Find the Cat #190: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)

medium

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

0 / 8 cats · 0:00
Red (6)Orange (13)Yellow (13)Green (5)Teal (8)Blue (8)Purple (10)Pink (1)

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 Pink region has only one open square left: R2C2. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R6C1, R7C1 and R8C1. Cross those squares out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Green region ends up, it rules out R1C4, R3C5, R4C3, R4C5, R5C4, R6C4 and 2 more. Cross those squares out.
  4. The Teal region has only one open square left: R5C3. Put a cat there.
  5. The Red region has only one open square left: R4C1. Put a cat there.
  6. The Green region has only one open square left: R3C4. Put a cat there.
  7. Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R6C8. Cross that square out.
  8. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R6C6. Cross that square out.
  9. Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R1C7 and R7C8. Cross those squares out.
  10. Wherever the cat in the Purple region ends up, it rules out R1C8. Cross that square out.
  11. The Orange region has only one open square left: R6C7. Put a cat there.
  12. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R7C5. Put a cat there.
  13. The Blue region has only one open square left: R8C8. Put a cat there.
  14. The Purple region has only one open square left: R1C6. 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 13 squares. It can be solved in 14 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.

Every puzzle on this site has exactly one solution that can be reached by pure deduction. If you find yourself guessing, look again for a region or line with only a few open squares left.

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