Find the Cat #196: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)
mediumTap a square: ✕ (ruled out) → 🐱 (cat) → clear
Can you place all 8 cats? One per row, one per column, one per color -- and keep them at least one square apart in every direction.
- One cat in every row and every column.
- One cat in every color region.
- Cats can’t touch — not even diagonally.
Step-by-step solution
Squares are written as R<row>C<column>, counting from the top-left. Cross out the squares listed, and place a cat wherever a step says so.
- The Pink region has only one open square left: R7C2. Put a cat there.
- Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R8C4 and R8C8. Cross those squares out.
- Wherever the cat in the Blue region ends up, it rules out R1C7, R2C7, R3C7, R4C7, R5C6, R5C8 and 3 more. Cross those squares out.
- Wherever the cat in the Green region ends up, it rules out R1C5, R2C5, R3C5, R4C5, R5C4, R6C4 and 1 more. Cross those squares out.
- The Teal region has only one open square left: R8C6. Put a cat there.
- The Purple region has only one open square left: R4C8. Put a cat there.
- The Blue region has only one open square left: R6C7. Put a cat there.
- The Green region has only one open square left: R5C5. Put a cat there.
- The Orange region has only one open square left: R3C3. Put a cat there.
- The Yellow region has only one open square left: R1C4. Put a cat there.
- The Red region has only one open square left: R2C1. Put a cat there.
About this puzzle
Where to start: the Pink region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Pink) to 14 squares. It can be solved in 11 deduction steps using "wherever it goes" eliminations.
A useful habit is to mark squares you have ruled out. Tap a square once for a cross and twice for a cat -- crosses cost nothing and make later deductions much easier to spot.
This is a variation of the Star Battle family of grid puzzles, sometimes also called Queens-style puzzles, with cats in place of stars.