Queens

How to play

If you’ve played the queens game, you already know the rules: one queen in every row, one in every column, one in every region, and no two touching, not even diagonally. Try this 5×5 warm-up.

Look at the smallest regions first. The one on the left edge is just two cells, both in column 1. Column 1 needs exactly one queen, and that region has nowhere else to put its queen. So the other cells in column 1 are empty, top-left corner included.

That leaves the two-cell region at the top with one free cell: row 1, column 2. Put a queen there. She touches the upper cell of the left-edge region, so that region’s queen drops to row 3.

Now the bottom-left region has a single cell nothing blocks, in row 5, column 3. Rows 2 and 4 each have one spot left, and you’re done.

Three tips for faster solves

Fast solves come from seeing where a queen can’t go. These three habits find those cells.

Find cells that touch a whole region

A small region’s queen only has a few places to go. Any cell that touches all of them is empty, wherever the queen ends up. Two cells side by side always rule out the two cells above them and the two below.

Spot a row that belongs to one region

Sometimes a whole row is one region, or every free cell left in a row is. That row’s queen has to come from that region, so the rest of the region is empty. Columns work the same way.

Test a cell before you commit

Pick a cell and ask what a queen there would block. If she would wipe out every cell of some region, row or column, the cell is empty. You only ever cross it out, so there’s nothing to undo.

For every technique with pictures, read how to solve a queens puzzle.

Daily puzzle and grid sizes

A new queens puzzle comes out every day at midnight in your time zone, always with one queen per row, column and region. Monday and Tuesday are 7×7 grids, Wednesday and Thursday 8×8, and Friday to Sunday 10×10, with more regions to work through.

The techniques step up too. Early in the week, crossing out and spotting a row that belongs to one region are enough. Midweek grids need you to test cells or see two regions sharing two rows. Weekend grids need you to see three or more regions packed into as many rows, or follow a short “what if”. None needs a guess.

The archive keeps the last 30 days of puzzles to play.

When one queen per row starts to feel quick, the star battle page has two stars in every row, column and region, every day.

Where the rules come from

The rules are older than the name. Dutch puzzle designer Hans Eendebak created star battle for the 2003 World Puzzle Championship, with stars in place of queens. LinkedIn’s daily Queens game, launched in 2024, uses its one-star version with crowns. Star battle itself also comes in two-star and three-star versions on bigger grids.

Common questions

How do you solve a queens puzzle quickly?

Start with the smallest regions, cross out around each queen the moment you place her, and look for a row or column that only one region can fill. Testing a cell before you place a queen saves you from backtracking.

Is the queens game the same as star battle?

Yes. It’s star battle with one piece in every row, column and region, drawn as queens instead of stars. The star battle page covers the two-star version too.

Is this the same as the eight queens puzzle?

No. The eight queens puzzle puts eight chess queens on an empty chessboard so that none can attack another along a row, column or diagonal. It has no regions, and queens far apart on a diagonal still clash.

Is there a new queens puzzle every day?

Yes. A new one comes out at midnight in your time zone: 7×7 on Monday and Tuesday, 8×8 on Wednesday and Thursday, 10×10 from Friday to Sunday.

Can I play more than one a day?

Yes. The archive keeps the last 30 days of puzzles, free to play without an account.

Similar puzzles

When one queen per row feels easy, try the two-star star battle. For another quick daily grid, try zip.