Star Battle Strategy: 6 Techniques
1. Smallest regions first
A region with two or three cells has few options. Whatever you can't decide, you can usually dot the cells that touch every option.
2. Regions inside few rows
If a region lies entirely within two rows, those two rows' stars... well, one of them is in that region. More usefully: if two regions lie within the same two rows, those rows' stars are in those regions, and the rest of the rows are empty.
3. Count rows against regions
Three regions that together fill exactly three rows contain exactly three stars, so any other region's cells inside those rows are empty.
4. The squeeze
A row with only two open cells side by side: the star is in one of them, so every cell touching both is empty.
5. Dots everywhere
Each star empties the eight cells around it. Mark them: the puzzle is mostly about what's empty.
6. Two-star puzzles
Two stars in a row need at least one gap between them. A region of three cells in a row must put its stars at the ends.
Frequently asked questions
Where do you start a Star Battle puzzle?
With the smallest regions. A region of two or three cells has very few places for its star, and whichever it is, the neighbouring cells become empty.
Last updated 2026-10-20