How to Play Train Tracks

The rules

1. Draw one route from S to F. The track runs through shared cell edges, one cell at a time.
2. Match the numbers. The numbers above the grid count the track cells in each column; the numbers on the right count them in each row.
3. Use every printed piece. Pieces already drawn in the grid are part of the route, exactly as shown.
4. No branches, no crossings, no loops. The track never splits, never crosses itself, and never visits a cell twice.

S and F count toward the numbers too. A bend uses one cell. The route does not have to visit every cell.

A worked example

Start with what is certain. A row or column marked 0 has no track, so cross out all its cells. Then follow the printed pieces: each one points into a neighbouring cell that must also hold track. Keep counting - as soon as a row or column reaches its number, every other cell in it is empty.

Tricks that solve the hard ones

• Two pencil marks. Use an X for "no track here" and a dot for "track here, shape unknown". Empty cells are clues too.
• Every track cell has two neighbours on the route - except S and F, which have one. A cell with only two open neighbours must use both.
• Full lines. If a row's number equals the number of cells it still has open, all of them are track.
• No dead ends. Any cell that would trap the track in a corner or cut the route in two can be crossed out.
• Count again. Every new mark changes two totals: its row and its column. Re-check both.