Puzzle gm-6-0006

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-6-0006: 6×6 regional boardBAAAAABBAAAABECCDDBECDDDEEFFFDEEEFFD

Your starting point

This original 6×6 board has 6 connected regions and 3 fixed cats. The smallest region is C, with 3 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 3 forced placements and 0 candidate-elimination steps after the givens. Region sizes: A: 9 · B: 5 · C: 3 · D: 7 · E: 7 · F: 5. 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 2

row 2 has only one remaining candidate: row 2, column 1. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.

gm-6-0006: 6×6 regional boardBA×AA×AA×BB×A×A×A×A×B×E×C×CD×D×B×E×C×D×D×DE×EF×F×F×D×E×E×E×F×FD×Before step 1. Place one cat, then exclude 1 other cells.

2Check row 6

row 6 has only one remaining candidate: row 6, column 5. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.

gm-6-0006: 6×6 regional boardB×A×AA×AA×BB×A×A×A×A×B×E×C×CD×D×B×E×C×D×D×DE×EF×F×F×D×E×E×E×F×FD×Before step 2. Place one cat, then exclude 1 other cells.

3Check 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-6-0006: 6×6 regional boardB×A×AA×A×A×BB×A×A×A×A×B×E×C×CD×D×B×E×C×D×D×DE×EF×F×F×D×E×E×E×F×FD×Before step 3. 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-6-0006: 6×6 regional boardBAAAAABBAAAABECCDDBECDDDEEFFFDEEEFFD

Cat positions: r1c3, r2c1, r3c4, r4c6, r5c2, r6c5.

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How this puzzle and its reasoning are verified