Inkwell Stars solution — February 18, 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 4, column 2).
3. Clump analysis (Region 1): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 2, column 2).
4. Clump analysis (Region 2): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 2, column 8).
5. Clump analysis (Region 5): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 3, column 7).
6. Clump analysis (Region 6): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 5, column 8).
7. Clump analysis (Region 7): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 8, column 2).
8. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - row 1 can only hold 2 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 3 (row 1, column 1).
9. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - column 9 can only hold 2 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 3 (row 1, column 9).
10. Clump analysis (Region 2): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 2, column 7).
11. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - row 1 can only hold 2 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 3 (row 3, column 1).
12. Clump analysis (Region 4): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 5, column 2).
13. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - row 1 can only hold 2 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 3 (row 3, column 8).
14. Clump analysis (Region 5): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 5, column 7).
15. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - row 1 can only hold 2 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 3 (row 6, column 3).
16. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - row 1 can only hold 2 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 3 (row 6, column 9).
17. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - row 1 can only hold 2 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 3 (row 5, column 9).
18. Squeeze (rows 5-6): the band's clumps can only just fit its stars (row 7, column 7).
19. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - row 5 must hold 2 stars but the regions there could only supply 1 (row 6, column 2).
20. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - row 1 can only hold 2 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 3 (row 7, column 1).
21. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - row 1 can only hold 2 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 3 (row 7, column 3).
22. 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 5).
23. 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 5).
24. Clump analysis (Region 8): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 6, column 7).
25. Squeeze (rows 5-6): each clump in the band must supply its full share of stars (row 6, column 8).
26. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 7, column 9).
27. Crowding (Row 7): a star here would leave too little room for its 2 remaining stars (row 8, column 3).
28. Squeeze (rows 7-8): the band's clumps can only just fit its stars (row 9, column 8).
29. Clump analysis (Region 9): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 8, column 7).
30. Generalized counting (columns 7-9): region star limits exclude these cells (row 1, column 6).
31. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - row 1 can only hold 2 stars but the regions there would be forced to place 3 (row 8, column 9).
32. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 4, column 9).
33. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 3, column 9).
34. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 2, column 9).
35. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 1, column 8).
36. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 1, column 7).
37. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 2, column 6).
38. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 8, column 8).
39. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 9, column 7).
40. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 4, column 7).
41. Mark 3 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 3, column 6).
42. Row 4 complete: Mark 4 remaining cells as X (row 4, column 1).
43. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 3, column 5).
44. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 2, column 5).
45. Three candidates with two adjacent: Isolated candidate must hold a star (row 5, column 1).
46. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 6, column 1).
47. Two-option rule: Cell adjacent to both candidates (row 2, column 3).
48. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 2, column 1).
49. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 1, column 2).
50. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 3, column 3).
51. Column 1 complete: Mark 2 remaining cells as X (row 8, column 1).
52. Column completion: 2 stars needed, 2 candidates (row 7, column 2).
53. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 9, column 2).
54. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 9, column 3).
55. Two last candidates (row 6): Eliminate 1 cell adjacent to both (row 5, column 5).
56. Two last candidates (row 5): Eliminate 1 cell adjacent to both (row 6, column 4).
57. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 6, column 6).
58. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 7, column 6).
59. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 7, column 4).
60. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 8, column 4).
61. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 8, column 6).
62. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 9, column 5).
63. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 9, column 4).
64. Column 4 complete: Mark 2 remaining cells as X (row 1, column 4).
65. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 5, column 3).
66. Column 3 complete: Mark 1 remaining cell as X (row 1, column 3).
67. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 1, column 5).
68. Solved! Every row, column, and region has its two stars, none touching.