Queens Grid

Daily Queens Puzzle — April 16, 2026

Thursday · 11×11 · Tricky · Medium · 15 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 1 to 23 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 11x11 board takes 15 deductions and needs the intermediate group-lock techniques, drawing on 7 distinct techniques. The first queen you can place for certain is K5. The queens resolve in the order K5 → B7 → D8 → E2 → C4 → G3 → F11 → H6 → I10 → J1 → A9. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (15 deductions)
  1. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at K5.

  2. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B7.

  3. Multi-region group lock intermediate

    Multi-region group lock. 3 colours fit in only 3 rows, reserving them. This reasons over row 9 and row 10 and row 11. Rules out C9, D9, E9, F9, G9, I9, J9, C10 and 1 more.

  4. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D8.

  5. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out F10.

  6. Split-line region lock intermediate

    Split-line region lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 columns, reserving them. This reasons over column 1 and column 3. Rules out A1, C1, C2, C3.

  7. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E2.

  8. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use row 11, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 11. Rules out A11, C11, H11, I11, J11.

  9. 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 C4. This reasons over column 3.

  10. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G3.

  11. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F11.

  12. Forced queen essential

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

  13. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I10.

  14. Forced queen essential

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

  15. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A9.

Answer: queens at K5, B7, D8, E2, C4, G3, F11, H6, I10, J1, A9.