Meowdoku Level 9: Free Online Puzzle

A cat in every region, row and column; none touching, corners included. Strategy guide.

Reading Level 9's six regions

Lilac takes R5C2, R6C1 and R6C2: 3 cells tucked into the bottom-left corner.

Blue takes R3C3, R3C4, R3C6, R4C4, R4C5, R4C6, R5C4, R5C5, R5C6, R6C5 and R6C6 (11 cells).

Pink takes R5C3, R6C3 and R6C4: 3 cells.

Green = a 9-cell patch, cells R1C1, R1C2, R2C1, R2C2, R2C3, R3C1, R4C1, R4C2 and R5C1.

Salmon takes R1C3, R1C4, R1C5, R2C5 and R3C2 (5 cells).

Cream? That's R1C6, R2C4, R2C6, R3C5 and R4C3. 5 cells in all.

Lilac meets green ×5, cream ×1, pink ×4.

Blue touches green ×4, cream ×12, salmon ×3, pink ×6.

Pink touches green ×1, cream ×1, blue ×6, lilac ×4.

Green touches salmon ×10, blue ×4, cream ×2, lilac ×5, pink ×1.

Salmon borders green ×10, cream ×10, blue ×3.

Cream touches salmon ×10, green ×2, blue ×12, pink ×1, lilac ×1.

Each contact is a no-touch wall, even the diagonal ones, so a placed cat silences every cell it touches across those borders.

How to Solve Level 9, Step by Step

The two three-cell regions in the bottom corners do the early work, and the first move is a test rather than a placement. Empty R5C2 and row 4 is left with no cell for its cat, so R5C2 takes the lilac cat. That single placement closes row 5 (R5C4, R5C5, R5C6) and column 2 (R1C2, R2C2, R3C2).

Pink follows immediately: R6C4 is its only open cell, so it is the cat, and row 6 (R6C6) and column 4 (R1C4, R2C4, R3C4, R4C4) close behind it.

Row 4's open cells are R4C5 and R4C6, both blue, so blue's cat is on row 4 and R3C3, R3C6 are out. Column 1's open cells, R2C1 and R3C1, are both green, so green's cat is in column 1 and R2C3 goes.

Column 3 is where the board turns. It has one open cell left, R1C3, and that cell belongs to row 1 and to salmon at the same time. So row 1's cat is in column 3 and R1C1, R1C5, R1C6 are out; salmon's cat is in column 3 too, and R2C5 follows them. R1C3 is placed as both at once.

One test is left. Empty R2C6 and row 4 starves, so R2C6 holds the cream cat and R2C1 is out.

Note the order in the bottom band: lilac's corner cat came from a test, pink's from geometry, and the two together fixed rows 5 and 6 plus the whole of column 4. Corner regions are usually where a 6×6 board gives first.

Two cells finish the grid: R3C1 for row 3, R4C5 for column 5. Cats on R1C3, R2C6, R3C1, R4C5, R5C2, R6C4. Six of them, one to a row, column and region, none within a step of another. The only guesses on this board were two contradiction checks, each one line long, and both were proved impossible rather than assumed.

Where Level 9 wants you to slip

Resist R5C1. It blocks R5C2, the lilac region's real cat square, and a board missing that cat cannot be finished.

Hints for Level 9: Four Nudges

• The bottom corners carry this board. Empty R5C2 and row 4 starves, so R5C2 is the lilac cat, and row 5 (R5C4, R5C5, R5C6) plus column 2 (R1C2, R2C2, R3C2) close with it.
• Pink follows at once: R6C4 is its only open cell, so it takes the cat and column 4 closes with R1C4 to R4C4.
• Row 4 belongs to blue, so R3C3 and R3C6 go; column 1 belongs to green, so R2C3 goes. Column 3 then has one open cell, R1C3, which is in row 1 and in salmon: both take their cat there, and R1C1, R1C5, R1C6, R2C5 leave.
• One test remains: empty R2C6 and row 4 starves, so R2C6 is cream's. R3C1 and R4C5 are then the last cells of row 3 and column 5.

Answer for Level 9

FAQ