Inkwell Stars solution — June 19, 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 10).
3. Three candidates with two adjacent: Isolated candidate must hold a star (row 3, column 10).
4. Mark 4 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 2, column 9).
5. Blocking rule: a star here would touch every other open cell in its region, leaving no room for the region's second star (row 9, column 1).
6. Blocking rule: a star here would touch every other open cell in its region, leaving no room for the region's second star (row 9, column 2).
7. Three candidates with two adjacent: Isolated candidate must hold a star (row 8, column 1).
8. Mark 3 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 7, column 1).
9. Clump analysis (Region 1): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 2, column 3).
10. Clump analysis (Region 5): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 5, column 5).
11. Clump analysis (Region 7): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 1, column 10).
12. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 1, column 9).
13. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 1, column 8).
14. Clump analysis (Column 10): each clump must supply its full share of stars (row 7, column 9).
15. Mark 8 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 6, column 8).
16. Column 9 complete: Mark 3 remaining cells as X (row 5, column 9).
17. Blocking rule: a star here would touch every other open cell in its region, leaving no room for the region's second star (row 10, column 7).
18. Clump analysis (Region 1): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 1, column 5).
19. Clump analysis (Region 3): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 5, column 7).
20. Clump analysis (Region 8): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 9, column 5).
21. Clump analysis (Region 6): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 7, column 6).
22. Crowding (Row 2): a star here would leave too little room for its 2 remaining stars (row 3, column 6).
23. Clump analysis (Region 5): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 3, column 4).
24. Crowding (Column 8): a star here would leave too little room for its 2 remaining stars (row 4, column 7).
25. Generalized counting (columns 6-8): region star limits exclude these cells (row 2, column 6).
26. Composite container (columns 6-7): Region 6 is confined here, so the leftover cells owe exactly 2 of the band's 4 stars - a star on these cells would crowd them out (row 3, column 8).
27. Lookahead: Placing star here leads to contradiction - Region 1 would only have room for 0 of the 1 star it still needs (row 1, column 2).
28. Joint analysis (Row 1 + Region 1): every legal combination of their stars rules these cells out (row 1, column 1).
29. Joint analysis (Row 3 + Region 5): every legal combination of their stars rules these cells out (row 4, column 6).
30. Clump analysis (Column 6): candidate clumps can only just supply the remaining stars (row 6, column 7).
31. Crowding (Row 6): a star here would leave too little room for its 2 remaining stars (row 7, column 5).
32. Squeeze (rows 6-7): the band's clumps can only just fit its stars (row 5, column 1).
33. Generalized counting (rows 7-10): region star limits exclude these cells (row 9, column 10).
34. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 5, column 10).
35. Crowding (Row 9): a star here would leave too little room for its 2 remaining stars (row 8, column 7).
36. Three candidates with two adjacent: Isolated candidate must hold a star (row 7, column 7).
37. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 6, column 6).
38. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 5, column 6).
39. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 4, column 5).
40. Row 5 complete: Mark 2 remaining cells as X (row 5, column 4).
41. Row 7 complete: Mark 2 remaining cells as X (row 7, column 3).
42. Three candidates with two adjacent: Isolated candidate must hold a star (row 4, column 8).
43. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 3, column 7).
44. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 2, column 7).
45. Three candidates with two adjacent: Isolated candidate must hold a star (row 6, column 4).
46. Blocking rule: a star here would touch every other open cell in its region, leaving no room for the region's second star (row 9, column 4).
47. Two last candidates (row 3): Eliminate 1 cell adjacent to both (row 4, column 4).
48. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 3, column 5).
49. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 2, column 5).
50. Row 3 complete: Mark 1 remaining cell as X (row 3, column 3).
51. Column completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 8, column 5).
52. Mark 2 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 8, column 4).
53. Row 8 complete: Mark 1 remaining cell as X (row 8, column 3).
54. Row completion: 2 stars needed, 2 candidates (row 9, column 3).
55. Mark 3 cells adjacent to stars as X (row 10, column 2).
56. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 10, column 1).
57. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 9, column 8).
58. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 10, column 8).
59. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 10, column 6).
60. Column 1 complete: Mark 3 remaining cells as X (row 2, column 1).
61. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 2, column 2).
62. Mark 1 cell adjacent to stars as X (row 1, column 3).
63. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 1, column 4).
64. Row completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 6, column 2).
65. Column 2 complete: Mark 1 remaining cell as X (row 4, column 2).
66. Region completion: 1 star needed, 1 candidate (row 4, column 3).
67. Solved! Every row, column, and region has its two stars, none touching.