Puzzle gm-6-0011

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-6-0011: 6×6 regional boardBBBBAABBBBADCBBEEDEEEEEDEEEEEDEEFFFF

Your starting point

This original 6×6 board has 6 connected regions and 3 fixed cats. The smallest region is C, with 1 cell. 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: 3 · B: 10 · C: 1 · D: 4 · E: 14 · F: 4. 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 4. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.

gm-6-0011: 6×6 regional boardB×B×B×B×AA×BB×BB×A×D×CB×BE×E×D×E×E×E×E×E×DE×EE×E×E×D×E×E×F×FF×F×Before step 1. Place one cat, then exclude 0 other cells.

2Check region C

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

gm-6-0011: 6×6 regional boardB×B×B×B×AA×BB×BB×A×D×CB×BE×E×D×E×E×E×E×E×DE×EE×E×E×D×E×E×F×FF×F×Before step 2. Place one cat, then exclude 2 other cells.

3Check row 2

row 2 has only one remaining candidate: row 2, column 3. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.

gm-6-0011: 6×6 regional boardB×B×B×B×AA×B×B×BB×A×D×CB×B×E×E×D×E×E×E×E×E×DE×EE×E×E×D×E×E×F×FF×F×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-6-0011: 6×6 regional boardBBBBAABBBBADCBBEEDEEEEEDEEEEEDEEFFFF

Cat positions: r1c5, r2c3, r3c1, r4c6, r5c2, r6c4.

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How this puzzle and its reasoning are verified