Tangram Online: Geometric Shapes Puzzle

About Tangram Online

The tangram is one of the oldest and most famous puzzles in the world, originally from China, and in this online version you can play it without cutting out a single piece. Your goal is to fill a grey silhouette using all the black pieces, with nothing left over or missing. It looks simple, but every shape tests your observation and reasoning. If you get hooked on this kind of challenge, you'll find many more in our category of puzzle games.

The classic tangram has 7 pieces: five triangles (two large, one medium and two small), a square and a parallelogram. With them you can form hundreds of tangram shapes: animals, people, boats, houses or abstract shapes.

How do you play Tangram online?

In each level a shaded shape appears that you have to rebuild. It's not about going fast or trying things at random, but about thinking where each piece fits.

1. Look carefully at the grey silhouette and find its angles and straight sides.
2. Drag a black piece to the area where you think it fits.
3. Click on it to rotate it into the right position.
4. Place all the pieces until the shape is completely covered.

Tangram Online controls

PC

• Drag with the mouse: move a piece
• Click on a piece: rotate it

Mobile and tablet

• Drag with your finger: move a piece
• Tap on a piece: rotate it

What do you learn in Tangram Online?

• Spatial vision: imagining how a piece will look before placing it.
• Basic geometry: recognizing triangles, squares and parallelograms, and seeing how they combine.
• Composing and decomposing shapes, very useful for understanding area later on.
• Logical reasoning, patience and tolerance for frustration by trying out different solutions.

Recommended for ages 6 and up; adults will also find shapes that make them think.

Tips for playing better: Tangram Online

• Always start with the two large triangles: they take up almost half the shape and, once they're in place, the remaining gaps shrink a lot.
• Look in the silhouette for the right-angle corners; they usually belong to the square or to the corner of a triangle.
• Leave the parallelogram for last: it's the piece with the fewest possible positions and fits best once you can see the gap.
• If you get stuck, remove the small pieces and rethink just the large ones: that's almost always where the mistake is.

Tangram Online FAQ

Additional information: Tangram Online

Game type: Logic and geometric shapes puzzle
Recommended age: From age 6
Technology: HTML5
Platform: Web browser (PC, tablet and mobile)

Enjoyed Tangram Online? Also try Sutom, Tango game or Bust A Move. Find more Puzzle Games and hundreds of games to play for free on LudoRex.