Mosaico City — the daily shortest-route puzzle
Every day Mosaico City brings a new board and 10 tasks. Find the best routes, collect the goals and try to use as few steps as possible. After every task you know right away how well it could be done.
Play today’s board → · Boards · Rankings · Rules
How to play
- Start and goal. The pawn stands at the start and the ring is the goal. Reach it in as few steps as possible.
- Moving. Arrow keys or WASD — or with a mouse or finger: tap a point next to the pawn or drag. Every move is 1 step and leaves a dot on your route.
- Switching. When you see a coloured ring around the pawn, you can change how you travel: Space or tap the board. A switch is also 1 step.
- More layers. The city has seven layers — from the sidewalk to the ferry. Walking on the sidewalk is twice as slow as the other layers, so look for switches: they are wherever you see these signs on the board.
- Goal collected. Collect all the goals and the task is done. There can be up to six goals and you choose the order — the fewer steps, the more points.
Points
Many ways to the goal. The most points for the shortest.
- 10 tasks, all worth the same. Every board has 10 tasks, each worth up to 100 points — up to 1000 in total.
- Points for steps. Each of these routes completes the task, but points depend on the number of steps: the shortest possible route earns 100, and every extra step costs 3 points (at least 10 for a solution).
- Daily ranking. The sum of points from all tasks sets your place in the ranking. Everyone solves the same board — you compete for the shortest routes with the whole world.
- 24 hours to improve. After every task you see your points and the length of the shortest route right away, and the daily ranking updates live. Until the board closes you can improve every task — your best attempt counts. The shortest routes themselves are revealed after it closes.
City layers
The same board in seven layers — each with its own connections. You move between layers only at switches.
Frequently asked questions
About the game
- Is the game free?
- Yes, completely — no ads and no paid extras. Your player account is created automatically: no e-mail or password needed.
- Can I play on my phone?
- Yes. The game runs in the browser — on phones, tablets and computers. Nothing to install.
- Does everyone get the same board?
- Yes. Every day all players solve the same city and the same 10 tasks — that’s why results can be compared in the ranking.
- When does a new board appear?
- Every day at 0:00 UTC. That’s when the previous board closes and a new one starts.
- How long does one board take?
- Usually from about fifteen minutes to half an hour for all 10 tasks. You can take breaks — solved tasks are saved.
- Can I play boards from previous days?
- You can open them in Boards: you’ll see your routes, the shortest routes and the ranking, and you can replay every route step by step. Points are earned only on today’s board.
How to play
- How do I control the pawn?
- On a computer: arrow keys or WASD — move, Space — switch, Z — undo, Y — redo, R — restart, G — show goals. With a mouse, or a finger on a phone: click (tap) towards a point next to the pawn or drag to keep going; clicking elsewhere on the board switches layers when a switch is available.
- Does the order of goals matter?
- You can collect goals in any order — but the order decides how long the route is. The nearest goal isn’t always the best one to start with.
- What happens if I turn back?
- If you return to a point you’ve already visited since the last collected goal, the route is cut back to that point — the loop no longer counts. You can also undo moves (Z) and restart (R).
- Where can I switch?
- Only where layers connect: at a car park (sidewalk ↔ road), a train station (sidewalk ↔ rail), a metro station (sidewalk ↔ metro), a boat stop (sidewalk ↔ boat), a ferry (road ↔ ferry) and a tunnel entrance (road ↔ tunnel).
- Why is the route on foot so long?
- Walking is slower: crossing one tile on the sidewalk takes 2 steps, while by road, rail, metro or boat it usually takes 1. That’s why switching — even with the extra step for the switch itself — often makes the route shorter.
- Do I have to solve all 10 tasks?
- No. Each task counts separately — up to 100 points per task, 1000 for the whole board. An unsolved task scores 0.
- What do the colours next to tasks mean?
- The coloured stripe is the difficulty from 1 to 5 — from a very easy one-goal task to a tour through every layer of the city. Difficulty doesn’t change the scoring.
Points and results
- How are points calculated?
- The shortest possible route earns 100 points. Every extra step costs 3 points — but a solved task always earns at least 10.
- How much time do I have?
- Each board is active for 24 hours — today’s closes at 0:00 UTC. Until then you can improve every task — your best attempt counts.
- Can I improve my result?
- Yes, as many times as you like while the board is active. Your best attempt counts — worse ones don’t hurt your result.
- When will I see my result and the shortest routes?
- You see your points and the length of the shortest route right after solving a task, and the daily ranking updates live. The shortest routes themselves are revealed only after the board closes — so nobody can peek at the solution. That’s also when you can replay your route and the shortest one step by step.
- What if several routes have the same number of steps?
- They are all equally good. Only the number of steps counts, not the way you go.
- What if I don’t finish a task before the board closes?
- An unfinished route is lost and the task scores 0. Tasks you solved earlier stay.
Ranking
- How does the ranking work?
- The daily ranking is the sum of points from one board. The weekly (Monday to Sunday) and monthly rankings add up all boards from that period. Today’s board counts live — the result can change until it closes.
- Why do several people share a place?
- Because they scored the same number of points. A tie is a shared place, and the next place moves down by the size of the group.
- What is a streak?
- The number of consecutive days on which you solved at least one task. The streak lasts as long as you play every day — today you have until the board closes.
Account
- Do I need to create an account?
- No. After your first solved task the browser gets a player account with a random name and avatar, and your results go into the ranking.
- How do I change my name or avatar?
- In your profile: the pencil next to your name (once a day) or click your avatar (no limit).
- How do I play with the same account on my phone and computer?
- In your profile choose “Connect another device”. On the other device enter the code on the Connect account page or scan the QR code. The code works for 10 minutes.
- What happens if I clear my browser?
- Your account is stored in the browser, so it will disappear from that device. If you connected it to another device before, you still play with it there — and you can connect it back.
- Do you collect my data?
- We don’t ask for your name, e-mail or password. We only store game results and anonymous site statistics. Details in the privacy policy.
Other
- I found a bug or have an idea — where can I write?
- At hello@mosaico.games — we read everything.
- Who is behind Mosaico City?
- Mosaico — we make games and puzzles with boards built from small, repeating pieces.