Crownly

Queens Puzzle Strategy: 6 Techniques to Solve Any Board

Six logical techniques that solve every Queens puzzle without guessing, from crown's reach to group squeezes.

1. Crown's reach

A crown rules out its row, its column, its region and every cell touching it, diagonals included. Mark those cells with a dot right away.

2. Last cell

If a region, row or column has only one open cell left, the crown must go there.

3. Region in one line

If all open cells of a region sit in a single row (or column), that region's crown is in that line, so every other cell of the line is out.

4. Line inside one region

If all open cells of a row (or column) belong to one region, the row's crown is that region's crown: the rest of the region is out.

5. Group squeeze

If two regions can only fit in the same two rows, those two rows belong to them, and every other region's cells in those rows are out. The same works for three regions in three rows.

6. Blocking cell

Imagine a crown on a cell. If it would leave some region, row or column with no open cell, that cell can't hold a crown.

Crownly's hints use exactly these techniques: when you are stuck, a hint names the technique, highlights the row, column or region it is about and explains the step. The Logic School has a short interactive lesson for each one.

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Crownly: a daily puzzle, 2,000 levels and hints that explain the logic. Free on iPhone.

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