Find the Cat #208: 10x10 Grid Puzzle (Hard)

hard

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

0 / 10 cats · 0:00
Red (7)Orange (14)Yellow (7)Green (12)Teal (17)Blue (11)Purple (8)Pink (11)Brown (1)Grey (12)

Every row, every column and every color region needs exactly one cat -- but no two cats may touch, not even diagonally. This puzzle is a 10x10 grid with 10 colored regions.

  • 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 Brown region has only one open square left: R2C9. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R6C10, R7C10, R8C10, R9C10 and R10C10. Cross those squares out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R9C7. Cross that square out.
  4. The Red and Orange regions can only use columns 7 and 8, so columns 7 and 8 are already spoken for. Cross out R1C7, R3C7, R4C7 and R5C7.
  5. The Blue region has only one open square left: R1C6. Put a cat there.
  6. Wherever the cat in the Pink region ends up, it rules out R4C4. Cross that square out.
  7. Wherever the cat in the Grey region ends up, it rules out R4C2. Cross that square out.
  8. The Yellow, Pink and Grey regions can only use rows 3, 4 and 5, so rows 3, 4 and 5 are already spoken for. Cross out R3C3, R3C4, R4C3, R4C8, R5C1, R5C2 and 1 more.
  9. The Purple region has only one open square left: R6C2. Put a cat there.
  10. The Red region has only one open square left: R7C8. Put a cat there.
  11. The Orange region has only one open square left: R10C7. Put a cat there.
  12. Wherever the cat in the Green region ends up, it rules out R8C4, R8C5, R9C1 and R9C3. Cross those squares out.
  13. Column 3 has only one open square left: R8C3. Put a cat there.
  14. The Green region has only one open square left: R9C5. Put a cat there.
  15. The Pink region has only one open square left: R5C4. Put a cat there.
  16. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R4C10. Put a cat there.
  17. The Grey region has only one open square left: R3C1. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Brown region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 10 color regions range from 1 square (Brown) to 17 squares. It can be solved in 17 deduction steps using grouped row/column/region deductions.

Look for a color that sits entirely inside one row or one column. Its cat must be in that line, so every other square in that line can be crossed out.

When you fill the last cat, press Check Answer -- the grid is verified against the stored solution and any broken rule is named so you know where to look.

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