Star Zones

Star Zones is a placement puzzle. The grid is cut into coloured zones — as many zones as there are rows — and you must place one star in every row, every column and every zone. One more rule makes it interesting: no two stars may touch, not even at a corner.

The grid grows with the difficulty: 6 × 6 for easy, 7 × 7 for medium and 8 × 8 for hard. Each puzzle has a single answer that can be found by reasoning.

How to start a game

1. 1Open Star Zones on Alex Play Zone; the clock starts when the puzzle opens.
2. 2Tap a cell once to mark it with a × — your own note that no star goes there.
3. 3Tap again for a star, and once more to clear the cell.
4. 4Stars that break a rule turn red, and the row, column or zone they share is struck through. Hint places one star, or crosses out a wrong one.

The rules of Star Zones

The rules

• Exactly one star in every row.
• Exactly one star in every column.
• Exactly one star in every coloured zone.
• Two stars may never touch — not side by side, not above and below, and not diagonally.

A new puzzle every two hours

• One new puzzle is made every two hours, and it is the same for every player.
• You get one go at each puzzle. Leave and come back whenever you like: your grid is kept and the clock only runs while the puzzle is open.
• When the next puzzle arrives, an unfinished one is closed and shows as abandoned in your Battle Log.

Rewards

• The faster you finish, the more XP and coins you earn.
• Up to 35 for an easy puzzle, 55 for a medium and 75 for a hard one.
• Each hint takes 10% off the reward. The × marks are never checked.

How to play well

Smallest zone first

A zone of one cell holds its star at once; a zone of two or three cells has very few choices. Every star you place rules out its whole row, its whole column and the eight cells around it.

A zone that lives in one row

If every cell of a zone lies in the same row, that zone’s star is that row’s star — so no other zone may use that row. Cross out the rest of the row. The same works for columns.

Count zones against rows

If two zones together fit entirely inside two rows, those two rows’ stars both belong to those zones, and every other cell of the two rows can be crossed out. This counting step is what the harder grids are built around.

Cross out generously

Marking impossible cells with × is the whole method. When a row, column or zone has a single cell left unmarked, its star goes there.

Remember: Start with the smallest zone: it has the fewest places for its star, and every cell you rule out there helps with the zones around it.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the diagonal: two stars touching at a corner break the rule just as much as two side by side.
• Placing a star on a hunch instead of crossing out until only one cell remains.
• Not crossing out the neighbours of a star you have just placed.

Questions and answers

How many stars are there?

One per row — six on an easy grid, seven on a medium and eight on a hard one.

Can stars touch diagonally?

No. Stars may not touch in any direction.

Are the × marks part of the answer?

No. They are your own notes; only the stars are checked.