How our puzzles are made
Every puzzle on this site is original. We generate them with our own software, in three steps:
- Lay out the stars. The generator places a valid set of stars at random, following all the rules.
- Draw the regions. It grows regions around those stars, then reshapes them until only one solution remains.
- Prove it and grade it. A separate solver checks every possibility to confirm there is exactly one solution. A second solver works through the puzzle with the moves a person would use, which proves that it needs no guessing and sets its difficulty.
That second solver also writes our hints, so a hint is always a move you could have found yourself.
What's on the site
- A new daily puzzle, with a 5×5, 8×8, 10×10 and 14×14 for each date.
- A library of 228 numbered puzzles in four levels and three difficulties.
- A one-minute rules page and a full strategy guide.
- An Atlas that keeps the constellation from each puzzle you solve.
Where Star Battle comes from
Hans Eendebak created Star Battle for the 2003 World Puzzle Championship in the Netherlands. We didn't invent it, and we aren't affiliated with The New York Times, whose version is called Two Not Touch, or with LinkedIn, whose game Queens uses the one-star rules. We just think it deserves a board this good.