Find the Cat #166: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)

medium

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

0 / 8 cats · 0:00
Red (7)Orange (14)Yellow (4)Green (10)Teal (14)Blue (9)Purple (5)Pink (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 8x8 grid with 8 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 Pink region has only one open square left: R5C5. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R1C6, R2C6, R3C6, R7C7 and R8C7. Cross those squares out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R7C3. Cross that square out.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Purple region ends up, it rules out R1C1, R2C1, R3C1, R4C1 and R7C2. Cross those squares out.
  5. Wherever the cat in row 1 ends up, it rules out R2C7. Cross that square out.
  6. Wherever the cat in column 7 ends up, it rules out R1C8 and R2C8. Cross those squares out.
  7. Wherever the cat in row 1 ends up, it rules out R2C4. Cross that square out.
  8. Wherever the cat in row 2 ends up, it rules out R1C2, R1C3, R3C2, R3C3 and R4C2. Cross those squares out.
  9. Wherever the cat in column 8 ends up, it rules out R3C7, R4C7 and R6C7. Cross those squares out.
  10. Column 7 has only one open square left: R1C7. Put a cat there.
  11. Wherever the cat in column 4 ends up, it rules out R4C3 and R6C3. Cross those squares out.
  12. Row 4 has only one open square left: R4C8. Put a cat there.
  13. Row 3 has only one open square left: R3C4. Put a cat there.
  14. The Blue region has only one open square left: R2C2. Put a cat there.
  15. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R8C3. Put a cat there.
  16. The Red region has only one open square left: R7C6. Put a cat there.
  17. The Purple region has only one open square left: R6C1. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Pink region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Pink) to 14 squares. It can be solved in 17 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.

Stuck? Open the step-by-step solution below -- each step names the row, column or color involved, so you can use it as a hint and then finish the puzzle yourself.

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