Two Apiece
Two Apiece is a region-division puzzle invented by Anurag Sahay. It was first published in 2021 on Puzzle Duel, at a time when the author was unaware of a much older and somewhat similar puzzle by the prolific Japanese creator Naoki Inaba.
The objective is to divide the grid into regions of equal size so that each region contains exactly one black circle and one white circle. In addition to this balance constraint, the puzzle imposes a strong structural restriction: no two regions with identical shapes—including all rotations and reflections—may be orthogonally adjacent.
This combination of local color balance and shape difference leads to rich logical deductions. Solvers must carefully coordinate region growth while simultaneously managing symmetry and adjacency, making Two Apiece a distinctive and elegant addition to the family of area-division puzzles.
The objective is to divide the grid into regions of equal size so that each region contains exactly one black circle and one white circle. In addition to this balance constraint, the puzzle imposes a strong structural restriction: no two regions with identical shapes—including all rotations and reflections—may be orthogonally adjacent.
This combination of local color balance and shape difference leads to rich logical deductions. Solvers must carefully coordinate region growth while simultaneously managing symmetry and adjacency, making Two Apiece a distinctive and elegant addition to the family of area-division puzzles.
Rules
Divide the grid into areas of the same size such that every area contains one black and one white circle. No two identical areas (rotations and reflections included) may be orthogonally adjacent.
Click to see the answer.