KE9 · 2026-10-21

KE9: Two Short Routes, One Blocked Square

The start and finish do not prove a route is legal. Trace intermediate grid squares and check the blocked position.

A token starts at the bottom-left of a two-by-two grid and must reach the top-right in two moves.

Allowed moves are one square right or one square up. Without obstacles, right-then-up and up-then-right both work.

Trace the blocked route

Place a blocker in the bottom-right square. The right-first route now enters a forbidden square immediately.

The up-first route still works through the top-left square. Same length does not mean same legal path.

Trace the intermediate square, not only the start and finish. That is where the two routes differ.

Now move the blocker to the top-left. The permitted two-step route changes to right-then-up.

When neither route works

If both intermediate squares are blocked, neither permitted two-step route remains. An answer of “no route” is valid.

Do not introduce diagonal movement to rescue the solution unless the rule is changed explicitly.

Ask a partner to place the blocker while you keep the movement card visible. Each new layout becomes a fresh constrained problem.

Use a finger to visit every intermediate square before moving the counter. Then compare the trace with the blocker position. This makes the proposed route checkable by another person. A quick diagonal gesture between the endpoints can hide the very square that determines whether the two-step path is permitted.

The KE9 route puzzle rewards checking every visited square. A destination reached through an illegal intermediate step is not a valid solution.

KE9: Two Short Routes, One Blocked Square

Trace the blocked route

When neither route works

Connect with us