Queens Grid

Daily Queens Puzzle — February 17, 2026

Tuesday · 9×9 · Easy · Medium · 17 deductions

9 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 9x9 board split into 9 colour regions, needing 9 queens: one per row, one per column, one per region, none touching. Regions run from 1 to 20 cells.

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

How this board is solved

Solving this 9x9 board takes 17 deductions and needs the intermediate group-lock techniques, drawing on 6 distinct techniques. The first queen you can place for certain is B9. The queens resolve in the order B9 → F8 → A4 → H7 → G5 → C6 → E3 → D1 → I2. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (17 deductions)
  1. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B9.

  2. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F8.

  3. 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.

  4. Line uses one region intermediate

    Line uses one region. 1 columns can only be filled by 1 colours, using them up. This reasons over column 9. Rules out G1, G2, H1, H2, H3, H4.

  5. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out D6.

  6. Two-region group lock intermediate

    Two-region group lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 rows, reserving them. This reasons over row 6 and row 7. Rules out A6, E6, I6, A7, I7.

  7. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use row 5, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 5. Rules out A5, C5, D5, E5, I5.

  8. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A4.

  9. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out G6, H6.

  10. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H7.

  11. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G5.

  12. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C6.

  13. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use column 5, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 5. Rules out E1.

  14. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out E2.

  15. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E3.

  16. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D1.

  17. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I2.

Answer: queens at B9, F8, A4, H7, G5, C6, E3, D1, I2.