Purple must win! Each grid must be divided into districts. To create a district, click & drag across squares. Each grid requires a specific number of districts of a specific size (as stated at the top). A district must be a single connected group of squares. (Diagonal connections do not count.) Purple (which is always in the minority by overall voter numbers) must end up winning the most districts. When a district is the correct size, it will be colour-coded to show who has won it (by having the most voters within the district). You can extend a district that is too small by clicking and dragging from inside it. If a district is too big, you can extend another district into it, to reduce its size. Clicking a square that is not already in a district will start a new district, unless you already have the required number. Restart the level if necessary.
These puzzles were created by Deckard (@deckardv on YouTube) and published recently by Alex Bellos as his Monday puzzle in The Guardian. Thanks to them both. Gerrymandering is the practice of redrawing the boundaries of political districts to favour a political party. The word is a mash-up of Gerry + Salamander. Gerry was a 19th-century governor of Massachusetts, where an electoral district was created in the shape of a salamander (a lizard). These puzzles illustrate how potentially unfair the practice is. Purple is always in the minority but can always win the most districts, if the boundary lines are deliberately drawn to favour purple. The practice is currently a hot topic in the US. Texas recently passed a 'redistricting' measure favouring Republicans. California is retaliating with similar measures favouring Democrats.
