How to play
How to play Queens
Queens is a placement puzzle: put one queen in every row, column and colour region without any two touching. Here are the rules, the marking system and the deductions that solve any board without guessing.
One queen per row, column and colour
The board is an n×n grid split into n coloured regions. You must place exactly n queens so that every row, every column and every region contains exactly one.
Queens never touch
No two queens may be adjacent, not even diagonally. Every cell around a queen, all eight of them, must stay empty.
Mark what's impossible
Tap once to mark a cell with ✕, meaning "no queen here". Drag across cells to mark several. Tap again to place a queen, and a third time to clear the cell. With auto-place on (the default), placing a queen fills every cell it rules out with ✕ for you.
Start with the tightest region
A region of two or three cells has very few options. If all of its cells sit in one row, that row's queen must be in the region, so every other cell of the row is out. That single idea solves most boards.
Ask for a hint when stuck
A hint never guesses. It finds the next deduction, explains it in one sentence, highlights the cells involved and marks them. The next tip continues from there.
The deductions, in order
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| Neighbours | The eight cells around a queen are out. |
| Satisfied unit | A row, column or region that has its queen: everything else in it is out. |
| Last cell | A row, column or region with one free cell left: that cell is the queen. |
| Confinement | A region whose free cells all sit in one row (or column) owns that line: the rest of the line is out. Two regions confined to the same two rows own both rows, and so on. |
| Touches everything | A cell adjacent to every free cell of some region can't hold a queen, because it would leave that region empty. |
| What if | Imagine a queen in a cell and follow the forced moves. If some row, column or region ends up with nowhere to go, the cell is out. Hard boards need a few of these. |
Strategy tips
- Small regions first. Two-cell and three-cell regions decide rows and columns for the rest of the board.
- Count lines. If two regions live entirely inside the same two rows, no other region can use those rows.
- Use ✕ generously. Every ✕ you place shrinks the next decision. Dragging makes it fast.
- Red means touching or doubled. A red queen breaks a rule right now. Undo it before continuing.
- Hints teach. If you learn the deduction a hint used, you'll spot it yourself next time.
Daily, unlimited and archive
Every day at local midnight there is one new puzzle. The board follows the week:
| Day | Board |
|---|---|
| Monday | 7×7 · Medium |
| Tuesday | 8×8 · Medium |
| Wednesday | 8×8 · Hard |
| Thursday | 9×9 · Medium |
| Friday | 9×9 · Hard |
| Saturday | 10×10 · Hard |
| Sunday | 11×11 · Hard |
Solve the daily to extend your streak. Unlimited serves boards from 5×5 to 11×11 in four difficulties with no limit, and the archive keeps every past day playable.
How is this different from LinkedIn Queens?
The rules are identical. LinkedIn publishes one puzzle a day with no archive and no unlimited mode. Puzzlune generates its own boards, gives you a daily plus unlimited mode and a free archive, explains every hint, and works in light and dark mode. Puzzlune is not affiliated with LinkedIn.