Queens Grid

Daily Queens Puzzle — May 9, 2026

Saturday · 12×12 · Tough · Hard · 14 deductions

12 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 12x12 board split into 12 colour regions, needing 12 queens: one per row, one per column, one per region, none touching. Regions run from 1 to 28 cells.

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

How this board is solved

Solving this 12x12 board takes 14 deductions and needs expert techniques, including testing a queen, drawing on 5 distinct techniques. The first queen you can place for certain is A3. The queens resolve in the order A3 → H6 → E10 → I11 → L12 → B9 → C2 → K8 → F7 → G1 → D4 → J5. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (14 deductions)
  1. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A3.

  2. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H6.

  3. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E10.

  4. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I11.

  5. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at L12.

  6. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B9.

  7. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C2.

  8. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at K8.

  9. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use row 1, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 1. Rules out J1.

  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 F5, D7.

  11. Last cell in a line essential

    Last cell in a line. Row 7 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F7. This reasons over row 7.

  12. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G1.

  13. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D4.

  14. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at J5.

Answer: queens at A3, H6, E10, I11, L12, B9, C2, K8, F7, G1, D4, J5.