What is Queens?
Queens is a colourful grid logic puzzle where you place crowns so every row, column and coloured region has the required number of crowns.
This online Queens game includes the classic one-crown rule and harder two-crown and three-crown variants. The goal is always pure deduction: use X marks, coloured regions, row limits, column limits and the no-touching rule until every crown has only one possible place.
- Every row must contain the selected number of crowns.
- Every column must contain the selected number of crowns.
- Every coloured region must contain the selected number of crowns.
- Crowns may not touch, including diagonally.
- Click once to mark a square with X, click again to place a crown, and click a third time to clear the square.
- Starter crowns, when shown, are fixed clues and cannot be removed.
- A puzzle is complete only when all row, column and region counts are correct.
How to play Queens online
Click or tap a square once to mark it with X, which means you have eliminated that square. Click the same square again to turn the X into a crown, and click a third time to return it to blank. The counters above the board show how many crowns are placed compared with the target for the current puzzle.
The board is divided into bright coloured regions. A region can bend around the grid, so do not solve only row by row. The strongest deductions often come from comparing a nearly full region with the rows and columns that pass through it.
- Start with small or narrow regions because they have fewer possible crown cells.
- Mark mentally which rows and columns already have enough crowns.
- After placing a crown, eliminate every touching square around it.
- Use Check when you want feedback without revealing the answer.
- Use Hint if you want one correct crown without giving up the whole puzzle.
Grid sizes, crowns and difficulty
You can switch between grid sizes that suit the selected crown count. One-crown Queens works best on 5x5 to 9x9 boards, two-crown Queens is kept to 8x8 to 10x10, and three-crown Queens uses 12x12 and 13x13 so generation stays reliable.
The one-crown mode is closest to the familiar Queens puzzle. Two-crown and three-crown modes ask for multiple crowns in every row, column and region, which makes uniqueness harder and the strategy richer.
- 1 crown: the clean classic rule set on 5x5, 6x6, 7x7, 8x8 or 9x9 grids.
- 2 crowns: each row, column and region needs two crowns on 8x8, 9x9 or 10x10 grids.
- 3 crowns: a larger strategy puzzle on 12x12 or 13x13 grids.
- Easy: more compact region shapes and friendlier openings.
- Hard: more winding regions and fewer starter crowns.
Queens strategy tips
The no-touching rule is the fastest way to shrink the board. Once a crown is fixed, every neighbouring square, including diagonals, is impossible. That single move can finish a row, block a column and split a region.
Look for rows or regions that have exactly enough remaining legal spaces. If a region needs two crowns and has only two non-touching positions left, both positions are forced. The same idea works in columns and rows.
- Compare each region with the rows and columns crossing it.
- Watch for pairs of possible cells that reserve two rows or two columns.
- Use the edge and corner cells carefully because they touch fewer squares.
- In multi-crown puzzles, count remaining crowns before guessing.
- When stuck, switch from region logic to row and column logic.
Why play Queens here?
This free Queens puzzle page generates fresh boards in your browser, checks mistakes, gives hints, supports undo and includes multiple grid sizes. It is designed for quick daily solves and longer strategy sessions.
Because the rules, strategy guide, FAQ and playable board live together, you can learn how to play Queens and immediately practise the same logic on a new puzzle.