Find the Cat #30: 6x6 Grid Puzzle (Easy)

easy

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

0 / 6 cats · 0:00
Red (5)Orange (11)Yellow (4)Green (8)Teal (7)Blue (1)

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 6x6 grid with 6 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 Blue region has only one open square left: R1C1. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R6C4. Cross that square out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R3C2, R4C2, R5C3 and R6C3. Cross those squares out.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R4C5. Cross that square out.
  5. Wherever the cat in the Green region ends up, it rules out R2C4 and R3C6. Cross those squares out.
  6. Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R5C5. Cross that square out.
  7. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R3C4 and R4C3. Cross those squares out.
  8. Wherever the cat in row 3 ends up, it rules out R4C4. Cross that square out.
  9. The Red region has only one open square left: R5C4. Put a cat there.
  10. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R6C2. Put a cat there.
  11. The Teal region has only one open square left: R4C6. Put a cat there.
  12. The Green region has only one open square left: R2C5. Put a cat there.
  13. The Orange region has only one open square left: R3C3. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Blue region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 6 color regions range from 1 square (Blue) to 11 squares. It can be solved in 13 deduction steps using "wherever it goes" eliminations.

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.

When you fill the last cat, press Check Answer -- the grid is verified against the stored solution and any broken rule is named so you know where to look.

More easy puzzles