Tips, strategies & guides
Everything you need to master our daily logic puzzles — from your first Star Battle solve to Queens strategy.
Two Not Touch
Newspaper solvers →Inkwell Stars
Inkwell players who ran out →Queens & Starstruck
LinkedIn Queens and Netflix Starstruck players →How to Solve Queens Puzzles Without Guessing
Learn to solve Queens puzzles with pure logic. A complete beginner method, walked through on a real board from the first forced cell to the last queen.
Queens Puzzle Techniques: A Reference for Harder Boards
A reference to the Queens techniques that crack harder boards — color confinement, counting, adjacency squeezes — with a mini example for each one.
Why You're Stuck on Queens: Five Fixable Mistakes
Five specific mistakes that keep Queens players stuck, each pinned to a real board moment, plus the concrete check or habit that fixes it for good.
The History of the Queens Puzzle: From N-Queens to LinkedIn
How an 1848 chess problem became a daily commute ritual, and why the Queens game you play on LinkedIn is not really the classic N-Queens problem at all.
Star Battle
People who want the game by its own name →Do You Ever Have to Guess in Star Battle?
Every Star Battle we publish has exactly one solution reachable by logic alone. Here is what that guarantee buys you the next time you feel stuck.
How We Make and Test Seven Daily Puzzles
Inside our puzzle pipeline: how seven daily Star Battle and Queens boards are generated, checked for a unique solution, and graded for difficulty.
Wordle Alternatives That Aren't Word Games
If lucky first guesses annoy you, deduction beats recall. An honest comparison of daily word games and daily logic puzzles, and who each one suits.
Star Battle vs Nonogram: Which Logic Puzzle Should You Try?
Star Battle or Nonogram? Compare the two logic puzzles side by side — clue style, skills, and visual payoff — and find out which one is right for you.
The Counting Technique: Using Capacity Logic to Solve Star Battle
Master counting in Star Battle — use the two-stars-no-touching rule to work out how many stars a span of cells can hold and confine stars with pigeonhole logic.
Forced Placements in Star Battle: Finding Where a Star MUST Go
Stop guessing. Learn how to spot forced placements in Star Battle — the cells where a star is the only logical possibility — and let your solution cascade.
Region Confinement: The Star Battle Technique That Cracks Hard Puzzles
Learn region confinement — the Star Battle technique where a region's stars are trapped in one row or column, letting you eliminate cells across the whole board.
What is Star Battle? A Complete Guide to the Puzzle
Learn what Star Battle puzzles are, how the rules work, and why the NYT publishes the same puzzle as Two Not Touch. A complete beginner's introduction.
How to Solve Star Battle Puzzles: A Step-by-Step Beginner's Guide
Master Star Battle puzzles with our comprehensive beginner's guide. Learn the basic techniques and strategies to solve any Star Battle puzzle without guessing.
Star Battle Rules Explained: Everything You Need to Know
Complete explanation of Star Battle puzzle rules. Understand exactly how to play with clear examples and visual guides.
Star Battle Tips: Habits That Actually Make You Faster
Getting faster at Star Battle is about habits, not tricks: a fixed scan order, disciplined X-marking, and knowing when slowing down speeds you up.
Star Battle vs Sudoku: Which Puzzle is Harder?
Comparing Star Battle and Sudoku - two of the world's most popular logic puzzles. Which is more challenging? Which should you try first?
The History of Star Battle: From Championship Puzzle to Daily Habit
Explore the fascinating history of Star Battle puzzles - from their origins in puzzle competitions to becoming a worldwide phenomenon.
The Elimination Technique: Master Star Battle's Most Powerful Strategy
Learn the elimination technique - the single most important strategy for solving Star Battle puzzles quickly and accurately.
Advanced Star Battle Techniques for Puzzle Masters
Ready to tackle expert-level Star Battle puzzles? Learn advanced techniques like region analysis, forced placements, and chain logic.
Common Star Battle Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Struggling with Star Battle? You might be making these common mistakes. Learn what they are and how to fix them.
What Logic Puzzles Actually Do for Your Brain
Most brain-training claims do not hold up, and we say so. The honest case for a daily logic puzzle: ritual, focus, and the feel of a clean deduction.
Building a Daily Puzzle Routine That Actually Sticks
The honest case for a daily puzzle habit: what repetition really trains, the real 66-day number, and a ramp built on our four daily Star Battles.
Star Battle for Kids: Teaching the Rules Without Frustration
How to introduce a child to Star Battle: explaining the rules in plain words, guiding without solving, and which of our puzzles to actually start on.
Printable Star Battle Puzzles: Five Free Packs to Download
Our five printable Star Battle packs, Easy through Expert plus Mixed: what is in each one, when paper beats the screen, and how to download them free.
Done reading? Go solve.
Star Battle in four difficulty levels, Queens in three — seven new puzzles every day, all free.