Find the Cat #182: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)

medium

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

0 / 8 cats · 0:00
Red (12)Orange (1)Yellow (5)Green (8)Teal (6)Blue (14)Purple (6)Pink (12)

A 8x8 logic grid, 8 colors, 8 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.

  1. The Orange region has only one open square left: R4C3. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R1C4, R1C5, R2C1, R2C2, R2C6, R2C7 and 2 more. Cross those squares out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R1C1, R1C2 and R1C8. Cross those squares out.
  4. The Green region has only one open square left: R3C1. Put a cat there.
  5. Wherever the cat in the Blue region ends up, it rules out R5C7, R5C8, R6C5 and R6C6. Cross those squares out.
  6. Wherever the cat in the Purple region ends up, it rules out R1C7, R6C8, R7C6, R7C8 and R8C7. Cross those squares out.
  7. The Teal region has only one open square left: R1C6. Put a cat there.
  8. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R2C4. Put a cat there.
  9. The Blue region has only one open square left: R5C5. Put a cat there.
  10. The Red region has only one open square left: R8C8. Put a cat there.
  11. The Purple region has only one open square left: R6C7. Put a cat there.
  12. The Pink region has only one open square left: R7C2. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Orange region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Orange) to 14 squares. It can be solved in 12 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.

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