Slitherlink, Loop the Loop & Fences: A Puzzle With Many Names

Go looking for this puzzle and you will quickly trip over its tangle of names. One site calls it Slitherlink. A British newspaper calls it Loop the Loop. A puzzle magazine labels it Fences, and somewhere in the small print you might spot the original Japanese name, Takegaki. Here is the reassuring part: they are all the same loop puzzle, with the same single rule about drawing one closed loop, just dressed in different titles. This guide untangles the names, explains which is used where, and helps you recognise the puzzle no matter what the heading says. Whatever you call it, you can play it here.

One puzzle, several labels

Before the names, the puzzle. Whatever it is called, the game is the same: you draw a single, unbroken loop along the lines of a grid, and the numbers inside the cells tell you how many of that cell's four sides the loop uses. The loop never crosses itself, never branches, and never leaves a loose end. That one elegant idea is the whole game, and every name below points to it. (For the full how-to, our rules page walks through it step by step.)

So why the pile-up of names? Because this puzzle was published and rebranded independently by different magazines, websites and apps, and none of them agreed on a single title.

Slitherlink: the official name

Slitherlink is the name given by Nikoli, the famous Japanese puzzle publisher, and it is the name most recognised in the wider puzzle community. It is the one we use here, and the term you will most often see on dedicated puzzle sites and in the puzzle press. The word itself is evocative rather than literal: it captures the way the loop slinks and links its way around the grid.

Loop the Loop and Loopy: the descriptive names

In the United Kingdom especially, the puzzle is widely known as Loop the Loop (or simply the loop puzzle). It is a plainly descriptive name, since the entire goal is to draw one loop, and it has a strong following in British newspapers and puzzle books. A closely related label, Loopy, is used in Simon Tatham's well-known free collection of logic puzzles. All of these describe the same drawing-a-single-loop game.

One small caution with "loop the loop": the phrase also refers to a fairground ride and an aerobatic manoeuvre, so a plain search can turn up roller coasters alongside puzzles. Adding the word "puzzle" keeps you on track.

Fences and Takegaki

A couple of further names round out the collection:

• Fences appears in some puzzle magazines and books. It is a fitting image, since the finished loop looks rather like a fence enclosing part of the grid.
• Takegaki (竹垣) is the original Japanese name, meaning "bamboo fence." It is the same picture as the English "Fences," a barrier woven around the cells, and it is a nice reminder of the puzzle's Japanese roots. You can read more about those roots in our history of Slitherlink.

Despite all the different labels, every one of them refers to the identical puzzle with the identical rule. "Slitherlink" remains the dominant and most widely recognised name internationally, so if you see "Loop the Loop," "Fences," "Loopy" or "Takegaki," you can be confident you are looking at the very same grid.

How to recognise it, whatever it's called

Spotting this puzzle in the wild is easy once you know the tell. Look for:

• A grid of cells with some cells holding a small number, usually 0 to 3.
• An instruction to draw a single loop along the grid lines, rather than to fill in cells.
• A rule that the loop is one closed path with no branches or crossings.

If a puzzle has those features, it is this one, whether the title says Slitherlink, Loop the Loop, Fences, Loopy or Takegaki. You already know how to play it.

The tangle of names is really a sign of how widely this loop puzzle has spread, reinvented and rebranded around the world because the core idea is so good. Now that you can see through the aliases, there is only one thing left to do: solve one. Play Slitherlink now, or learn the rules first.

Frequently asked questions

Is Loop the Loop the same as Slitherlink?

Yes. Loop the Loop is simply another name for Slitherlink, the loop puzzle where you draw a single closed loop along the grid lines using number clues. "Slitherlink" is the official Nikoli name, while "Loop the Loop" is a descriptive name common in the UK. The rules are identical.

What is the Fences puzzle?

The Fences puzzle is another name for Slitherlink, used in some puzzle magazines and books. The name comes from the way the finished loop encloses part of the grid like a fence. It is the same as the Japanese name Takegaki, which means "bamboo fence."

Why does Slitherlink have so many names?

The puzzle was published and rebranded independently by different magazines, websites and apps, none of which agreed on one title. "Slitherlink" is the Nikoli name, "Loop the Loop" and "Loopy" are descriptive names, "Fences" appears in magazines, and "Takegaki" is the original Japanese name. They all refer to the same puzzle.

What does Takegaki mean?

Takegaki (竹垣) is the original Japanese name for Slitherlink, and it means "bamboo fence." It pictures the finished loop as a fence woven around the cells of the grid, the same idea behind the English name "Fences."