The queens puzzle, unlimited
The queens game is a short, satisfying logic puzzle on a colored grid. It borrows the chess queen for its name, but the rules are simpler: one queen in every row, every column and every colored region, and no two queens side by side.
It became a daily habit for millions of people. Here you can play the queens game online without waiting for tomorrow: pick a board size and solve as many puzzles as you like.
From the eight queens problem to colored regions
The queens puzzle has deep roots. In 1848 the chess composer Max Bezzel asked how eight queens could be placed on a chessboard so that none attacks another. Mathematicians soon found that there are 92 ways to do it, and the “eight queens problem” became a classic exercise in logic and computer science.
The modern queens puzzle adds colored regions and changes the rules slightly: exactly one queen in every row, every column and every color, and no two queens may touch, not even diagonally. This version became hugely popular as a daily puzzle in 2024. Here you can play it without limits, on boards from 5×5 to 10×10.
How to play here
Tap a cell once to cross it out and twice to place a queen; tap again to clear it. Crossing out cells that cannot hold a queen is the key to solving quickly, so do it freely.
A step-by-step way to solve
- Start with the smallest region. A region of two or three cells has few options, and every queen you place crosses out a whole row, column and its neighbors.
- Find regions trapped in one row or column. If a color only appears in one row, that row’s queen belongs to that color, so cross out every other cell in the row.
- Count regions against rows. If two colors both live entirely inside the same two rows, those two rows are used up by them. Cross out everything else in those rows.
- Cross out around every queen. All eight neighbors, the whole row and the whole column.
- Look for a cell that would empty a region. If placing a queen somewhere would cross out every cell of another color, that cell is wrong.
Why play the queens puzzle?
It takes seconds to learn and a few minutes to solve, which makes it a perfect daily puzzle. Bigger boards reward the counting tricks above. If you enjoy it, Star Battle is the natural next step, with two stars per region instead of one.
How to play Queens
- The board is divided into colored regions, one region per row.
- Place exactly one queen in every row and every column.
- Place exactly one queen in every colored region.
- Two queens may never touch, not even diagonally.
Queens tips
Start with the smallest region
A region of one or two cells leaves almost no choice. Place or narrow its queen first, then cross out its row, its column and the eight cells around it.
Look for regions trapped in one row
If a whole color region sits inside a single row, that row's queen must be in that region. Every other cell of the row can be crossed out.
Count regions against rows
When two regions together only cover two rows, those two rows belong to them. The other regions cannot put a queen there.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as the LinkedIn Queens puzzle?
It uses the same rules, so if you play Queens on LinkedIn you already know how to play. Here you get unlimited boards instead of one a day. MindedGames is not affiliated with LinkedIn.
Can queens touch diagonally?
No. Queens cannot touch at all, including at the corners. Any two queens must have at least one empty cell between them in every direction.
Does every queens puzzle have one solution?
Yes, every board is built to have a single solution you can find by logic, without guessing.
