Find the Cat #193: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)

medium

Tap a square: ✕ (ruled out) → 🐱 (cat) → clear

0 / 8 cats · 0:00
Red (1)Orange (8)Yellow (10)Green (14)Teal (9)Blue (9)Purple (5)Pink (8)

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.

  1. The Red region has only one open square left: R1C5. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R3C8. Cross that square out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Purple region ends up, it rules out R7C7. Cross that square out.
  4. The Orange, Yellow, Teal and Blue regions can only use rows 2, 3, 4 and 5, so rows 2, 3, 4 and 5 are already spoken for. Cross out R5C3, R5C4 and R5C6.
  5. The Orange and Purple regions can only use columns 7 and 8, so columns 7 and 8 are already spoken for. Cross out R4C7, R4C8, R5C7 and R5C8.
  6. Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R3C7, R6C6, R7C6 and R8C6. Cross those squares out.
  7. The Pink region has only one open square left: R8C4. Put a cat there.
  8. Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R2C1, R2C2 and R2C3. Cross those squares out.
  9. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R4C2. Cross that square out.
  10. Wherever the cat in row 5 ends up, it rules out R3C3, R4C1, R4C3, R6C1 and R6C2. Cross those squares out.
  11. Row 4 has only one open square left: R4C6. Put a cat there.
  12. Column 3 has only one open square left: R6C3. Put a cat there.
  13. The Blue region has only one open square left: R5C1. Put a cat there.
  14. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R3C2. Put a cat there.
  15. The Purple region has only one open square left: R7C8. Put a cat there.
  16. The Orange region has only one open square left: R2C7. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Red region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Red) to 14 squares. It can be solved in 16 deduction steps using grouped row/column/region deductions.

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.

More medium puzzles