Daily Queens Puzzle — May 23, 2026

Saturday · 12×12 · Tough · Medium · 20 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 29 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 20 deductions and needs the intermediate group-lock techniques, drawing on 6 distinct techniques. The first queen you can place for certain is K3. The queens resolve in the order K3 → H12 → I10 → J8 → G9 → B7 → C11 → D4 → A2 → E6 → F1 → L5. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (20 deductions)

Single-cell region essential
Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at K3.
Single-cell region essential
Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H12.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 1, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 1. Rules out A1, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, A10, A11.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 7, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 7. Rules out G1, G2, G4, G5, G6, G7, G10.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use row 11, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 11. Rules out D11, E11, F11, J11, L11.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use row 10, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 10. Rules out B10, C10, D10, F10, J10, L10.
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 12. Rules out I1, J1, J5, J6, J7.
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 10. Rules out F6, F7, 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 F8, F9.
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 6. Rules out B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, E1, E2 and 3 more.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Column 9 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I10. This reasons over column 9.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at J8.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G9.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B7.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C11.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D4.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A2.
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 F1.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at L5.

Answer: queens at K3, H12, I10, J8, G9, B7, C11, D4, A2, E6, F1, L5.