The rules, one cat at a time

Four checks for every cat

Fill an n×n board with exactly n cats. Each horizontal row needs one cat, each vertical column needs one cat, and each connected, lettered region needs one cat. A cell belongs to all three groups at once. A placement must satisfy all three quotas, not just the region color.

Cats also cannot touch along an edge or at a corner. The eight cells immediately surrounding a cat are unavailable. A cat farther away on the same diagonal is allowed: this is not the classic eight-queens diagonal rule.

Use the two tools deliberately

Choose Place cat, then click or tap a cell once. Choose Mark × to leave a note that the cell is excluded. Use the same tool on the same cell again to remove that mark. A fixed cat has a small dot and cannot be removed. Use Undo to reverse an ordinary move.

Start with the fixed cats and mark the cells they rule out. Look for a row, column or region that has only one candidate left. The board below is an original GridMew puzzle, not a screenshot from another game. Its worked step names actual coordinates so you can check the reasoning.

Finish without guessing

A conflict message explains a direct row, column, region or touching error. Having no direct conflict does not prove that a guessed placement can lead to a solution. If you are stuck, ask for a hint: first find where to look, then read the explanation, and only apply it when ready.

A win is recorded only when the board itself satisfies all four rules. Your progress and hint use are stored in this browser. Size describes the number of cells; it does not determine difficulty.

A real step from gm-5-0001