Queens Grid

Daily Queens Puzzle — February 16, 2026

Monday · 7×7 · Gentle · Hard · 15 deductions

7 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 7x7 board split into 7 colour regions, needing 7 queens: one per row, one per column, one per region, none touching. Regions run from 2 to 13 cells.

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

How this board is solved

Solving this 7x7 board takes 15 deductions and needs expert techniques, including testing a queen, drawing on 7 distinct techniques. It opens on row 2, ruling cells out before any queen goes down. The queens resolve in the order A2 → C1 → E5 → D3 → G4 → F7 → B6. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (15 deductions)
  1. 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, E2, F2, G2.

  2. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use row 1, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 1. Rules out D1, E1, F1, G1.

  3. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use column 5, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 5. Rules out E3, E6, E7.

  4. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out B2.

  5. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A2.

  6. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C1.

  7. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out D4, F4, D5, F5.

  8. Split-line region lock intermediate

    Split-line region lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 columns, reserving them. This reasons over column 4 and column 2. Rules out D7.

  9. Multi-region group lock intermediate

    Multi-region group lock. 3 colours fit in only 3 rows, reserving them. This reasons over row 3 and row 4 and row 5. Rules out B5.

  10. Ruled out either way expert

    Ruled out either way. These cells are ruled out no matter where this colour's queen goes. Rules out E4.

  11. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E5.

  12. Last cell in a line essential

    Last cell in a line. Column 4 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D3. This reasons over column 4.

  13. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G4.

  14. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F7.

  15. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B6.

Answer: queens at A2, C1, E5, D3, G4, F7, B6.