About Tangram Puzzles
Tangram is the ancient Chinese shape puzzle: seven flat pieces cut from a square — two large triangles, a medium triangle, two small triangles, a square and a parallelogram — that you rearrange to fill a silhouette. Our free online tangram game gives you dozens of tangram puzzles to solve, from simple shapes to cats, swans, sailboats, dancers and letters.
The rule is always the same: use all seven pieces, don't overlap them, and cover the whole outline. The challenge is that the silhouette hides where one piece ends and the next begins, so you have to see the shapes inside the shape.
Drag pieces onto the board, tap to rotate, and flip the parallelogram when it won't fit. Pieces click into place when you get them right, your times are recorded, and a checkmark marks every puzzle you've solved.
How to play Tangram
- 1
Pick a puzzle
Open the puzzle grid with the button in the top-left corner. Puzzles are grouped into Shapes, Animals, People, Things and Letters & Numbers, and solved ones are ticked with your best time.
- 2
Drag pieces onto the silhouette
Pieces start in the tray. Drag one onto the dark silhouette. When a piece is close to a spot where it belongs, it snaps neatly into position.
- 3
Rotate and flip
Tap a piece to turn it 45° clockwise, or right-click to turn it the other way. The parallelogram is the only piece that changes when flipped: double-tap it, press F, or use the Flip button.
- 4
Fill every gap
The puzzle is solved when all seven pieces cover the silhouette with no overlaps and nothing sticking out. Your time stops, the figure lights up and you can jump straight to the next puzzle.
Controls
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Drag | Move a piece |
| Tap / click | Rotate a piece 45° clockwise |
| Right-click or Q | Rotate counterclockwise |
| Mouse wheel | Rotate the piece under the pointer |
| Double-tap parallelogram or F | Flip the parallelogram over |
| Tab (board focused) | Select the next piece (Shift+Tab for the previous one, Esc to deselect) |
| Arrow keys | Nudge the selected piece (hold Shift for bigger steps) |
| R / H / N | Rotate · hint · next puzzle after solving |
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Tangram tips and strategy
Place the two large triangles first
The large triangles make up half of the total area. Find the broadest parts of the silhouette — a body, a sail, a roof — and fit them there before anything else.
Look for 45° corners
Every piece has angles of 45° or 90° (and the parallelogram also has 135°). A sharp point in the silhouette is almost always the tip of a triangle; a right-angled corner can be a triangle or the square.
Measure with the small triangle
All pieces are built from the small triangle: the square, the medium triangle and the parallelogram are each worth two small triangles, and a large triangle is worth four. Use that to estimate which piece fills a region.
Save the parallelogram for last
The parallelogram is the awkward one because it has a left-handed and a right-handed version. Leave it until the end, and if it won't fit, flip it before you rotate it.
Thin parts hold the answer
Narrow features such as necks, legs, ears and tails can only be made by a few pieces. Solve them early — they tell you exactly which piece goes where.
Don't trust the outline blindly
The same silhouette can sometimes be filled in more than one way. If you're sure every piece fits and the puzzle isn't finishing, look for a small gap or overlap and nudge that piece with the arrow keys.
Where the tangram comes from
The tangram (qiqiao ban in Chinese, often translated as "seven boards of skill") is thought to date from the late 18th or early 19th century in China. The oldest known tangram books were printed there in the early 1800s, and the puzzle reached Europe and America around 1817, where it caused one of the first puzzle crazes of the modern era.
The origin of the English name is uncertain. What is clear is its lasting appeal: thousands of figures have been designed from the same seven pieces, and teachers still use tangrams to explore geometry, area and symmetry.
The seven pieces
If the small triangle has an area of 1, the full set adds up to 16:
- 2 large triangles — area 4 each
- 1 medium triangle — area 2
- 2 small triangles — area 1 each
- 1 square — area 2
- 1 parallelogram — area 2
Every silhouette in this game has an area of exactly 16, so if you have a gap left over, something else is overlapping or sticking out.
Hints, times and leaderboards
Each puzzle has a timer that starts with your first move. Solve it without help and your time goes on the leaderboard and becomes your best time for that figure. You also get three hints per puzzle: a hint places one piece in its correct spot. Hinted solves still count toward your collection, but they aren't ranked.
Progress on the current puzzle is saved automatically, so you can leave and come back without losing your place.
If you like tangrams
Try rebuilding pictures in our Jigsaw Puzzles, slide tiles into order in the Sliding Puzzle, or fit blocks together in Block Puzzle. Browse all of our puzzle games for more.
Frequently asked questions
What are the rules of tangram?
Use all seven pieces to fill the silhouette completely. Pieces must lie flat, may touch each other, and must not overlap. You can rotate any piece and flip the parallelogram.
What are the 7 tangram pieces?
Two large triangles, one medium triangle, two small triangles, one square and one parallelogram. Together they form a perfect square.
How do I rotate or flip a piece?
Tap or click a piece to rotate it 45° clockwise, or right-click to rotate it counterclockwise. To flip the parallelogram, double-tap it, press F, or use the Flip button below the board.
Why won't my puzzle finish?
Every piece must be on the board, inside the silhouette, with no overlaps. Check for a thin sliver of silhouette still showing or a piece poking over the edge. A hint will place one piece correctly if you're stuck.
Are tangrams good for kids?
Yes. Tangrams are widely used in classrooms to teach shapes, angles, area and spatial thinking. The Shapes and Animals puzzles are a great place for younger players to start.
How many tangram puzzles are there?
Thousands of figures have been published over the last two centuries. This game currently has more than 40 puzzles, and your solved puzzles are saved on your device.
Is this online tangram free?
Yes — it's completely free, with no download or sign-up. It works with a mouse on a computer and with touch on phones and tablets.