Queens Grid

Daily Queens Puzzle — January 3, 2026

Saturday · 12×12 · Tough · Medium · 19 deductions

12 queens left to place.

Tap once to rule a cell out, twice to place a queen. Right-click marks an exclusion directly. Arrow keys move between cells.

A 12x12 board split into 12 colour regions, needing 12 queens: one per row, one per column, one per region, none touching. Regions run from 2 to 33 cells.

The daily board is the same for everyone and gets harder as the week goes on: Saturday is set to tough. Every daily puzzle has one solution and needs no guessing.

How this board is solved

Solving this 12x12 board takes 19 deductions and needs the intermediate group-lock techniques, drawing on 6 distinct techniques. It opens on column 1, ruling cells out before any queen goes down. The queens resolve in the order J1 → A5 → B3 → D4 → C8 → E12 → F10 → L11 → I9 → H6 → G2 → K7. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (19 deductions)
  1. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use column 1, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 1. Rules out A1, A2, A3, A4, A9, A10, A11, A12.

  2. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use row 7, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 7. Rules out A7, B7, C7, D7, E7, F7, G7, H7 and 2 more.

  3. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out C9.

  4. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out K6, L6, K8, L8.

  5. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out K11.

  6. Two-region group lock intermediate

    Two-region group lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 columns, reserving them. This reasons over column 11 and column 12. Rules out K1, K2, K3, K4, K5, K9, K10, L1 and 6 more.

  7. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at J1.

  8. Lines use the same regions intermediate

    Lines use the same regions. 3 rows can only be filled by 3 colours, using them up. This reasons over row 2 and row 3 and row 4. Rules out B5, C5, D5, E5, F5, G5, H5, I5 and 6 more.

  9. Last cell in a line essential

    Last cell in a line. Row 5 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A5. This reasons over row 5.

  10. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B3.

  11. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D4.

  12. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C8.

  13. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E12.

  14. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F10.

  15. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at L11.

  16. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I9.

  17. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H6.

  18. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G2.

  19. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at K7.

Answer: queens at J1, A5, B3, D4, C8, E12, F10, L11, I9, H6, G2, K7.