Gameplay guide
Crystal Survey
Treat numbers as constraints
Crystal Survey offers twenty crystal maps built around deductions, marked traps and limited sonar. A revealed number describes neighbouring traps, including diagonal neighbours. It is information about the surrounding cells, not a suggestion to click that many unknown squares. Start by reading one clue and counting what is already known around it. A flag records your conclusion; it does not itself prove the square is dangerous.
Two deductions are especially useful. If a clue already has all its traps correctly marked, the other adjacent unknown cells are safe. If its remaining trap count equals the number of adjacent unknown cells, all those cells must be traps. Check the arithmetic again after revealing or marking a square. An incorrect early flag can make several later clues appear consistent while the whole region is wrong.
Use sonar to answer a question
Sonar charges are limited, so avoid spending one merely because a region looks large. First compare the overlapping clues along the edge of the known area. Work out which unresolved cells actually separate two possible deductions, then use the available sonar to gain information about that uncertainty. The purpose is to turn a guess into a reasoned next move, not to reveal the most visually interesting part of the board.
When stuck, revisit the smallest frontier rather than scanning the whole map at random. Read one clue, its adjacent marked traps and its remaining unknowns; then compare a second clue that shares those unknowns. Marking an imagined pattern too quickly is a common source of failure. A new map should be approached from its visible evidence, even if its outline resembles a map you completed earlier.
What progression measures
The campaign has twenty maps. Completing a board means applying its actual conditions, not racing an arbitrary session timer from this guide. No reliable minutes-per-map figure is published: thinking time differs substantially between players and between later layouts. You can practice by explaining why a square is safe before revealing it, and by distinguishing confirmed marks from an unsupported hunch.
The portal game page and the game controls are separate. Let the game receive focus before using its inputs, and use the displayed reveal/mark controls rather than assuming a browser right-click menu is a game action. If input stops responding, exit expanded view and retry before clearing browser data. A useful bug report includes the map, clue numbers, marked neighbours and the action that contradicted the rule.
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