How to Solve Tango (Binary) Puzzles: A Complete Guide
Tango-style puzzles — including LinkedIn's Tango and our SunMoon — are "binary" logic puzzles: every cell is one of two symbols. They look minimal but reward a clear method. As with all good logic puzzles, no guessing is ever required.
The three rules
- No three in a row. You can never have three identical symbols adjacent, horizontally or vertically.
- Balance. Each row and each column contains an equal number of the two symbols.
- Clues. A = between two cells means they're the same; an ✕ means they differ.
Technique 1: Block the triple
Whenever you see two identical symbols side by side (say ☀️☀️), the cells immediately before and after the pair must be the opposite symbol — otherwise you'd create three in a row. This is the most common opening move on any board.
Technique 2: Fill the sandwich
A single empty cell between two identical symbols (☀️ _ ☀️) must be the opposite symbol. If you placed a third ☀️ there you'd have a run; so the middle is forced to 🌙.
Technique 3: Complete the count
On a 6×6 board, every line holds exactly three of each symbol. The moment a row or column already contains three of one symbol, every remaining cell in that line is the other symbol. Counting toward the balance is how the endgame collapses quickly.
Technique 4: Read the clues first
Before anything else, resolve what the = and ✕ clues let you chain. An ✕ between two cells means they're opposites, so the pair always contains one of each. A chain of = clues forces a run — and a run of three is illegal, so long chains immediately bound what's possible.
Technique 5: Avoid the forced triple at a distance
Sometimes a cell isn't next to a pair yet, but filling it one way would later force a triple once the balance rule kicks in. If choosing ☀️ in a cell would require three ☀️ in a row to satisfy the count, that cell must be 🌙. Looking one step ahead like this resolves the trickier boards.
A worked mini-example
Imagine a row that reads 🌙 _ _ ☀️ _ _ with three of each required. If the two
cells after the moon were both moons, you'd have three moons in a row — illegal — so at least
one of them is a sun. Combine that with any ✕ clue in the row and the whole line usually
resolves in a couple of steps.
Build the instinct
Binary puzzles are pattern recognition: block triples, fill sandwiches, count to the balance, obey the clues. The fastest way to internalize them is volume — play unlimited boards on SunMoon and watch how quickly the openings start to feel automatic.