Star Battle

Place one star in every row, column and coloured region, without letting any two stars touch.

Level

EasyMediumHardExpert

Time0:00

Stars0/6

Click a square once for a dot, twice for a star. Right-click for a dot. Drag to dot several squares.Tap a square once for a dot, twice for a star. Drag to dot several squares.

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About Star Battle

Star Battle is a pure logic puzzle. The grid is split into coloured regions, and your job is to place stars so that every row, every column and every region holds exactly one star, with no two stars touching, not even at a corner.

There is no guessing and no arithmetic: each puzzle has exactly one solution, and you reach it by ruling squares out until only one place is left for each star. Puzzles are generated fresh every time, in four sizes, and your puzzle in progress is kept if you leave.

How to play Star Battle

Pick a level: the bigger the grid, the harder the puzzle.
Tap or click a square once to put a dot in it, a reminder that no star can go there. Tap it again for a star, and once more to clear it.
On a computer you can right-click to place a dot, or drag across squares to dot several at once.
Every row, column and region needs exactly one star, and stars may never touch, even diagonally.
When the last star is placed correctly, the puzzle is solved and the clock stops.

Star Battle controls

Keyboard
Move between squares	Arrow keys
Place or remove a star	S or Enter
Place or remove a dot	X or period
Cycle empty, dot, star	Space, or click
Dot a square	Right-click, or drag across squares
Clear a square	Backspace or Delete
Undo	U or Ctrl+Z
Hint	H
Pause and resume	P (Esc also pauses)
Sound on or off	M

Touch screens
Dot, star, clear	Tap a square to cycle through them
Dot several squares	Tap a square for a dot and drag across others
Undo, clear or hint	Buttons under the grid

Star Battle rules

The rules

An n by n grid is divided into n regions. Place n stars so that each row, each column and each region contains exactly one star.

Two stars may not be in neighbouring squares, including diagonal neighbours.

Levels

Easy is a 6 by 6 grid, Medium 7 by 7, Hard 8 by 8 and Expert 9 by 9. Every puzzle is generated when you start it and checked by a solver to have exactly one solution.

Helpers

Squares ruled out by the stars you have placed show a faint dot, so you can see where stars can still go. Stars that break a rule are outlined in red.

A hint first points out a star in the wrong place or a dot covering a star, and otherwise places the star of the region with the fewest open squares.

Best times

The clock starts with your first move and stops while the game is paused. Your best time for each level is saved in this browser, but only for puzzles solved without hints.

Tips and strategy

Start with the smallest regions. A region of two or three squares leaves very few places for its star.
A region that lies entirely inside one row or column claims that row or column: dot every other square in it.
If two regions fit inside the same two rows, those rows’ stars belong to them, so dot the rest of both rows.
Each star rules out all eight squares around it, so a star in the middle of a region blocks a lot.
Dot freely. Dots cost nothing and make the next deduction easier to see.

Frequently asked questions

Is there always exactly one solution?

Yes. Every puzzle is checked by a solver before you see it, and only puzzles with exactly one solution are used.

Do I ever need to guess?

No guess is ever required, because the solution is unique. On bigger grids some steps take more thought, and the hint button is there if you get stuck.