Find the Cat #189: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)

medium

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

0 / 8 cats · 0:00
Red (11)Orange (1)Yellow (5)Green (14)Teal (7)Blue (10)Purple (8)Pink (8)

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 Orange region has only one open square left: R8C6. Put a cat there.
  2. The Purple region has only one open square left: R7C4. Put a cat there.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R4C2, R5C1 and R5C2. Cross those squares out.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Pink region ends up, it rules out R1C5, R2C5 and R3C5. Cross those squares out.
  5. Wherever the cat in column 1 ends up, it rules out R1C2, R1C3, R2C2, R2C3 and R3C2. Cross those squares out.
  6. Column 2 has only one open square left: R6C2. Put a cat there.
  7. Wherever the cat in the Blue region ends up, it rules out R4C7, R4C8 and R5C5. Cross those squares out.
  8. The Pink region has only one open square left: R4C5. Put a cat there.
  9. Column 3 has only one open square left: R3C3. Put a cat there.
  10. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R2C8. Put a cat there.
  11. The Green region has only one open square left: R1C1. Put a cat there.
  12. The Blue region has only one open square left: R5C7. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Orange region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Orange) to 14 squares. It can be solved in 12 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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