Just Play FreeShort answer In a Queens puzzle, a square grid is split into coloured regions, with as many regions as rows. Place exactly one piece in every row, every column and every colour region, and no two pieces may touch, not even diagonally. A well-made puzzle has exactly one solution that can be found by logic alone, without guessing.
Rules
- One piece in each row.
- One piece in each column.
- One piece in each colour region.
- Pieces may not touch, including corner to corner.
In Pen Pals Seats the pieces are shy Pen Pals who each need their own seat; the rules are the same.
Solving strategy
- Start with the smallest region. A region of one square must hold a piece; a region of two or three squares leaves few options.
- Cross out neighbours. As soon as you place a piece, mark every square around it, plus its row and column, as empty.
- Confined regions: if a region lies entirely in one row or column, no other region can use that row or column.
- Groups: if two regions fit only inside the same two rows, every other region must avoid those rows.
- What-if: if placing a piece in a square would leave some region with no space, that square must be empty.
Grid sizes
Kids puzzles use 4x4 and 5x5 grids; harder ones go from 6x6 up to 10x10. Pen Pals Seats has 205 puzzles in Kids, Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert packs, plus a daily puzzle.
Questions
Do I ever need to guess in a Queens puzzle?
No. A good Queens puzzle has one answer that can be reached by logic alone.
Is this the LinkedIn Queens game?
It uses the same rules as the Queens puzzle on LinkedIn. Pen Pals Seats is an original free version with its own art and puzzles.
