Queensguard FAQ
What are the rules of Queensguard?
Place one crown in every row, every column and every colored region. No two crowns may touch, not even diagonally. A board of size N needs N crowns.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
It’s free and there’s no account. Just open a puzzle and play. Your stats and streak are saved in your own browser.
Does every puzzle have exactly one solution?
Yes. Every board is checked by two solvers. A backtracking solver confirms there is exactly one solution, and a logic solver confirms you can reach it without guessing.
Will I ever need to guess?
No. Every board can be solved with the deductions in our techniques guide: last cell, confinement, attack elimination, and pairs or triples.
How does the daily puzzle work?
Everyone gets the same board each day. It’s built from the date, and a new one starts at midnight your local time. Solve it on the day to extend your streak. Past dailies are in the archive.
Why did my streak reset?
Your streak counts consecutive days on which you solved that day’s puzzle, and each game keeps its own. A single missed day is covered by a streak freeze if you have one banked (see below), so it takes two missed days in a row, or a missed day with no freeze, to reset it. Clearing your browser data resets it too, since the streak is stored there.
What is a streak freeze (❄), and how do I earn one?
Each game banks one streak freeze. Miss a single day and it covers that day automatically, so your streak lives on. A used freeze comes back 7 days after the day it covered. Two missed days in a row still end the streak. Missed yesterday’s puzzle? Solve it from the archive today and your streak won’t reset, though only a daily played on its own day adds to it.
How do hints work?
A hint first checks your board for mistakes, and that doesn’t cost anything. If there are none, it names a solving technique (like Last Cell or Region Squeeze), explains why it applies to your board, highlights the area that causes it and marks the ✕s it proves. It only places a crown when no ✕ can be deduced. Each hint links to that technique in our guide. You get 3 per puzzle. Solves that used hints don’t count toward best times.
What do the difficulty labels mean?
They name the hardest technique a board needs. Easy needs only last-cell and confinement moves, Medium needs attack elimination, Hard needs pairs and Expert needs triples.
Which grid sizes can I play?
From 5×5 to 12×12. In unlimited mode you pick a size and a difficulty (Easy, Medium or Hard), and your best times are kept separately for each combination. You can also browse the catalog by size. Daily boards range from 7×7 early in the week to 10×10 on Sundays.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. The board is made for touch. Tap once for an ✕ and twice for a crown. Long-press or drag to mark several cells.
Still curious? Read how to play or the solving techniques.