Map Painter is a map colouring puzzle, a hands-on take on graph colouring. An invented island is split into regions. Pick one of three paints, coral, teal or gold, then tap a region to paint it; keys 1 to 3 choose the paint too. Regions that share a border may not share a paint, though a touch at a single corner is fine. Pinned regions come already painted. Each paint also carries a shape, a circle, triangle or square, so the map reads without colour.
Every map has exactly one answer, so each stroke can be a deduction, not a guess. A paint that clashes with a neighbour is refused, and the clashing region flashes. Tap a region again with the same paint, or use the eraser, to clear it, and undo steps back. A blank region surrounded by all three paints shows a cross: something earlier went wrong.
Par is the number of regions you need to paint. Every paint or erase counts, so painting each region once, with no fixes, earns three stars, and up to two extra strokes earns two. The hint points out a wrong paint first; otherwise it outlines the next region you can deduce and explains why. Using one caps the map at two stars. Sixty maps run from First Coasts to Grand Atlas, with a daily map.
Worked example
Regions B and C touch each other. Region A borders both of them, and so does region D, on the far side. B and C must take two different paints, so A has to take the third, and D has to take that same third paint. A and D match without touching, and if A is pinned gold, D is gold too.
Strategy tips
Start from the pins. A region beside two different paints has only one choice left.
Hunt for touching pairs. Any two regions bordering the same touching pair must match, and those matches chain across the island.