How to play

The rules below cover Meowdoku, LinkedIn Queens, 1★ Star Battle, and every other puzzle in the family — they are all the same game wearing different costumes.

The four rules

1. One cat in every row.
2. One cat in every column.
3. One cat in every colored region.
4. No two cats may touch — not even diagonally.

The board is an N×N grid divided into exactly N colored regions, so the numbers always work out: N cats total, each row, column, and region claiming exactly one. A valid puzzle has exactly one solution, and you can always reach it by pure deduction — guessing is never required.

Marking the board

Two marks are all you need:

• ✕ (cross) — this square definitely does not hold a cat. Most of the game is placing crosses.
• 🐱 (cat) — this square definitely holds one. The moment you place a cat, its whole row, column, and all eight neighbors become crosses.

Work by elimination: every rule that forbids a square is a cross, and when a row, column, or region has only one uncrossed square left, that square is a cat. Repeat until the board is full.

Using the solver

MeowSolver recreates your exact board and helps at whatever level you want:

1. Get the board in. Either take a screenshot in your game and use Import from screenshot — the board, colors, and any marks you have already made are read automatically — or paint the regions by hand with the paint tool.
2. Ask for a hint. The hint engine finds the easiest available deduction and explains it in plain language, drawing the reasoning on the board. It never guesses: every hint is a proof. If the only move left is a deep contradiction chain, it says so honestly — and offers to skip past the rough patch with one guaranteed cat.
3. Or just solve. The Solve button fills in the unique solution, respecting the marks you have made. If your marks contradict the solution, hints will point at the mistake first.

Everything happens in your browser. Screenshots are processed locally and never uploaded anywhere.

Where to go next

If you want to get faster at spotting deductions yourself, the strategy guide walks through the five core techniques in the order a human should try them — the same ladder the hint engine climbs.