Puzzle gm-6-0005

6 × 6 intro

Take this puzzle one clear step at a time.

Try the puzzle yourself, then explore how the deductions build.

Puzzle board · starting state

gm-6-0005: 6×6 regional boardCAABBBCCCBBBCCCBDBEDDDDFEEEEDFEEDDDF

Your starting point

This original 6×6 board has 6 connected regions and 2 fixed cats. The smallest region is A, with 2 cells. Start by ruling out every other cell in each fixed cat’s row, column and region, plus its immediate neighbors.

The verified route below uses 4 forced placements and 0 candidate-elimination steps after the givens. Region sizes: A: 2 · B: 8 · C: 7 · D: 9 · E: 7 · F: 3. These are observations about this board, not a guarantee that a smaller region always contains the next move.

Read each diagram in sequence. Cats and × marks in the before-state come from earlier deductions. Green outlines identify the current observation. Open the final answer only when you want the spoiler.

Step-by-step walkthrough

1Check row 6

row 6 has only one remaining candidate: row 6, column 6. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.

gm-6-0005: 6×6 regional boardCA×AB×BBCC×CB×BBCC×C×B×D×BE×D×D×DD×F×E×EE×E×D×F×E×E×D×D×D×FBefore step 1. Place one cat, then exclude 3 other cells.

2Check row 3

row 3 has only one remaining candidate: row 3, column 1. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.

gm-6-0005: 6×6 regional boardCA×AB×BB×CC×CB×BB×CC×C×B×D×B×E×D×D×DD×F×E×EE×E×D×F×E×E×D×D×D×FBefore step 2. Place one cat, then exclude 3 other cells.

3Check row 2

row 2 has only one remaining candidate: row 2, column 5. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.

gm-6-0005: 6×6 regional boardC×A×AB×BB×C×C×C×B×BB×CC×C×B×D×B×E×D×D×DD×F×E×EE×E×D×F×E×E×D×D×D×FBefore step 3. Place one cat, then exclude 1 other cells.

4Check row 1

row 1 has only one remaining candidate: row 1, column 3. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.

gm-6-0005: 6×6 regional boardC×A×AB×B×B×C×C×C×B×BB×CC×C×B×D×B×E×D×D×DD×F×E×EE×E×D×F×E×E×D×D×D×FBefore step 4. Place one cat, then exclude 0 other cells.
Show solution · reveals all cat positions

The final cats satisfy every row, column and region quota, with no edge or corner contact.

gm-6-0005: 6×6 regional boardCAABBBCCCBBBCCCBDBEDDDDFEEEEDFEEDDDF

Cat positions: r1c3, r2c5, r3c1, r4c4, r5c2, r6c6.

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How this puzzle and its reasoning are verified