Find the Cat #194: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)

medium

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

0 / 8 cats · 0:00
Red (1)Orange (12)Yellow (8)Green (2)Teal (7)Blue (13)Purple (12)Pink (9)

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 Red region has only one open square left: R6C5. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R8C2 and R8C3. Cross those squares out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Green region ends up, it rules out R1C1, R2C1, R3C1, R4C2, R5C2, R7C1 and 1 more. Cross those squares out.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R4C3. Cross that square out.
  5. Wherever the cat in the Purple region ends up, it rules out R7C3. Cross that square out.
  6. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R8C4. Put a cat there.
  7. Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R2C2, R2C3, R3C6, R3C7 and R3C8. Cross those squares out.
  8. Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R1C8. Cross that square out.
  9. Wherever the cat in row 2 ends up, it rules out R1C7, R4C6 and R4C7. Cross those squares out.
  10. Wherever the cat in column 6 ends up, it rules out R2C7. Cross that square out.
  11. Wherever the cat in column 7 ends up, it rules out R4C8, R5C8 and R7C8. Cross those squares out.
  12. Row 4 has only one open square left: R4C1. Put a cat there.
  13. The Teal region has only one open square left: R3C3. Put a cat there.
  14. The Purple region has only one open square left: R7C2. Put a cat there.
  15. The Orange region has only one open square left: R1C6. Put a cat there.
  16. The Blue region has only one open square left: R5C7. Put a cat there.
  17. The Pink region has only one open square left: R2C8. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Red region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Red) to 13 squares. It can be solved in 17 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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