Star Garden

Star Garden is a placement puzzle in a flower-bed garden. You plant stars so that every row, every column and every colored patch gets exactly one, and no two stars are allowed to touch.

How to play

The garden is a square grid. It is divided into colored patches, and there are as many patches as there are rows. Each patch also has its own pattern, such as stripes, dots or a checker, so you can tell them apart without relying on color.

Your goal is to place stars so that:

• every row has exactly one star,
• every column has exactly one star,
• every patch has exactly one star, and
• no two stars touch, not even corner to corner.

Tap a square once to plant a star. Tap it a second time to put a dot, which is a note to yourself that this square cannot hold a star. Tap a third time to clear it. The game also softly shades squares that a star has already ruled out, and it marks any star that breaks a rule, so you can see mistakes as they happen.

On a computer, the arrow keys move around the garden. Press S to plant or remove a star, D or the period key to put a dot, and Backspace or Delete to clear a square. Undo takes back your last step and Clear starts the garden over.

The Hint button points to a square that must hold a star and explains why, in plain words. Every garden can be solved by reasoning, with no guessing.

The levels

The levels change the size of the garden and the thinking it needs. A program graded each garden by the hardest technique a person would need.

• Easy: a 5 by 5 garden. Every step is simple, such as a patch with only one square left.
• Medium: 7 by 7. Some patches are squeezed into a single line, or two squares touch in a way that rules others out.
• Hard: 8 by 8. It needs pairs of patches that share two lines, or a patch squeezed into a few squares.
• Expert: 9 by 9. It needs the deepest steps, such as three patches sharing three lines, or trying a star and following what it forces. You get 3 hints.

On the other levels, Hint is unlimited.

Today's game

The daily game is a Medium garden. Everyone who plays on the same calendar day gets the same garden.

Tips

1. Look for a patch that is squeezed into a single row or column. That row or column belongs to the patch, so cross out the other squares there.
2. A tiny patch is a good place to begin. If a patch is only one square, plant the star at once.
3. After you plant a star, put dots on all eight squares around it. They cannot hold a star.
4. Remember the rows and columns. If a row has only one square left, that is its star.
5. Compare two patches that sit inside the same two rows. Together they use up both stars, so no other patch can place a star in those rows.
6. Use the dots as your notes. A dot is free, and it keeps your reasoning visible.
7. If you are stuck, count how many squares each patch still has. The patch with the fewest is the best clue.

A bit of history

Star placement puzzles are logic grids with rules for every row, column and region. Some versions ask for one star in each, others for two or three; this game uses one, a little like the way Number Place uses each digit once.

Questions

Can two stars touch at a corner? No. Stars may not touch on any side or corner. A star rules out all eight squares around it.

Why are some squares shaded? A star you planted rules them out, in its row, its column, its patch or its neighbors. They cannot hold a star.

Is guessing ever needed? No. Every garden has exactly one solution that can be found by logic.

What do the patterns do? Each patch has its own pattern, so players who cannot tell the colors apart can still see the patches.