# Pipe Puzzle

A branching pipe network must be **sealed**: every open pipe end has to meet
neighbouring pipe. Water enters at the **faucet** and the network is complete
when not a single socket is left open. No leaks allowed.

## The Goal

- Spin the pipes until **no pipe end leaks** — every socket is matched with a
  neighbour that opens back.
- Open pipe ends are fine *as long as they connect* to another pipe.
- An open end that points at a wall, or at a tile whose socket isn't open, is
  a **leak** (it glows red). Leaks keep the puzzle unsolved.

## How the Board Works

- The network is a **branching tree**: from the faucet there is exactly
  **one route** to every dead end. No loops, no shortcuts.
- Dead ends can be **anywhere** on the grid — top, bottom, left, right. Don't
  assume the "exit" is on one side.
- The faucet (brass) and the drain (iron) are the two long routes; the rest
  of the dead ends hang off branch points.

## How to Play

- **Click (or tap) a pipe** to rotate it 90° clockwise.
- **R** rotates the pipe under the mouse — handy for fine-tuning.
- **ESC** takes you back to the difficulty screen.
- **New Puzzle** deals a fresh board of the same size; **Leave** / **Menu**
  goes back to the game menu.
- The **faucet** (brass valve) and the **drain** (iron grate) are *fixed* —
  they don't rotate. Use them as your anchor points.

## Reading the Board

- **Straight pipes** (two flanged collars) carry water in a line.
- **Elbow pipes** (corner collar with three bolts) turn water 90°.
- **T-pieces** (a tee body with three arms) split the flow — one arm is the
  "dead end" of that branch.
- **Dead ends** (a single capped stub) are the leaves of the tree — each one
  sits at the end of exactly one route from the faucet.
- **Water** (the blue glow) shows everything currently connected to the
  faucet; the animated pulses show the flow direction.
- The **LEAKS** counter tells you how many open ends remain. Solved = 0 leaks.

## Difficulty

| Tier   | Grid   | Notes                                          |
|--------|--------|------------------------------------------------|
| Easy   | 6 × 6  | A gentle introduction — a small branching net. |
| Medium | 7 × 7  | More T-pieces, longer branches.                |
| Hard   | 8 × 8  | Real mazes; plan ahead.                        |
| Expert | 10 × 10| 100 pipes, dense network. Bring coffee.        |

## Scoring

- No score, just **time and moves** — your best time per difficulty is kept
  on this device.
- Beat the par time for the grid to earn ★★★, and you'll see it on the
  difficulty card.

## Tips

- **Anchors first.** The faucet and drain are fixed. Find the pieces that must
  connect to them — that constrains a lot of the board.
- **Trace branches, not just the main line.** Every T-piece has a "dead arm."
  That arm must end in a dead-end stub. Find the matching stub and you've
  locked in the T's orientation.
- **Dead ends are your clues.** A capped stub must rotate to face the correct
  neighbour. Since there's exactly one route to each dead end, finding the
  stub locks in every tile along that whole branch.
- **Work branch by branch.** Solve one dead end's route, lock it in, then take
  the next branch off the nearest T-piece.
- **If you're stuck**, check for pairs of stubs that must both face the same
  tile — that's usually the key move.