Daily Queens Puzzle — April 17, 2026

Friday · 11×11 · Hard · Medium · 21 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 39 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 21 deductions and needs the intermediate group-lock techniques, drawing on 7 distinct techniques. The first queen you can place for certain is F1. The queens resolve in the order F1 → K11 → B2 → H6 → I3 → A4 → J5 → C8 → E7 → D10 → G9. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (21 deductions)

Single-cell region essential
Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F1.
Single-cell region essential
Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at K11.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B2.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 1, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 1. Rules out A6, A7, A8, A9, A10.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out J4.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out D9.
Two-region group lock intermediate
Two-region group lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 columns, reserving them. This reasons over column 9 and column 10. Rules out I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, J6, J7, J9.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 8, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 8. Rules out H7, H8, H9, H10.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 7, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 7. Rules out G3, G4, G5, G6, G7, G8.
Line uses one region intermediate
Line uses one region. 1 rows can only be filled by 1 colours, using them up. This reasons over row 7. Rules out D3, E3, C4, D4, E4, C5, D5, E5 and 4 more.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Row 6 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H6. This reasons over row 6.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 10, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 10. Rules out J3.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Row 3 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I3. This reasons over row 3.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Row 4 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A4. This reasons over row 4.
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 J5. This reasons over row 5.
Line uses one region intermediate
Line uses one region. 1 rows can only be filled by 1 colours, using them up. This reasons over row 8. Rules out C9.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out D8.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C8.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E7.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D10.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G9.

Answer: queens at F1, K11, B2, H6, I3, A4, J5, C8, E7, D10, G9.