Find the Cat #167: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)

medium

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

0 / 8 cats · 0:00
Red (14)Orange (6)Yellow (7)Green (15)Teal (10)Blue (1)Purple (6)Pink (5)

A 8x8 logic grid, 8 colors, 8 cats. Work out where each cat sits using nothing but the rules -- there is only one correct layout and no guessing is needed.

  • 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 Blue region has only one open square left: R1C2. Put a cat there.
  2. The Orange region has only one open square left: R2C6. Put a cat there.
  3. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R4C7. Put a cat there.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Pink region ends up, it rules out R7C5 and R8C3. Cross those squares out.
  5. Wherever the cat in row 3 ends up, it rules out R5C1. Cross that square out.
  6. Wherever the cat in row 5 ends up, it rules out R6C4. Cross that square out.
  7. Wherever the cat in column 5 ends up, it rules out R8C8. Cross that square out.
  8. Wherever the cat in column 8 ends up, it rules out R5C5 and R6C5. Cross those squares out.
  9. Column 5 has only one open square left: R8C5. Put a cat there.
  10. Wherever the cat in the Purple region ends up, it rules out R3C3 and R5C3. Cross those squares out.
  11. Row 5 has only one open square left: R5C4. Put a cat there.
  12. The Red region has only one open square left: R3C1. Put a cat there.
  13. The Purple region has only one open square left: R7C3. Put a cat there.
  14. The Green region has only one open square left: R6C8. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Blue region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Blue) to 15 squares. It can be solved in 14 deduction steps using "wherever it goes" eliminations.

Start with the region that is a single square -- its cat has nowhere else to go. Cross out that cat's whole row, column and neighbors, then move on to the next-smallest regions: with only a couple of squares each, they leave very little room.

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.

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