How to Play PROXX

PROXX is a browser-based logic puzzle game where you help a crew navigate space by using a proximity scanner to locate hidden black holes. To play, open proxx.app, set your difficulty, board width and height, and the number of black holes, then start the round. Your goal is to mark every black hole without accidentally opening one, using the scanner's proximity numbers to deduce where they are.

Before You Start

No account or installation is mentioned on the site — the game loads directly in the browser. The start screen presents four settings you choose before each round:

Adjust these to make the board larger or smaller and to increase or decrease the number of black holes you need to find. When you're happy with the setup, start the round.

How a Round Works

The board is a grid of unopened cells. Somewhere in that grid are the black holes you configured. Your job is to mark each one so the crew can navigate around it.

Reading the Proximity Scanner

When you open a cell that is not a black hole, the scanner reports how close the nearest black holes are. Use these numbers the same way you would in a proximity-based deduction puzzle:

• A number tells you how many black holes are adjacent to that cell.
• A blank or zero result means no black holes touch that cell, so the surrounding cells are safe to open.
• Cells near a black hole will show higher numbers, narrowing down where the black holes must sit.

Marking Black Holes

Once the numbers let you deduce a black hole's location, mark that cell instead of opening it. Marking is how you "help your crew navigate space" — the marked cells represent the hazards the crew must avoid.

The Failure Condition

Opening a cell that contains a black hole ends the round. This is why you mark suspected black holes rather than opening them: deduction first, action second.

A Practical Walkthrough

1. Choose a small board first. Set a modest width and height with a low black-hole count so you can learn how the numbers behave.
2. Open a cell near a corner or edge. Edge cells have fewer neighbors, so their numbers are easier to interpret.
3. Follow the zeros. If a cell reports no nearby black holes, open its neighbors freely — they're safe.
4. Count against the total. You know exactly how many black holes you set, so track how many you've marked. When your marked count matches the configured number, you've found them all.
5. Mark, don't open, when in doubt. A wrong mark is recoverable; an opened black hole ends the round.

Common Sticking Points

• Numbers feel ambiguous at the start. This is normal — early moves give you the least information. Open safe cells first and let the numbers accumulate.
• You lose track of how many black holes remain. Check your marked count against the number you configured at the start.
• The board feels too hard. Reduce width, height, or the black-hole count, or lower the difficulty, and start a new round.

When to Use Each Setting

• Learning the game: small width and height, few black holes.
• A quick session: moderate board with a low black-hole count.
• A real challenge: larger boards and more black holes, which increase the deduction work and the cost of a wrong guess.

Start at proxx.app, set the four options, and begin with a small board until the scanner numbers feel intuitive.