Find the Cat #231: 10x10 Grid Puzzle (Hard)

hard

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

0 / 10 cats · 0:00
Red (13)Orange (1)Yellow (20)Green (5)Teal (6)Blue (2)Purple (16)Pink (20)Brown (12)Grey (5)

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 Orange region has only one open square left: R5C7. Put a cat there.
  2. The Grey region has only one open square left: R9C8. Put a cat there.
  3. The Blue region has only one open square left: R8C1. Put a cat there.
  4. The Teal region has only one open square left: R4C2. Put a cat there.
  5. Wherever the cat in the Green region ends up, it rules out R2C5. Cross that square out.
  6. Wherever the cat in the Brown region ends up, it rules out R2C9. Cross that square out.
  7. The Green and Brown regions can only use rows 1 and 2, so rows 1 and 2 are already spoken for. Cross out R1C3, R1C4, R2C3 and R2C4.
  8. The Yellow and Brown regions can only use columns 9 and 10, so columns 9 and 10 are already spoken for. Cross out R6C9.
  9. The Red and Purple regions can only use rows 7 and 10, so rows 7 and 10 are already spoken for. Cross out R7C4, R7C9, R7C10 and R10C10.
  10. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R2C10. Cross that square out.
  11. Row 2 has only one open square left: R2C6. Put a cat there.
  12. The Red region has only one open square left: R10C5. Put a cat there.
  13. The Purple region has only one open square left: R7C3. Put a cat there.
  14. The Pink region has only one open square left: R3C4. Put a cat there.
  15. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R6C10. Put a cat there.
  16. The Brown region has only one open square left: R1C9. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Orange region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 10 color regions range from 1 square (Orange) to 20 squares. It can be solved in 16 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.

Stuck? Open the step-by-step solution below -- each step names the row, column or color involved, so you can use it as a hint and then finish the puzzle yourself.

More hard puzzles