The Queens puzzle: from the eight queens problem to LinkedIn Queens

Updated 2026-10-30

"Queens puzzle" can mean two related things: the classic eight queens problem from chess mathematics, and the modern daily Queens game with coloured regions. The daily game is, in fact, a one-star Star Battle with queens instead of stars. Here is how they fit together.

The classic eight queens problem

The eight queens problem asks a simple question: can you place eight queens on a standard 8×8 chessboard so that no queen attacks another? In chess, a queen attacks along its row, its column and both diagonals, any distance away. So the eight queens must all sit in different rows, different columns and different diagonals.

It is a famous puzzle in recreational mathematics and a standard exercise in computer science, often used to teach backtracking search. It turns out there are 92 solutions. Many of them are just rotations or mirror images of each other; if you count those as the same, there are 12 distinct solutions.

The problem also generalises to the n-queens problem: place n queens on an n×n board with no two attacking. Solutions exist for every board size except 2×2 and 3×3.

Notice what the eight queens problem does not have: regions, given clues or a unique answer. It is a search problem with many valid answers, not a puzzle designed to be solved by a chain of deductions.

The modern Queens game

In recent years a daily logic game called Queens became popular, notably on LinkedIn, and similar games now appear on many puzzle sites and apps. It borrows the idea of non-attacking queens but changes the rules in an important way.

A Queens puzzle is an n×n grid divided into n coloured regions. You must place queens so that:

• each row contains exactly one queen;
• each column contains exactly one queen;
• each coloured region contains exactly one queen;
• no two queens touch, including diagonally.

The diagonal rule is much weaker than in chess. Two queens may share a long diagonal, as long as they are not in neighbouring cells. In return, the coloured regions add a whole new constraint, and each puzzle is designed so that exactly one arrangement works.

Queens is a 1-star Star Battle

If you compare those rules with the rules of Star Battle, you will see they are identical to Star Battle with one star per row, column and region. Swap the queen icons for stars and the colours for outlined regions, and you have the same puzzle. Every solving technique carries over directly.

The relationship between the three puzzles looks like this:

Star Battle is the broader family. It also includes larger grids with two stars per row, column and region, which feel noticeably deeper than the one-star version. If you enjoy daily Queens and want more, Star Battle is the natural next step.

How to solve a Queens or 1-star Star Battle puzzle

Because the puzzles are the same, the techniques are the same. The key ones:

1. Cross out neighbours. When you place a queen, mark its row, column, region and all eight surrounding cells as unavailable.
2. Start with small regions. A region of two or three cells has few options. Any cell that touches all of them cannot hold a queen.
3. Look for confined regions. If a region's open cells all lie in one row or column, that line's queen belongs to that region, so the rest of the line can be crossed out.
4. Count. If two regions fit entirely within the same two rows, those rows are used up by those regions. Cells of other regions in those rows can be crossed out.

Our Star Battle strategy guide explains each of these in more depth, along with tips for the larger two-star grids.

Where to play

If you have finished today's Queens and want another, you can play Star Battle here for free. Start with a 1-star grid of 6×6 to 8×8 for the same feel as Queens, then move up to 10×10 with two stars when you want a bigger challenge. This site is an independent Star Battle game and is not affiliated with LinkedIn or any other Queens publisher.