Find the Cat #245: 10x10 Grid Puzzle (Hard)

hard

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

0 / 10 cats · 0:00
Red (8)Orange (16)Yellow (15)Green (9)Teal (9)Blue (11)Purple (1)Pink (14)Brown (9)Grey (8)

Find the 10 hidden cats. Each row, each column and each colored region holds exactly one, and cats never sit on neighboring squares, diagonals included.

  • 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 Purple region has only one open square left: R5C1. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R2C3. Cross that square out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Brown region ends up, it rules out R7C5. Cross that square out.
  4. The Red, Orange and Green regions can only use columns 2, 3 and 4, so columns 2, 3 and 4 are already spoken for. Cross out R2C4, R6C4, R7C2, R7C3 and R7C4.
  5. The Brown region has only one open square left: R4C5. Put a cat there.
  6. Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R3C10. Cross that square out.
  7. Wherever the cat in the Grey region ends up, it rules out R2C7. Cross that square out.
  8. Wherever the cat in row 7 ends up, it rules out R6C9. Cross that square out.
  9. The Red and Grey regions can only use rows 1 and 2, so rows 1 and 2 are already spoken for. Cross out R1C8, R1C9, R1C10, R2C8, R2C9 and R2C10.
  10. The Blue region has only one open square left: R3C7. Put a cat there.
  11. The Orange region has only one open square left: R6C3. Put a cat there.
  12. The Grey region has only one open square left: R1C6. Put a cat there.
  13. The Red region has only one open square left: R2C2. Put a cat there.
  14. The Pink region has only one open square left: R7C8. Put a cat there.
  15. The Teal region has only one open square left: R8C10. Put a cat there.
  16. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R10C9. Put a cat there.
  17. The Green region has only one open square left: R9C4. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Purple region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 10 color regions range from 1 square (Purple) to 16 squares. It can be solved in 17 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.

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