Find the Cat #115: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)

medium

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

0 / 8 cats · 0:00
Red (6)Orange (11)Yellow (10)Green (12)Teal (6)Blue (13)Purple (1)Pink (5)

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 Purple region has only one open square left: R1C6. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R3C3, R3C5, R5C4, R6C4, R7C4 and R8C4. Cross those squares out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R3C2. Cross that square out.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R3C7, R5C8, R6C8, R7C8 and R8C8. Cross those squares out.
  5. Wherever the cat in the Pink region ends up, it rules out R4C4, R6C5, R7C5 and R8C5. Cross those squares out.
  6. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R2C3. Cross that square out.
  7. Wherever the cat in the Green region ends up, it rules out R7C7 and R8C7. Cross those squares out.
  8. Wherever the cat in the Blue region ends up, it rules out R7C2. Cross that square out.
  9. Wherever the cat in row 7 ends up, it rules out R4C3, R5C3, R6C2, R8C1 and R8C2. Cross those squares out.
  10. Row 8 has only one open square left: R8C3. Put a cat there.
  11. Row 7 has only one open square left: R7C1. Put a cat there.
  12. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R2C2. Put a cat there.
  13. The Red region has only one open square left: R3C4. Put a cat there.
  14. The Teal region has only one open square left: R4C8. Put a cat there.
  15. The Green region has only one open square left: R6C7. Put a cat there.
  16. The Pink region has only one open square left: R5C5. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Purple region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Purple) to 13 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.

This is a variation of the Star Battle family of grid puzzles, sometimes also called Queens-style puzzles, with cats in place of stars.

More medium puzzles