Daily Queens Puzzle — January 15, 2026

Thursday · 10×10 · Tricky · Hard · 19 deductions

10 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 10x10 board split into 10 colour regions, needing 10 queens: one per row, one per column, one per region, none touching. Regions run from 1 to 21 cells.

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

How this board is solved

Solving this 10x10 board takes 19 deductions and needs expert techniques, including testing a queen, drawing on 7 distinct techniques. The first queen you can place for certain is A1. The queens resolve in the order A1 → E7 → I4 → D3 → C5 → G8 → J6 → H2 → F10 → B9. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (19 deductions)

Single-cell region essential
Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A1.
Single-cell region essential
Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E7.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 9, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 9. Rules out I2, I5, I6, I8, I9, I10.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out I3.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I4.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use row 2, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 2. Rules out C2, D2, F2, G2.
Split-line region lock intermediate
Split-line region lock. 3 colours fit in only 3 columns, reserving them. This reasons over column 8 and column 10 and column 7. Rules out H9, H10, J9, J10, G3, G10.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 6, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 6. Rules out F3, F5.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D3.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out B5.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out G9.
Split-line region lock intermediate
Split-line region lock. 3 colours fit in only 3 rows, reserving them. This reasons over row 5 and row 6 and row 8. Rules out B8, C8.
Ruled out either way expert
Ruled out either way. These cells are ruled out no matter where this colour's queen goes. Rules out G5, G6, H8.
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 C5. This reasons over row 5.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Column 7 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G8. This reasons over column 7.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at J6.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H2.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F10.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B9.

Answer: queens at A1, E7, I4, D3, C5, G8, J6, H2, F10, B9.