A quiet puzzle for a sharp mind
Find the stars. Trust the grid. Play three free 5×5 logic puzzles in your browser: one star in every row, column and colored region, with no stars touching.
Puzzle 1 of 3
Each color is one region; thick borders show its edges. Choose Mark X for squares you believe are empty. Tap a marked square with the same tool to clear it.
Place a star, or mark a square you know is empty.
The puzzle manual
Place exactly one star in each horizontal row and each vertical column. These boards have five rows and five columns, so a complete solution contains five stars. Leaving a row empty or putting two stars in a column does not finish the puzzle.
Each outlined color region must also contain exactly one star. A region can stretch across several rows or bend around another region. Follow the thick borders rather than counting an entire row as a region. Every region here is connected along square edges.
Stars cannot share an edge or a corner. This includes diagonal neighbors. A star rules out the squares immediately around it, even when those squares belong to a different region. Stars are individual markers: you do not draw lines or connect them into a picture.
Imagine placing a star in row 2, column 3. Rows count from top to bottom; columns count from left to right. The squares in row 1 at columns 2, 3 and 4 cannot contain stars, because each touches that star. The same is true for row 3 at columns 2, 3 and 4. The other squares in row 2 are excluded by the one-star-per-row rule, and the other squares in column 3 are excluded by the column rule. You can use X marks to keep track of these deductions.
Select Star and tap or click a square to place a star. Select Mark X to record a square you have ruled out. Tap the same square again with the same tool to erase that mark; using the other tool replaces it. Undo reverses your most recent move in the current visit to a puzzle. Reset clears that puzzle's marks, elapsed time and hint count, so use it only when you want to start again.
Check grid highlights stars that visibly conflict with another star and explains which rule was broken. If the stars do not directly conflict, it also checks whether a complete solution is compatible with all of your stars and X marks. A conflict-free partial board is not necessarily finished or correct. When all five stars meet every rule, completion is detected automatically; you do not need to put X marks in every remaining square.
Look at small or narrow regions first. Ask which rows and columns their stars could occupy, then compare those choices with neighboring regions. If you place a star as a temporary experiment, avoid treating it as a proven answer. Use Undo to return to your previous board when that experiment leads to a contradiction.
X marks are working notes, not extra goals. They help you see which options remain after a row, column or region receives a star. A mistaken X can hide the square you need, so revisit your marks if Check grid reports that no solution fits. The game does not automatically mark adjacent squares for you.
Reveal a star highlights one answer position compatible with your current marks and states its row and column. It does not place the star, explain a logical deduction or turn an incorrect position into a correct one. When your marks are inconsistent, the game asks you to revise them before giving a reveal. Hints are optional, and their count is shown with your completion result.
No. These three boards run in this page using your browser. You can play with a mouse, a touchscreen or a keyboard. With a keyboard, use Tab to reach the board, arrow keys to move between squares, and Enter or Space to apply the selected tool. JavaScript is needed for the interactive game.
The page saves each board's marks, elapsed playing time and hint count in this browser when local storage is available. Switching puzzles keeps those marks, and returning to the page can restore them. Progress does not sync between your phone and computer. Clearing browser site data removes saved progress; a private browser session may discard it when closed. Undo history is only kept during the current visit to a board.
This first version contains three fixed, single-star 5×5 puzzles. They are not a daily feed or rated difficulty levels. The three names identify different boards rather than promising easy, medium or hard challenges. When you finish the third board, the next button returns you to the first one; it does not generate a new puzzle.
The timer starts when you make a move or request a reveal. It stops when you solve the board or select another puzzle. A completed board stays locked until you reset it. Your result is a personal reference, with no public leaderboard or time limit, so there is no need to rush through deductions.
This page is an independent browser puzzle project. Its three boards were generated for this project and checked for connected regions and one solution each. The illustrated stars in the page decoration do not add extra rules. All instructions above refer to the playable five-by-five boards, not to larger or two-star variants you may encounter elsewhere.
This version includes no advertising, analytics scripts or account registration. Saved game progress stays in this browser's local storage and is not submitted by the game. When hosted online, ordinary page requests reach the hosting provider, which may maintain request logs. You can remove saved progress through your browser's site-data settings. If tracking or advertising is added in a later version, this notice will need to be updated.
Questions or feedback: hello@star-battle-puzzle.com.