How many queens do I place?

Exactly as many as the board is wide. An 8x8 takes 8 queens.

Can queens touch diagonally?

No. This is the rule newcomers miss most. Two queens may not occupy adjacent cells in any direction.

Is this the N-Queens chess problem?

No. In N-Queens, queens attack along entire diagonals. Here they are forbidden only from touching, and there is the extra constraint of one queen per colour region.

Does a bigger grid mean a harder puzzle?

Usually, but not always. Difficulty comes from which deductions a board forces, so a tight 9x9 can be harder than a roomy 14x14. Boards here are rated by the techniques they actually require.

Do I need an account?

No. Progress is saved in your own browser. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to download.

How to Play Queens

Queens is a logic puzzle on a grid split into colour regions. It is the one-star form of the classic Star Battle puzzle, and the same game as the Queens puzzle on LinkedIn.

The rules

One queen in every row.
One queen in every column.
One queen in every colour region.
No two queens may touch, not even diagonally.

An N×N board takes exactly N queens. Two queens conflict if they share a row, a column or a region, or if they sit next to each other in any direction including diagonally.

Controls

Tap once to mark a cell as ruled out.
Tap again to place a queen.
Tap a third time to clear the cell.
Right-click to toggle a cross directly.
Arrow keys move between cells; Enter or Space acts.
Hint names the next deduction and explains why.

Try it on a gentle board

This is the easiest 7×7 in the catalogue. Start with the smallest region and work outward.

7 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 routine for your first board

Start with the smallest region.A one- or two-cell region almost places its own queen, and there is usually one on the board.
Cross out around every queen.A queen claims its row, its column, its region and the eight cells touching it. Mark all of them before looking for the next move.
Hunt for single cells.Any row, column or region with exactly one cell left gets a queen there. This is the move you will make most often.
Look for a region squeezed into one line.If every remaining cell of a region sits in the same row, that row belongs to it, so cross out everything else in the row. Nearly every board needs this at least once.
Ask what a queen would destroy.Stuck? Pick a cell and ask whether a queen there would leave some region with nowhere to go. If it would, that cell is out.

You never have to guess

All 15,333 boards here have been verified by an exhaustive solver: each has exactly one solution, and each can be finished by deduction alone. If you feel stuck, there is a deduction you have not spotted yet — the techniques page covers every one the hint button uses.

Common questions

How many queens do I place?: Exactly as many as the board is wide. An 8x8 takes 8 queens.
Can queens touch diagonally?: No. This is the rule newcomers miss most. Two queens may not occupy adjacent cells in any direction.
Is this the N-Queens chess problem?: No. In N-Queens, queens attack along entire diagonals. Here they are forbidden only from touching, and there is the extra constraint of one queen per colour region.
Does a bigger grid mean a harder puzzle?: Usually, but not always. Difficulty comes from which deductions a board forces, so a tight 9x9 can be harder than a roomy 14x14. Boards here are rated by the techniques they actually require.
Do I need an account?: No. Progress is saved in your own browser. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to download.

Boards are rated by the techniques they actually require, and the techniques page explains each one.