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Archive · Star Battle #38

Star Battle #38 (November 11, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 9×9 Medium two-star puzzle from Wednesday, November 11, 2026. Play it first; the answer is folded below. Replays don't affect your streak.

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Star Battle #38 was the 9×9 medium board of Wednesday, November 11, 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 50 steps without guessing. 25 steps follow straight from the rules (a star's neighbours, a line that already has both stars, the last free cells of a line), 20 work out where a line's remaining two stars can sit without touching, 5 come from confinement (a region squeezed into one or two lines), and none need a “what if” check. Regions range from 5 to 13 cells; the smallest is orchid.

Star Battle #38 in numbers

Board9×9, two stars, Medium
Stars to place18
Regions9, from 5 to 13 cells
Deduction steps50
Rule steps25
Pair-placement steps20
Confinement steps5
“What if” contradictions0
How to start Star Battle #38: 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. Cross out 2 cells. The gold region still needs two stars that don't touch — these cells can't be part of any such placement, so they're crossed out.

  2. Cross out 2 cells. The orchid region still needs two stars that don't touch — these cells can't be part of any such placement, so they're crossed out.

  3. Star at row 7, column 1. Every way to place the orchid region's two stars without touching uses this cell — so it's a star.

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

  5. Cross out row 4, 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 4, column 9. 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.

  7. Cross out row 5, column 8. The mint 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 4, column 6. The lavender region still needs two stars that don't touch — this cell can't be one of them, so it's crossed out.

  9. Cross out row 2, column 5. 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.

  10. Cross out row 4, column 5. 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.

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

  12. Cross out 2 cells. The gold region, the coral region and the rose region all fit inside rows 1, 2, 3 and need exactly the 6 stars those rows still take — so every other cell in rows 1, 2, 3 is crossed out.

38 more steps follow until all 18 stars are placed.

Star Battle #38 solution

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

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

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