Find the Cat #72: 6x6 Grid Puzzle (Easy)
easyTap a square: ✕ (ruled out) → 🐱 (cat) → clear
A 6x6 logic grid, 6 colors, 6 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.
- The Blue region has only one open square left: R1C1. Put a cat there.
- Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R2C5, R2C6, R3C3 and R3C4. Cross those squares out.
- Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R2C3, R4C2 and R5C2. Cross those squares out.
- The Red region has only one open square left: R2C4. Put a cat there.
- Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R5C6. Cross that square out.
- Wherever the cat in the Green region ends up, it rules out R5C3, R6C5 and R6C6. Cross those squares out.
- The Teal region has only one open square left: R5C5. Put a cat there.
- The Yellow region has only one open square left: R3C6. Put a cat there.
- The Orange region has only one open square left: R4C3. Put a cat there.
- The Green region has only one open square left: R6C2. 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 8 squares. It can be solved in 10 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.
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.