How to play Star Battle

Place stars so every row, column and region holds the same number, and no two stars touch — not even diagonally. Also known as Two Not Touch, Star Puzzle.

▶ Play Star Battle ⊞ Open the solver

The rules

The grid is divided into as many regions as it has rows.
Place stars so that every row, every column and every region contains exactly the same number of stars — 1, 2 or 3, as stated.
No two stars may touch, not even at a corner.
There is exactly one solution, and it can be found by reasoning.

Playing Star Battle on Puzzle Solvers

Choose 1, 2 or 3 stars per line, a grid size and a difficulty, then press New Puzzle.
Tap a square to cycle it: empty, ✕ (no star), ★. Or pick the Star or Mark tool. Drag to mark many squares at once; right-click marks one.
Squares ruled out by your stars are dotted for you, and touching stars turn red — switch either off for a purer challenge.
Hint places one deduction and explains it. Send to Solver, Send to Slate and Print are on the toolbar.

Open the Star Battle game →

Using the Star Battle solver

Choose the stars per line and the grid size, then paint each region: pick a colour swatch and drag over its squares (or press Sample).
Press Solve and step through: full lines, only-room, too-close, squeezes and every-way checks, each explained with the squares highlighted.

Open the solver →

A worked example

In a 1★ 5×5 grid, the yellow region is just two squares side by side in row 2. Whichever one holds its star, row 2’s star is used up — so every other square of row 2 is crossed out.

Both yellow squares touch the square directly below their middle, so that square is crossed out too. Now the blue region below has only one free square left — its star goes there.

Strategies

Mark around every star. As soon as you place a star, cross out its eight neighbours and the rest of any row, column or region that now has all its stars.
Small regions first. A region of two or three squares has very few places for its star — and every one of them may touch the same square outside it, which can then be crossed out.
Squeezes. If every free square of a region lies in one row, that row’s star belongs to the region: cross out the rest of the row. The same works with two regions inside two rows, three in three.
Too close. Imagine a star in a square. If its neighbours would cover every free square of some region, row or column, that square cannot hold a star.
2★ puzzles: count in pairs. Two adjacent rows hold four stars between them, and any 2×2 block holds at most one star — a quick way to place stars in narrow strips.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the diagonals — stars may not touch at corners either.
Placing a star by elimination in a row without checking its column and region too.
In 2★ puzzles, putting both stars of a row next to each other.

Where it comes from

Star Battle was invented by Hans Eendebak in the Netherlands and became a favourite at the World Puzzle Championship. In the 2020s daily puzzle apps made the 1-star version with coloured regions a worldwide craze.

Frequently asked questions

Is Star Battle the same as the daily queens-style puzzles?

The 1-star version is: one per row, column and colour region, and none touching. Star Battle also comes in 2-star and 3-star versions on bigger grids, which you can play here.

Can two stars touch diagonally?

No. Stars may not touch at all — not side by side and not at a corner.

How do I enter a puzzle from a book or app?

Open the Star Battle Solver, choose the size and stars per line, paint the regions and press Solve to step through every deduction.

What do the dots mean?

With ‘Show squares ruled out by my stars’ on, dots mark squares that cannot hold a star because they touch one of your stars or sit in a line or region that already has all its stars.

Keep going

All guides: How to play every puzzle and game.