Expert Star Battle

Expert Star Battle answer — August 23, 2026

Stuck on the August 23, 2026 expert Star Battle (also called Two Not Touch)? Here's the complete step-by-step solution to the 10×10 grid — every star placed with pure logic, one deduction at a time, no guessing. Tap Next to step through it, or brush up on the rules first.

Solve walkthrough Step 1 of 62

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 5, 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 6, column 2).
  4. Three candidates with two adjacent: Isolated candidate must hold a star (row 5, column 1).
  5. Mark 3 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 4, column 1).
  6. Two-option rule: Cell adjacent to both candidates (row 5, column 4).
  7. Two-option rule: Cell adjacent to both candidates (row 6, column 4).
  8. Blocking rule: a star here would touch every other open cell in its region, leaving no room for the region's second star (row 3, column 6).
  9. Blocking rule: a star here would touch every other open cell in its region, leaving no room for the region's second star (row 4, column 6).
  10. Three candidates with two adjacent: Isolated candidate must hold a star (row 4, column 7).
  11. Mark 6 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 3, column 7).
  12. Two-option rule: Cell adjacent to both candidates (row 3, column 4).
  13. Two-option rule: Cell adjacent to both candidates (row 4, column 4).
  14. Clump analysis (Region 5): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 3, column 3).
  15. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 4, column 5).
  16. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 5, column 5).
  17. Row 4 complete: Mark 3 remaining cells as X (row 4, column 3).
  18. Clump analysis (Row 3): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 2, column 1).
  19. Clump analysis (Region 9): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 8, column 2).
  20. Clump analysis (Region 8): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 7, column 4).
  21. Crowding (Column 4): a star here would leave too little room for its 2 remaining stars (row 9, column 3).
  22. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - column 1 can only hold 2 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 3 (row 1, column 2).
  23. Deep lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - Column 2 would end up with more than 2 stars (row 1, column 1).
  24. Generalized counting (rows 1-1): region star limits exclude these cells (row 2, column 6).
  25. Three candidates in a row: Middle cell can't hold a star (row 2, column 4).
  26. Row completion: 2 stars needed, 2 candidates (row 2, column 3).
  27. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 1, column 3).
  28. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 2, column 5).
  29. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 1, column 6).
  30. Column completion: 2 stars needed, 2 candidates (row 7, column 2).
  31. Mark 5 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 6, column 3).
  32. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 5, column 3).
  33. Row 5 complete: Mark 2 remaining cells as X (row 5, column 9).
  34. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 10, column 2).
  35. Mark 3 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 9, column 1).
  36. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 3, column 1).
  37. Column 5 complete: Mark 4 remaining cells as X (row 6, column 5).
  38. Region completion: 2 stars needed, 2 candidates (row 6, column 6).
  39. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 6, column 7).
  40. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 8, column 4).
  41. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 9, column 4).
  42. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 10, column 4).
  43. Row 10 complete: Mark 5 remaining cells as X (row 10, column 6).
  44. Two-option rule: Cell adjacent to both candidates (row 7, column 8).
  45. Two-option rule: Cell adjacent to both candidates (row 9, column 7).
  46. Two-option rule: Cell adjacent to both candidates (row 9, column 8).
  47. Two-option rule: Cell adjacent to both candidates (row 8, column 7).
  48. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 8, column 8).
  49. Mark 3 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 7, column 9).
  50. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 7, column 10).
  51. Mark 3 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 6, column 9).
  52. Region completion: 2 stars needed, 2 candidates (row 6, column 8).
  53. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 9, column 10).
  54. Row 8 complete: Mark 1 remaining cell as X (row 8, column 6).
  55. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 9, column 6).
  56. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 1, column 7).
  57. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 1, column 8).
  58. Column completion: 2 stars needed, 2 candidates (row 1, column 9).
  59. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 1, column 10).
  60. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 3, column 9).
  61. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 3, column 10).
  62. Solved! Every row, column, and region has its two stars, none touching.

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This step-by-step walkthrough is generated by the TryHard Puzzles solver to teach Star Battle (Two Not Touch) solving technique.