Play Star Battle Online

Place exactly one star in each row, column, and colored region — no two stars may touch, not even diagonally. Pure logic, zero guesswork.

Stars
0 / 5
Errors
0
Time
0:00

Tap to mark X, tap again for star

Star Battle puzzle game — place one star per row, column, and colored region on the board

What Is Star Battle?

Star Battle is a popular logic puzzle that originated in competitive puzzle circles and has since become one of the most beloved grid-based placement puzzles worldwide. The board is an N×N grid divided into N colored regions. Your goal: place exactly one star in each row, each column, and each colored region, ensuring that no two stars touch each other — not even diagonally.

Star Battle puzzles are a staple of the World Puzzle Championship and appear frequently in puzzle magazines and online competitions. Despite having simple rules, these puzzles require careful logical deduction and reward systematic thinking. Every puzzle on this page has a unique solution that can be reached without guessing.

Star Battle Rules

  1. One star per row: Each row contains exactly one star (or K stars in multi-star mode).
  2. One star per column: Each column contains exactly one star (or K stars in multi-star mode).
  3. One star per region: Each colored region contains exactly one star (or K stars in multi-star mode).
  4. No touching: No two stars may be adjacent horizontally, vertically, or diagonally (the eight surrounding cells must be star-free).

How to Solve Star Battle Puzzles

1. Look for Small Regions

Regions with fewer cells have fewer possibilities. A region with only one or two cells is the easiest starting point — the star must go in one of those cells.

2. Eliminate by Row, Column & Adjacency

Once you place a star, mark every cell in its row, column, and all eight surrounding cells with an X (tap once to mark X, tap again to place a star). This dramatically reduces the options for neighbouring regions.

3. Look for Forced Placements

After elimination, check each row, column, and region. If only one cell remains available, the star must go there. Repeat this process — each placement often forces another.

4. Use Cross-Region Logic

On harder puzzles, consider which cells in a region are still valid. If all remaining cells in a region fall in a single row or column, that row or column is “claimed” by that region — no other star can use it. This technique unlocks puzzles that seem stuck.

1-Star vs 2-Star Star Battle

The classic 1-star mode offers five grid sizes from 5×5 to 9×9 and is the perfect starting point for beginners. 2-star Star Battle is the most common format in puzzle competitions — you place two stars per row, column, and region on 8×8 or 9×9 grids. For the ultimate challenge, 3-star mode uses a 12×12 grid with three stars per row, column, and region. The no-touching rule always applies.

  • 5×5 – 9×9 (1 star): Classic mode, one star per row/column/region.
  • 8×8 – 9×9 (2 stars): Competition standard — place two stars per row, column, and region.
  • 12×12 (3 stars): Expert mode — place three stars per row, column, and region.

Star Battle Solving Tips & Strategies

Whether you are tackling your first 5×5 grid or a tricky 2-star 9×9 puzzle, these strategies will help you progress:

  • Mark eliminated cells immediately. Every time you place a star, cross out its entire row, column, and all eight neighbours. This visual feedback prevents errors.
  • Focus on constraints, not possibilities. Instead of asking “where could a star go?” ask “where can a star not go?” Elimination is faster than trial-and-error.
  • Scan regions that overlap a single row or column. If a region’s remaining cells are all in one row, that row is locked to that region.
  • Use the adjacency rule offensively. Placing one star eliminates up to eight cells around it. Choosing high-impact placements first cascades into more forced moves.
  • In 2-star puzzles, count remaining space. A region needs room for two non-touching stars. If only two cells are far enough apart, both must be stars.

Star Battle vs Other Logic Puzzles

Star Battle shares DNA with many constraint-satisfaction puzzles but has its own character. Unlike Sudoku, which fills a grid with numbers, Star Battle is a placement puzzle — you decide where to put symbols. The adjacency constraint gives it a spatial dimension that Sudoku lacks.

Compared to the classic N-Queens problem in computer science (place N non-attacking queens on a chessboard), Star Battle replaces the full-diagonal constraint with simple adjacency and adds colored regions. This produces a very different solving experience focused on region-based deduction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Star Battle is a logic puzzle on a colored grid. Place one star (or more in multi-star variants) per row, column, and color region, with no two stars touching — even diagonally. Each puzzle has a unique solution.
Click a cell to cycle through: empty → X-mark → star → empty. Right-click (long-press on mobile) to directly toggle an X-mark. X-marks are helpers — they remind you a cell is eliminated.
No. Every puzzle generated here has a unique solution reachable through pure logical deduction. If you feel stuck, look for regions, rows, or columns with only one valid possibility left.
No two stars can be in directly adjacent cells in any direction — up, down, left, right, or any of the four diagonals. If you think of the eight cells surrounding a star, none of them may contain another star.
Yes — the rules are identical. “Star Battle” is the traditional name used in puzzle competitions, while “Queens” is a branding used by some platforms. The logic, strategies, and solving techniques are exactly the same.
In 1-star mode you place one star per row, column, and region. In 2-star mode (the most common competition format) you place two. The no-touching rule still applies to every pair of stars on the board.

More Puzzle Games

Enjoy Star Battle? Try these other free puzzles:

Sudoku

Fill a 9×9 grid with digits using logic alone.

Nonograms

Reveal hidden pictures by filling grid cells.

Puzzle Complete!