Queens Grid

Daily Queens Puzzle — July 2, 2026

Thursday · 10×10 · Tricky · Medium · 22 deductions

10 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 10x10 board split into 10 colour regions, needing 10 queens: one per row, one per column, one per region, none touching. Regions run from 2 to 21 cells.

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

How this board is solved

Solving this 10x10 board takes 22 deductions and needs the intermediate group-lock techniques, drawing on 7 distinct techniques. It opens on row 5, ruling cells out before any queen goes down. The queens resolve in the order D7 → F5 → E3 → A4 → G1 → J2 → C10 → H6 → B8 → I9. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (22 deductions)
  1. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use row 5, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 5. Rules out A5, B5, C5, D5, E5, H5, I5, J5.

  2. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out G2.

  3. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out I2.

  4. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out F4, G4, F6, G6.

  5. Two-region group lock intermediate

    Two-region group lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 rows, reserving them. This reasons over row 1 and row 2. Rules out A1, B1, C1, D1, E1, F1, A2, B2 and 4 more.

  6. Two-region group lock intermediate

    Two-region group lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 rows, reserving them. This reasons over row 3 and row 4. Rules out H3, I3, J3, B4, C4, D4, H4, I4 and 1 more.

  7. Lines use the same regions intermediate

    Lines use the same regions. 3 columns can only be filled by 3 colours, using them up. This reasons over column 1 and column 2 and column 3. Rules out D3, D6, D8, D9, D10, E10, F10, G10.

  8. 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.

  9. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use row 10, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 10. Rules out H10, I10, J10.

  10. 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 5. Rules out F3, G3.

  11. Last cell in a line essential

    Last cell in a line. Column 6 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F5. This reasons over column 6.

  12. Forced queen essential

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

  13. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A4.

  14. Last cell in a line essential

    Last cell in a line. Column 7 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G1. This reasons over column 7.

  15. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at J2.

  16. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use column 9, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 9. Rules out I6.

  17. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out B9, C9.

  18. Last cell in a line essential

    Last cell in a line. Column 3 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C10. This reasons over column 3.

  19. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out H8, H9.

  20. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H6.

  21. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B8.

  22. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I9.

Answer: queens at D7, F5, E3, A4, G1, J2, C10, H6, B8, I9.