Karnaugh

Cover every 1 on the map using as few groups as you can. A group is a block of 1, 2, 4 or 8 cells, and the edges wrap around. Don't-care cells (x) are free to fold in if they let you make a bigger block. Reach par, the true minimum, to solve today's chip. This is Boolean minimization, the same skill behind Logic Golf.

How it works

A Karnaugh map lays out a truth table so that neighbouring cells differ in a single variable. That means any block of adjacent 1s (in powers of two, wrapping around the edges) collapses to one product term. Grab the biggest blocks you can, lean on the don't-cares, and cover every 1 in the fewest terms. That minimal cover is exactly what a synthesizer computes for you, and what you race it for in Logic Golf.

More at Logic Games, or learn the theory in the hands-on course.