Find the Cat #197: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)

medium

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

0 / 8 cats · 0:00
Red (9)Orange (14)Yellow (3)Green (13)Teal (1)Blue (7)Purple (10)Pink (7)

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 Teal region has only one open square left: R4C1. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R2C2, R5C3, R6C3 and R7C3. Cross those squares out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R1C5 and R2C7. Cross those squares out.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Blue region ends up, it rules out R1C7 and R3C8. Cross those squares out.
  5. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R2C5, R3C6, R5C6, R6C6, R7C6 and R8C6. Cross those squares out.
  6. Wherever the cat in row 5 ends up, it rules out R6C5, R6C8, R7C5, R7C7 and R7C8. Cross those squares out.
  7. Wherever the cat in row 7 ends up, it rules out R6C4, R8C2, R8C3 and R8C4. Cross those squares out.
  8. Wherever the cat in row 8 ends up, it rules out R6C7. Cross that square out.
  9. Row 6 has only one open square left: R6C2. Put a cat there.
  10. The Purple region has only one open square left: R7C4. Put a cat there.
  11. Wherever the cat in row 3 ends up, it rules out R2C6. Cross that square out.
  12. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R1C6. Put a cat there.
  13. Column 3 has only one open square left: R2C3. Put a cat there.
  14. The Blue region has only one open square left: R3C7. Put a cat there.
  15. The Pink region has only one open square left: R8C8. Put a cat there.
  16. The Green region has only one open square left: R5C5. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Teal region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Teal) to 14 squares. It can be solved in 16 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.

More medium puzzles