Queens Grid

Daily Queens Puzzle — June 20, 2026

Saturday · 12×12 · Tough · Medium · 22 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 39 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 22 deductions and needs the intermediate group-lock techniques, drawing on 8 distinct techniques. The first queen you can place for certain is A6. The queens resolve in the order A6 → C11 → B4 → H5 → G2 → F10 → K9 → J3 → L1 → D7 → I8 → E12. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (22 deductions)
  1. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A6.

  2. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C11.

  3. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use column 2, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 2. Rules out B2, B8, B9.

  4. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use column 12, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 12. Rules out L4, L5, L7, L8, L9, L10, L12.

  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 12. Rules out D8, D9, E9, E10.

  6. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out G1.

  7. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out J2.

  8. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out K2.

  9. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out J9.

  10. Two-region group lock intermediate

    Two-region group lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 columns, reserving them. This reasons over column 11 and column 10. Rules out K4, K5, K7, K8, K12, J1, J4, J5 and 3 more.

  11. Two-region group lock intermediate

    Two-region group lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 rows, reserving them. This reasons over row 9 and row 10. Rules out F9, I9, H10, I10.

  12. Multi-region group lock intermediate

    Multi-region group lock. 3 colours fit in only 3 rows, reserving them. This reasons over row 1 and row 2 and row 3. Rules out B1, D1, E1, F1, I1, D2, E2, F2 and 8 more.

  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 H5.

  15. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G2.

  16. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F10.

  17. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at K9.

  18. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at J3.

  19. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at L1.

  20. Last cell in a line essential

    Last cell in a line. Column 4 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D7. This reasons over column 4.

  21. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I8.

  22. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E12.

Answer: queens at A6, C11, B4, H5, G2, F10, K9, J3, L1, D7, I8, E12.