Star Battle

A distinctive feature of classic puzzles is the simplicity of the rules and the complexity of the solution. This fully applies to the game Star Battle, which, despite its apparent simplicity and simplicity, is not suitable for every player.

At the beginning of the game, you are presented with a rectangular, most often square field, divided into cells and separate designated zones. There are no markings inside the grid. The only thing you have at the start is the number indicated somewhere next to the playing field. It is from this that you need to start to solve this specific puzzle!

Game rules

The number next to the playing field is the number of stars that must be contained in each row, in each column and in each highlighted zone. For the smallest playing fields this is one. The larger the field, the greater the number value, but, as a rule, it does not exceed 4-5, and is many times inferior to the length/width of the grid.

Your task is to arrange the stars inside the selected zones in such a way as to simultaneously comply with 2 rules:

• The number of stars within each zone, as well as in each column and each row must correspond to the original number.
• The stars should not touch each other: neither horizontally, nor vertically, nor diagonally.

There are versions of Star Battle where the required number of stars in rows, columns and zones is different. For example, in each row and column you need to place 2 stars, and in each zone - 3. But in the classic version this rule is not used - the number of stars you are looking for always remains the same.

How to solve the puzzle

At first glance at the completely empty playing field, it seems that the stars could be anywhere. But this illusion disappears when you start going through different options in your mind, guided by the location of the highlighted zones. There really aren't many possible options. To speed up the puzzle solving process, use the following tips:

• Use additional notations to eliminate obviously incorrect moves. For example, dots or crosses to mark cells that definitely cannot contain stars.
• Use the adjacency rule. The stars cannot contact each other even diagonally, so each of them can be immediately surrounded by dots/crosses on all 8 sides (orthogonal and diagonal).
• Start with the smallest designated areas. Often there are only 1-2 options for placing stars.

At first, the game may seem too complicated and varied, but with practice you will be able to quickly find the right solutions. The main thing is not to rush and be prepared for frequent mistakes. Star Battle can only be solved by deduction, and this puzzle (almost) always has the same solution!