How to Play Queens: Complete Beginner's Guide
The queens puzzle looks deceptively simple—an empty grid with colored regions. Then you try to solve it and realize you have no idea what you're doing.
Here's the good news: the rules take only moments to learn, and the rest is pattern recognition. We're going to show you exactly how it works, and by the end of this guide, you'll understand:
- What a queens puzzle is
- The three rules every queens puzzle follows
- The controls of Queens Ultimate
- A step-by-step method that works on any board size
- The mistakes that trip up every beginner
Read to learn how to play queens puzzle? Let's begin.
What Is a Queens Puzzle?
If you're a puzzle game fan, you've probably seen this game go viral on LinkedIn*! A queens puzzle (aka Star Battle) is a grid-based logic puzzle where you put queens onto a grid with colored subsections under strict rules. Each grid, regardless of size, has a unique solution, so players need to logically deduce where to place their queens.
Different queens puzzle games vary in grid sizes and difficulty, and here at Queens Ultimate, we offer 5x5 to 11x11 grids, adjustable with difficulties ranging from Beginner to Expert.
The 3 Rules of a Queens Puzzle
Every Queens puzzle follows exactly three rules. No exceptions.
✅️ 1 queen per row
✅️ 1 queen per column
✅️ 1 queen per colored zone
What you CAN'T do
❌ Can't have more than one queen in the same row
❌ Can't have more than one queen in the same column
❌ Queens cannot be next to each other, even diagonally
Queens Ultimate Menu
Available modes
- Queens Daily Mini - A quick mode that brings 3 new puzzles every day, with each successive level upping the grid size and hardness. The overall difficulty also depends on what day it is in the week, with Monday being the easiest and Sunday the hardest. Solvable in 3-6 minutes, designed for brief game breaks.
- Queens Daily Max - A long mode that brings 10 new puzzles every day, with each successive level upping the grid size and hardness. The overall difficulty also depends on what day it is in the week, with Monday being the easiest and Sunday the hardest. This mode takes at least 15 minutes to solve, and is designed for more experienced players.
- Queens Unlimited - An infinite mode that offers a wide range of settings for the ideal extended gameplay or practice. The grids can be set from 5x5 to 11x11, with available difficulties from Beginner to Expert.
Game information (Daily Modes)
- Current date - Depends on your device's time and location settings.
- Current mode & puzzle number - Shown after the current date.
- Current difficulty - Displayed after mode and puzzle number. Color-coded.
- Current level - Shown under the current date. Mini has 3 boxes for 3 levels, and Max has 10.
- Play/Pause button - Tapping/clicking this pauses the current session and blocks the puzzle from being viewed.
- Timer - Displayed right next to the Play/Pause button.
Game information (Unlimited Mode)
- Grid size menu - Clicking/tapping this shows a drop-down menu where you can choose from available grid sizes.
- Difficulty menu - Clicking/tapping this shows a drop-down menu where you can choose from varying difficulty settings.
- Puzzle ID - Clicking/tapping this allows you to copy a link of your current puzzle to share with friends and social media.
Queens Ultimate Game Controls
Left click/Tap once — Place a marker (X) to eliminate a cell
Left click/Tap twice — Place a queen
Right-click once — Instantly place a queen
- When queens are placed, auto-markers are generated for every row and column they "see"
- Markers are for personal use, and are essential for faster solve times
What are markers for?
Markers are used to eliminate cells and are extremely helpful in slicing up grids, especially larger ones. However, keep in mind that markers aren't the end-all, be-all for that row or column—they're meant to help you arrive at the correct answer, not give it to you.
Step-by-Step: How to Play Queens Puzzle
Time to learn how to solve a grid! Let's walk through a 5x5 puzzle from start to finish.
Step 1 — Scan for small colored sections, place a queen
The smallest regions in any queens game are a good place to start, as there is a lower rate of error and they are easier to slice up the rest of the puzzle with.
Look for any colored region that only spans one row or one column (sometimes there are also just one colored cell in some grids).
Step 2 — Mark all the squares adjacent to each queen
When you place a queen in Queens Ultimate it automatically places markers for you. But on principle, for any queens game you play, when you put a queen in a cell:
- Mark the entire row and column
- Mark all adjacent cells (including diagonals)
- Mark the rest of that color region
Step 3 — Look for Forced Placements
After marking, check if there is:
- Any row with only one open cell?
- Any column with only one open cell?
- Any region with only one open cell?
If yes, place a queen there.
If not, keep eliminating cells by marking.
In our sample puzzle, there is a viable cell after marking, so we'll place a queen there.
Step 4 — Rinse and repeat until you win!
Continue the mark-and-check cycle. Each queen you place eliminates more possibilities, making the next placement easier.
Here's a quick example of how these basic skills come together to solve the sample 5x5 grid:
We highly recommend getting used to this basic logic flow by practicing in Queens Unlimited Mode using a 5x5 grid. Once you get the hang of it, start playing larger grids and higher difficulties!
5 Mistakes Every Beginner Makes Playing Queens Game
1. Forgetting adjacency and diagonals
When you place a queen, remember that every immediate cell around it is already eliminated, along with the other cells on the same row and column as it.
2. Ignoring small sections at the beginning
Smaller sections have fewer placement options. Start there—they often force placements in larger regions. They also have a smaller margin of error.
3. Guessing instead of eliminating
This is the most common mistake for newbies. When you feel like guessing is the only option, roll all your actions back and remember the basics. Hit the smallest section first, then the rest will follow.
Random placement leads to dead ends. Systematic elimination always finds the answer.
4. Not using markers
Markers are essential for the best results! This feature is especially useful for larger grids, where you have to track 30+ cells in one go.
5. Letting the markers lead you in circles
Markers are essential, but they are not hints, nor are they the only things you need to follow to solve a puzzle. Use the markers, don't let them use you.
FAQ
What are the rules of the queens puzzle?
Place one queen in each row, column and colored section. No two queens can touch—including diagonally.
How many queens do I place?
One per row. On a 5x5 board, you place 5 queens. On an 8x8, you place 8. You can also know how many queens to place depending on how many colored sections there are.
Is there only one solution?
Yes. Every queens puzzle has exactly one unique arrangement.
How is this different from the 8 Queens chess problem?
The classic 8 Queens problem uses an empty chessboard. This version adds colored regions as an extra constraint, which actually makes puzzles easier to solve logically.
Can I play Queens on my phone?
Yes. Queens Ultimate works on any device—phone, tablet or desktop.
What if I'm colorblind?
Create a free HGG account to enable high-contrast mode—it makes regions easier to distinguish.
Begin your queens puzzle journey!
We hope that we were able to teach you the basics of playing Queens Ultimate. If you're looking to play more logic puzzles like these, check out our website and subscribe to our newsletter!
Try Sudoku, a very similar logic puzzle game →
Try Sumplete, an addition-centric grid puzzle →
*Queens Ultimate is not affiliated with LinkedIn or its games.