, leaving R4C6 for the tree at R5C6. The initially tempting pairing would strand R5C4.
Take the method to another puzzle
Return to a line or island when a crossing constraint changes. Keep undecided choices open; a plausible placement is not a proof. These selected teaching boards have the deduction sequences shown here. Other daily boards may need different techniques.