Expert Star Battle answer — July 7, 2026

Full written solution

Every deduction from the walkthrough above, in order. Each technique is explained in the Star Battle strategy guide.

1. Starting position — the grid is split into regions (bold outlines). Each row, column, and region needs exactly two stars, and no two stars may touch.
2. Blocking rule: a star here would touch every other open cell in its region, leaving no room for the region's second star (row 2, column 2).
3. Blocking rule: a star here would touch every other open cell in its region, leaving no room for the region's second star (row 7, column 3).
4. Clump analysis (Region 5): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 2, column 4).
5. Star claim: Region 8 must place a star in row 6; cells touching all its options are eliminated (row 5, column 3).
6. Crowding (Region 8): a star here would leave too little room for its 2 remaining stars (row 7, column 4).
7. Undercounting: 4 regions fit in rows 6-9, eliminate 4 outside candidates (row 6, column 1).
8. Composite container (rows 7-9): Regions 6 and 9 are confined here, so the leftover cells owe exactly 2 of the band's 6 stars - a star on these cells would crowd them out (row 8, column 8).
9. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - columns 7-9 can only hold 6 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 7 (row 2, column 5).
10. Joint analysis (Region 2 + Region 4): every legal combination of their stars rules these cells out (row 2, column 8).
11. Joint analysis (Region 5 + Region 7): every legal combination of their stars rules these cells out (row 1, column 9).
12. Composite container (rows 2-5): Regions 1, 2 and 4 are confined here, so the leftover cells owe exactly 2 of the band's 8 stars - a star on these cells would crowd them out (row 3, column 6).
13. Generalized counting (columns 7-9): region star limits exclude these cells (row 1, column 7).
14. Joint analysis (Row 2 + Row 1): every legal combination of their stars rules these cells out (row 3, column 8).
15. Joint analysis (Column 8 + Column 7): every legal combination of their stars rules these cells out (row 2, column 6).
16. Composite container (rows 2-5): Regions 1, 2 and 4 are confined here, so the leftover cells owe exactly 2 of the band's 8 stars - a star on these cells would crowd them out (row 3, column 2).
17. Squeeze (columns 3-4): the band's clumps can only just fit its stars (row 4, column 2).
18. Composite container (rows 2-5): Regions 1, 2 and 4 are confined here, so the leftover cells owe exactly 2 of the band's 8 stars - impossible without stars on these cells (row 3, column 5).
19. Composite container (columns 4-6): Region 7 is confined here, so the leftover cells owe exactly 4 of the band's 6 stars - a star on these cells would crowd them out (row 8, column 5).
20. Joint analysis (Column 8 + Column 9): every legal combination of their stars rules these cells out (row 4, column 7).
21. Crowding (Row 4): a star here would leave too little room for its 2 remaining stars (row 5, column 2).
22. Joint analysis (Column 8 + Region 3): every legal combination of their stars rules these cells out (row 4, column 9).
23. Squeeze (rows 4-5): the band's clumps can only just fit its stars (row 2, column 1).
24. Squeeze (columns 1-2): the band's clumps can only just fit its stars (row 6, column 3).
25. Squeeze (columns 3-4): the band's clumps can only just fit its stars (row 5, column 5).
26. Three candidates with two adjacent: Isolated candidate must hold a star (row 5, column 6).
27. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 6, column 7).
28. Crowding (Column 7): a star here would leave too little room for its 2 remaining stars (row 8, column 6).
29. Squeeze (rows 6-7): the band's clumps can only just fit its stars (row 8, column 7).
30. Generalized counting (rows 9-9): region star limits exclude these cells (row 9, column 9).
31. Blocking rule: a star here would touch every other open cell in its region, leaving no room for the region's second star (row 7, column 8).
32. Lookahead: This cell must be a star - eliminating it leads to contradiction (Row 3 would only have room for 0 of the 1 star it still needs) (row 4, column 1).
33. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 5, column 1).
34. Squeeze (rows 5-6): each clump in the band must supply its full share of stars (row 6, column 2).
35. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 7, column 2).
36. Crowding (Row 7): a star here would leave too little room for its 2 remaining stars (row 6, column 8).
37. Clump analysis (Column 8): each clump must supply its full share of stars (row 9, column 8).
38. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 8, column 9).
39. Three candidates with two adjacent: Isolated candidate must hold a star (row 7, column 7).
40. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 7, column 6).
41. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 7, column 5).
42. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 6, column 4).
43. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 8, column 3).
44. Mark 4 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 8, column 2).
45. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 6, column 9).
46. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 5, column 8).
47. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 5, column 4).
48. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 4, column 3).
49. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 4, column 8).
50. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 3, column 7).
51. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 2, column 7).
52. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 1, column 6).
53. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 2, column 9).
54. Row 2 complete: Mark 1 remaining cell as X (row 2, column 3).
55. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 3, column 3).
56. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 8, column 1).
57. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 9, column 1).
58. Column 1 complete: Mark 1 remaining cell as X (row 1, column 1).
59. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 1, column 2).
60. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 1, column 3).
61. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 1, column 4).
62. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 1, column 5).
63. Column 5 complete: Mark 1 remaining cell as X (row 9, column 5).
64. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 9, column 6).
65. Solved! Every row, column, and region has its two stars, none touching.