Queens Grid

Daily Queens Puzzle — October 23, 2026

Friday · 12×12 · Hard · Medium · 19 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: 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 19 deductions and needs the intermediate group-lock techniques, drawing on 5 distinct techniques. The first queen you can place for certain is C5. The queens resolve in the order C5 → J6 → K10 → L1 → D12 → E7 → F2 → I3 → A4 → G9 → B8 → H11. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (19 deductions)
  1. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C5.

  2. Single-cell region essential

    Single-cell region. This colour covers only one cell, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at J6.

  3. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use row 1, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 1. Rules out A1, B1, D1, E1, F1, G1, H1, I1.

  4. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use row 7, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 7. Rules out A7, B7, F7, G7, H7, L7.

  5. Region line lock essential

    Region line lock. This colour must use row 12, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 12. Rules out A12, E12, F12, G12, H12, I12, K12, L12.

  6. Forced queen essential

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

  7. Forced queen essential

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

  8. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out H3.

  9. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

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

  10. Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate

    Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out D8, E8.

  11. Two-region group lock intermediate

    Two-region group lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 columns, reserving them. This reasons over column 1 and column 2. Rules out A11, B2, B11, B12.

  12. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D12.

  13. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E7.

  14. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F2.

  15. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I3.

  16. Forced queen essential

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

  17. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G9.

  18. Forced queen essential

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

  19. Forced queen essential

    Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H11.

Answer: queens at C5, J6, K10, L1, D12, E7, F2, I3, A4, G9, B8, H11.