Daily Queens Puzzle — October 30, 2026

Friday · 11×11 · Hard · Hard · 26 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 22 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 26 deductions and needs expert techniques, including testing a queen, drawing on 8 distinct techniques. It opens on column 10, ruling cells out before any queen goes down. The queens resolve in the order G9 → H7 → K6 → F11 → A4 → I5 → C3 → E2 → J1 → D10 → B8. Every step follows by logic, so you never have to guess.

Techniques this board needs

Full solution, step by step (26 deductions)

Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use column 10, so nothing else can. This reasons over column 10. Rules out J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8, J9, J10 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, K4, K5, K11.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out I1, I2.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out I7.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out C9.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out H8.
Multi-region group lock intermediate
Multi-region group lock. 3 colours fit in only 3 columns, reserving them. This reasons over column 8 and column 7 and column 9. Rules out H2, H4, H10, H11, G1, G2, G4, G5 and 6 more.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out E3.
Shared diagonal neighbour intermediate
Shared diagonal neighbour. Every remaining option for this colour touches these cells, so they are out. Rules out E10.
Ruled out either way expert
Ruled out either way. These cells are ruled out no matter where this colour's queen goes. Rules out I6, G8, H9.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at G9.
Region line lock essential
Region line lock. This colour must use row 11, so nothing else can. This reasons over row 11. Rules out A11, B11, C11, D11.
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 1. Rules out B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, C4, C5 and 4 more.
Split-line region lock intermediate
Split-line region lock. 2 colours fit in only 2 rows, reserving them. This reasons over row 8 and row 10. Rules out A8, I8, K8, A10, K10.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at H7.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at K6.
Multi-region group lock intermediate
Multi-region group lock. 3 colours fit in only 3 columns, reserving them. This reasons over column 4 and column 5 and column 6. Rules out D1, D3, D4, D8, E1, E4, E5, F1 and 1 more.
Ruled out either way expert
Ruled out either way. These cells are ruled out no matter where this colour's queen goes. Rules out E11.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at F11.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Row 4 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at A4. This reasons over row 4.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Row 5 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at I5. This reasons over row 5.
Last cell in a line essential
Last cell in a line. Row 3 has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at C3. This reasons over row 3.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at E2.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at J1.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at D10.
Forced queen essential
Forced queen. This colour has one legal cell left, so its queen goes there. Place a queen at B8.

Answer: queens at G9, H7, K6, F11, A4, I5, C3, E2, J1, D10, B8.