Reef Pane Tides is a quiet logic puzzle built around one idea you already understand: water finds its level.

Every pane is a grid carved into irregular glass tanks. Each tank holds water up to a single level, so if one cell of a tank is wet, every cell of that same tank on that row and on all the rows below it is wet too. Water never hangs in the air and never fills one column while leaving its neighbour dry. Numbers along the left edge tell you how many cells in each row hold water. Numbers along the top tell you the same for each column. Your job is to set the level of every tank so all the numbers come out exactly right.

That single rule turns each pane into a chain of deductions. A satisfied column locks the tanks feeding it. A row still short of three cells tells you which tank has to rise. There is no guessing and no luck: every pane has exactly one answer, and the app proves it before you see the board.

HOW IT PLAYS

Tap a cell to pour. Water settles instantly through the rest of that tank, on that row and every row beneath. Tap the same cell again to drain it, which lifts the level above it and leaves a small bubble mark reminding you that the cell must stay dry. Tap once more to clear the mark. You are never fiddling with single squares. You are moving water levels, which is what makes this puzzle feel different from every other grid you have solved.

Counts turn green the moment they match and red the moment you overfill them, so mistakes announce themselves early. Undo steps back through your pours. A hint resolves one whole tank when you are truly stuck, and panes finished with no hints are recorded separately, so there is always a cleaner run to chase.

THREE PANE SIZES

Rock Pool, six by six, is a short sitting: around ten tanks and a handful of levels. Reef Pane, eight by eight, is the house size, where the columns start arguing with the rows. Deep Tank, ten by ten, is the long one: close to thirty tanks and plenty of honest second guessing. Switch sizes whenever you like and a new pane is poured for you.

GENERATED FRESH, PROVEN UNIQUE

Panes are not pulled from a fixed list. Each one is carved and filled on your own device, then handed to a solver that counts the possible answers and rejects anything with more than one. Because everything happens locally, there is nothing to download and no way to run out of puzzles.

A TIDE LOG AND AWARDS

The Tide Log keeps your solved count and best time for each pane size, how many panes you finished without a hint, and how many cells of water you have poured. Fourteen awards mark the milestones, from your first settled pane to beating the clock at every size. Everything is stored on the device and survives closing the app.

QUIET BY DESIGN

The app makes no sound at all. Not a click, not a chime, not a note of music. Feedback is visual, with an optional soft haptic tick when water moves, and you can switch that off too. The palette is aquarium glass: pale aqua, deep teal water, crisp white edges, flat translucent fills and a clear level line. Every board, every tank outline and every illustration is drawn with vector graphics, so it stays sharp on any screen.

WHAT IS NOT IN HERE

No internet connection is used or required. No adverts. No analytics or tracking. No accounts, no sign in, no email. No in app purchases, no currency, no wagering, no timers pressuring you to spend. No permissions beyond the optional vibration used for haptic feedback. The app works exactly the same on a plane, on the underground or with the radio switched off entirely.

WHO IT IS FOR

If you enjoy nonograms, sudoku, kakuro or any pen and paper deduction puzzle, the aquarium rule feels natural at once and still completely fresh. A full rules screen inside the app draws the example that matters: exactly why water cannot hang above a gap.

Pour, read the numbers, let the water settle.