Find the Cat #289: 10x10 Grid Puzzle (Hard)

hard

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

0 / 10 cats · 0:00
Red (7)Orange (6)Yellow (14)Green (1)Teal (12)Blue (16)Purple (18)Pink (11)Brown (9)Grey (6)

Can you place all 10 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 Green region has only one open square left: R6C2. Put a cat there.
  2. Rows 7, 8, 9 and 10 can only use the Teal, Purple, Pink and Brown regions, so the Teal, Purple, Pink and Brown regions are already spoken for. Cross out R5C4, R5C7, R5C8 and R5C9.
  3. Columns 1, 3 and 4 can only use the Yellow, Blue and Purple regions, so the Yellow, Blue and Purple regions are already spoken for. Cross out R1C5, R3C5, R3C6, R4C5, R4C6, R4C7 and 5 more.
  4. Row 5 has only one open square left: R5C10. Put a cat there.
  5. The Teal region has only one open square left: R7C9. Put a cat there.
  6. The Grey region has only one open square left: R2C8. Put a cat there.
  7. The Orange region has only one open square left: R1C6. Put a cat there.
  8. The Blue region has only one open square left: R3C4. Put a cat there.
  9. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R4C1. Put a cat there.
  10. The Pink region has only one open square left: R8C7. Put a cat there.
  11. The Brown region has only one open square left: R9C5. Put a cat there.
  12. The Purple region has only one open square left: R10C3. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Green region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 10 color regions range from 1 square (Green) to 18 squares. It can be solved in 12 deduction steps using grouped row/column/region deductions.

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.

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