To play Pentominoes, you should select a board from the “Board” menu.  There are over 90 boards to choose from, but don’t panic.  Your first time around, try the Basic rectangles/8 x 8 board.  This board is easier than all the others because it has 64 spaces to fit your 12 pieces into — that’s 4 more than you need!  You can leave the 4 blank spaces anywhere you like and still win.

As you become more experienced, you should try some of the harder boards, especially those in the All shapes and sizes group.  Personally, I find the 6 x 15 staircase and 7 x 11 mesh very challenging, but I can’t tell you which boards are absolutely the most difficult; experience has taught me that no two people agree on the matter.  Have fun figuring it out for yourself.

Every board has more than one solution, so don’t give up on a board just because you’ve solved it once.