Daily Queens Puzzle — July 10, 2026

Friday · 11×11 · Hard · Medium · 19 deductions

11 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 11x11 board split into 11 colour regions, needing 11 queens: one per row, one per column, one per region, none touching. Regions run from 2 to 40 cells.

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

How this board is solved

Solving this 11x11 board takes 19 deductions and needs the intermediate group-lock techniques, drawing on 7 distinct techniques. It opens on column 1, ruling cells out before any queen goes down. The queens resolve in the order B1 → A3 → J9 → G8 → C7 → D5 → H4 → K6 → I11 → F2 → E10. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (19 deductions)

Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 1, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 1. Rules out A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, A10, A11.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 2, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 2. Rules out B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9, B10 and 1 more.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 11, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 11. Rules out K1, K2, K3, K7, K8, K9, K10, K11.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out B2.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B1.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A3.
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 C8, C9, C10, C11, D4, D7, D8, D9 and 14 more.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out J5.
Two-region group lock intermediate
Two-region group lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 columns, reserving them. This reasons over column 3 and column 4. Rules out D2.
Lines use the same regions intermediate
Lines use the same regions. 2 rows can only be filled by 2 colours, using them up. This reasons over row 10 and row 11. Rules out E2, E4, E5, E6, E7, E8, E9.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Row 9 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at J9. This reasons over row 9.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Row 8 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G8. This reasons over row 8.
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 C7. This reasons over row 7.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D5.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H4.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at K6.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I11.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F2.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E10.

Answer: queens at B1, A3, J9, G8, C7, D5, H4, K6, I11, F2, E10.