Daily Queens Puzzle — March 20, 2026

Friday · 11×11 · Hard · Medium · 20 deductions

11 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 11x11 board split into 11 colour regions, needing 11 queens: one per row, one per column, one per region, none touching. Regions run from 2 to 27 cells.

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

How this board is solved

Solving this 11x11 board takes 20 deductions and needs the intermediate group-lock techniques, drawing on 6 distinct techniques. It opens on column 5, ruling cells out before any queen goes down. The queens resolve in the order F8 → E6 → G4 → B5 → K7 → C3 → D1 → J2 → H9 → I11 → A10. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (20 deductions)

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, E2, E3, E4, E5, E8, E9, E10 and 1 more.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 6, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 6. Rules out F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F9, F10 and 1 more.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use row 3, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 3. Rules out A3, B3, G3, H3, I3, J3, K3.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 9, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 9. Rules out I1, I2, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I9.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out C2, D2, C4, D4.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out D6, D7, F7.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F8.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E6.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G4.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out H10, J10, H11, J11.
Two-region group lock intermediate
Two-region group lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 rows, reserving them. This reasons over row 1 and row 2. Rules out A1, B1, C1, A2, B2.
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 1. Rules out B7, B9, B10, B11, C5, C9, C10, C11 and 3 more.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Column 2 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B5. This reasons over column 2.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at K7.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Column 3 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C3. This reasons over column 3.
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 D1. This reasons over column 4.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at J2.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H9.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I11.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A10.

Answer: queens at F8, E6, G4, B5, K7, C3, D1, J2, H9, I11, A10.