How to play Star Battle
- Press Start. The garden is split by dark hedges into colored beds; there are as many beds as rows.
- Tap a square twice to plant a flower. The first tap puts an X (a reminder that no flower goes there), the second plants, a third clears it. Drag across squares to put down many Xs at once.
- Plant exactly one flower in every row, every column and every bed.
- No two flowers may touch, not even at a corner. Clashing flowers turn red.
- Plant the last flower to finish. Finish under the target time without hints for three stars.
About Star Battle
Star Battle is a placement logic puzzle in the family of queens puzzles. Each level is a square garden split by hedges into colored beds, one bed for every row. Your job is to plant exactly one flower in each row, in each column and in each bed, and no two flowers may touch, not even diagonally at a corner. It sounds like a lot of rules, but they work together: a flower in a narrow bed instantly rules out its whole row, its whole column, its own bed and the eight cells around it, and that often leaves another bed with only one possible spot. Tap a cell once to cross it out as you reason, tap it again to plant, and drag across cells to cross out a whole strip at once. Soft dots show the cells your flowers have already ruled out, and clashing flowers turn red so mistakes never hide. Every garden was checked by a solver to have exactly one answer, so you never need to guess. Gardens grow from five by five to ten by ten, and the beds grow larger and less obvious as you go.
Controls
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tap | Cross out, then plant, then clear a cell |
| Drag | Cross out (or clear crosses) along a strip |
| Arrow keys | Move the cursor |
| X or Space, F or Enter | Cross out, plant a flower |
| H or the bulb | Plant one correct flower (costs a star) |
| U or undo | Take back the last change |
Tips and strategy
- Start with the smallest bed. A bed of two or three cells has very few places for its flower, and any cell that touches all of them can be crossed out at once.
- Look for beds that sit in a single row or column. If a bed lies entirely inside one row, that row's flower must be in that bed, so cross out the rest of the row.
- Count pairs. When two beds both fit entirely inside the same two columns, those two columns are taken, and every other cell in them can be crossed out.
- Use the touching rule. A flower rules out all eight cells around it, so a candidate that would touch every remaining spot of another bed can never be right.
- Cross out generously. Marking cells you have ruled out keeps the board honest and makes the last few flowers obvious.
- If two beds share an awkward corner, try each option in your head for one step; the wrong one usually empties a neighboring bed immediately.
Questions and answers
What kind of puzzle is Star Battle?
A queens logic puzzle, related to the classic eight queens problem and to star battle puzzles. You place one marker in every row, column and colored region, with no two markers touching.
Is there only one answer?
Yes. Every garden was checked by a solver to have exactly one valid planting, so each flower can be found by logic alone.
What do the soft dots mean?
They show cells that a flower you planted has already ruled out, because they share its row, column or bed, or touch it. They are a reminder, not a rule check.
How are stars awarded?
Finish under the target time for three stars, under twice the target for two, and any finish earns one. Each hint plants one correct flower and costs a star.
How big do the gardens get?
They start at five by five and grow through six, seven, eight and nine to ten by ten, with larger beds that give less away in the later chapters.
Do I need an account?
No. Star Battle runs in your browser on phones, tablets and computers, and your stars and unlocked garden themes are saved on your device.
