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Archive · Star Battle #25

Star Battle #25 (October 29, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 9×9 Hard two-star puzzle from Thursday, October 29, 2026. Play it first; the answer is folded below. Replays don't affect your streak.

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Star Battle #25 was the 9×9 hard board of Thursday, October 29, 2026: two stars in every row, column and region, 18 stars in all. Our deduction solver, the same one behind the hint button, places them in 54 steps without guessing. 29 steps follow straight from the rules (a star's neighbours, a line that already has both stars, the last free cells of a line), 15 work out where a line's remaining two stars can sit without touching, 4 come from confinement (a region squeezed into one or two lines), and 6 need a “what if” check: imagine a star in a cell and watch some line run out of room. Regions range from 4 to 16 cells; the smallest is mint.

Star Battle #25 in numbers

Board9×9, two stars, Hard
Stars to place18
Regions9, from 4 to 16 cells
Deduction steps54
Rule steps29
Pair-placement steps15
Confinement steps4
“What if” contradictions6
How to start Star Battle #25: the first 12 deductions

Each step is a deduction a person can make, in the order our solver found them. Rows and columns are counted from the top-left corner.

  1. Stars at row 8, column 3 and row 9, column 5. The mint region still needs two stars, and its free cells allow only one way to place them without touching — so they go in.

  2. Cross out 8 cells. Stars can't touch, not even diagonally — the cells around this star are crossed out.

  3. Cross out 3 cells. Stars can't touch, not even diagonally — the cells around this star are crossed out.

  4. Cross out row 7, column 6. The gold region still needs two stars, and every way to place them without touching puts one next to this cell — so it's crossed out.

  5. Cross out row 7, column 8. The gold region still needs two stars, and every way to place them without touching puts one next to this cell — so it's crossed out.

  6. Cross out row 2, column 2. The rose region still needs two stars, and every way to place them without touching puts one next to this cell — so it's crossed out.

  7. Cross out row 5, column 1. The rose region still needs two stars, and every way to place them without touching puts one next to this cell — so it's crossed out.

  8. Cross out row 3, column 5. A star here would leave the orchid region without room for all its stars — so it's crossed out.

  9. Cross out row 4, column 3. A star here would leave the rose region without room for all its stars — so it's crossed out.

  10. Cross out row 5, column 5. A star here would leave the orchid region without room for all its stars — so it's crossed out.

  11. Cross out row 4, column 1. A star here forces more stars that leaves the orchid region short of a star — so it's crossed out.

  12. Cross out row 5, column 3. The rose region still needs two stars, and every way to place them without touching puts one next to this cell — so it's crossed out.

42 more steps follow until all 18 stars are placed.

Star Battle #25 solution

Stars by row: row 1: columns 1 and 3; row 2: columns 6 and 8; row 3: columns 2 and 4; row 4: columns 6 and 8; row 5: columns 2 and 4; row 6: columns 7 and 9; row 7: columns 1 and 5; row 8: columns 3 and 9; row 9: columns 5 and 7.

Back to the Star Battle archive, today's puzzle, or the two-star deductions used above.

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