Queens Grid

Daily Queens Puzzle — August 28, 2026

Friday · 12×12 · Hard · Medium · 16 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 28 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 12x12 board takes 16 deductions and needs the intermediate group-lock techniques, drawing on 7 distinct techniques. The first queen you can place for certain is C12. The queens resolve in the order C12 → E9 → F1 → G11 → K10 → H2 → A3 → D4 → J8 → I6 → L5 → B7. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (16 deductions)
  1. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C12.

  2. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out G10.

  3. Two-region group lock intermediate

    Two-region group lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 rows, reserving them. This reasons over row 10 and row 11. Rules out A10, B10, D10, E10, F10, I10, J10, L10 and 3 more.

  4. Split-line colour lock intermediate

    Split-line colour lock. 3 columns can only be filled by 3 colours, using them up. This reasons over column 1 and column 2 and column 4. Rules out E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, E7, E8 and 10 more.

  5. Last cell in a line essential

    Last cell in a line. Column 5 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E9. This reasons over column 5.

  6. 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 F1. This reasons over column 6.

  7. 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 G11. This reasons over column 7.

  8. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at K10.

  9. Last cell in a line essential

    Last cell in a line. Column 8 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H2. This reasons over column 8.

  10. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A3.

  11. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D4.

  12. Region line lock essential

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

  13. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at J8.

  14. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I6.

  15. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at L5.

  16. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B7.

Answer: queens at C12, E9, F1, G11, K10, H2, A3, D4, J8, I6, L5, B7.