Find the Cat #284: 10x10 Grid Puzzle (Hard)

hard

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

0 / 10 cats · 0:00
Red (13)Orange (1)Yellow (13)Green (12)Teal (7)Blue (10)Purple (9)Pink (7)Brown (14)Grey (14)

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 10x10 grid with 10 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 Orange region has only one open square left: R2C3. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Green region ends up, it rules out R4C1 and R5C1. Cross those squares out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R1C1 and R1C5. Cross those squares out.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Pink region ends up, it rules out R4C2, R6C1, R7C2, R8C2, R9C2 and R10C2. Cross those squares out.
  5. The Green region has only one open square left: R3C1. Put a cat there.
  6. The Blue region has only one open square left: R7C4. Put a cat there.
  7. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R9C6. Cross that square out.
  8. Wherever the cat in the Purple region ends up, it rules out R4C6, R4C8 and R5C8. Cross those squares out.
  9. Wherever the cat in row 8 ends up, it rules out R9C7. Cross that square out.
  10. The Yellow and Purple regions can only use rows 4 and 5, so rows 4 and 5 are already spoken for. Cross out R4C10, R5C2, R5C9 and R5C10.
  11. The Pink region has only one open square left: R6C2. Put a cat there.
  12. The Brown region has only one open square left: R8C6. Put a cat there.
  13. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R10C8, R10C9 and R10C10. Cross those squares out.
  14. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R10C5. Cross that square out.
  15. The Red region has only one open square left: R10C7. Put a cat there.
  16. The Purple region has only one open square left: R4C9. Put a cat there.
  17. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R5C5. Put a cat there.
  18. The Grey region has only one open square left: R9C10. Put a cat there.
  19. The Teal region has only one open square left: R1C8. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Orange region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 10 color regions range from 1 square (Orange) to 14 squares. It can be solved in 19 deduction steps using grouped row/column/region deductions.

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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