What is Gradientle?
Gradientle is a daily colour-sorting puzzle that arranges twenty tiles into a two-dimensional gradient. The grid is five columns by four rows, and the four corner tiles are fixed in place. Every other tile must be dragged into a position where it blends smoothly both across its row and down its column. The challenge is that adjusting one axis affects the other, so you are solving two gradients at once.
How to play Gradientle
- Drag one tile onto another to swap their positions.
- Use the fixed corner tiles as anchors. They set the endpoints of the horizontal and vertical gradients, and the other tiles fall between them.
- Solve the outer edges first. Each edge is a straight blend between two corners, so its order is certain.
- Once the frame is in place, work inward. The interior tiles follow from the edges.
- If you get stuck, tap Hint. Tap Give Up to move on to the next day’s puzzle.
Sorting colours along a single line is straightforward. Gradientle adds a second axis, which means a tile can be correct for its row but wrong for its column, and moving it to fix one dimension will disrupt the other. The fixed corners turn this into a solvable system rather than a guessing game. There is no attempt limit and no failure state. The grid either flows or it does not.
Reading the feedback
The grid itself is the feedback. You are looking for banding, the visible jump where two neighbouring tiles do not blend. There is no colour-coded indicator and no move counter. The hint highlights tiles that are already in their correct positions, but it does not move them for you.
Tips for a smoother solve
Unfocus your eyes. Banding in a gradient is easier to spot when you are not staring hard at individual tiles. A slight defocus reveals jarring transitions that close inspection can miss.
Solve the perimeter before the middle. Each edge is a one-dimensional blend between two fixed corners, so it can be completed independently. Once the frame is right, the interior tiles have fewer valid positions.
The puzzle resets daily. If you cannot finish, the Give Up button advances you to the next puzzle. Progress is stored locally in the browser, so keep the same session to maintain your streak.