Queens Grid

Daily Queens Puzzle — May 13, 2026

Wednesday · 9×9 · Steady · Hard · 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 2 to 16 cells.

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

How this board is solved

Solving this 9x9 board takes 17 deductions and needs expert techniques, including testing a queen, drawing on 7 distinct techniques. It opens on column 4, ruling cells out before any queen goes down. The queens resolve in the order H6 → E3 → D1 → I2 → B4 → F5 → G9 → A7 → C8. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (17 deductions)
  1. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use column 4, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 4. Rules out D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8, D9.

  2. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use column 5, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 5. Rules out E5, E6, E7, E8, E9.

  3. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use row 8, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 8. Rules out A8, B8, I8.

  4. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out C1, E1, C2, E2.

  5. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out F3, F4.

  6. Split-line colour lock intermediate

    Split-line colour lock. 2 rows can only be filled by 2 colours, using them up. This reasons over row 7 and row 9. Rules out A4, I4, A5, C5, G5, I5, A6, B6 and 4 more.

  7. 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.

  8. Lines use the same regions intermediate

    Lines use the same regions. 2 columns can only be filled by 2 colours, using them up. This reasons over column 1 and column 2. Rules out C3, C7, C9.

  9. Ruled out either way expert

    Ruled out either way. These cells are ruled out no matter where this colour's queen goes. Rules out E4, B5.

  10. Forced queen essential

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

  11. Forced queen essential

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

  12. Forced queen essential

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

  13. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B4.

  14. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F5.

  15. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G9.

  16. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A7.

  17. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C8.

Answer: queens at H6, E3, D1, I2, B4, F5, G9, A7, C8.