How do I solve my first Queens puzzles?

Use three habits, in this order. First place queens on one-tile colours. Then mark every tile each queen rules out. Then look for any row, column or colour with a single open tile left and put its queen there. Repeat, and most easy boards solve themselves.

1. Start with one-tile colours

Every colour needs exactly one queen. If a colour is a single tile, there is no choice to make.

The topaz colour is a single tile, so its queen has to go there. Small colours of two or three tiles are the next best place to look.

2. Mark everything a queen rules out

A queen rules out the rest of its row, the rest of its column, the rest of its colour, and the eight tiles around it. Marking them is not busywork: the marks are what reveal the next move.

That one queen ruled out 9 of the board's 25 tiles. More on this in what a queen rules out.

3. Fill the last open spot

After marking, scan every row, column and colour. If one of them has a single open tile, its queen goes there.

Column 3 has only one open tile left, so its queen goes there. See the last spot for more examples.

Beginner mistakes to avoid

• Forgetting diagonals. Queens can't touch corner to corner. They can share a longer diagonal, unlike chess.
• Guessing. If no row, column or colour has a single spot, don't guess. You've reached the point where the intermediate techniques apply.
• Scanning only rows. Check columns and colours just as often; the forced move is usually hiding in the one you skipped.

Ready for more?

Play today's Daily Crown (Mondays and Tuesdays are easiest), or read the intermediate guide.