Coming from Queens
Queens was the warm-up.
If you're finishing LinkedIn Queens in two minutes and wishing it fought back, you've already found the door. Queens is a one-star Star Battle. This is the real game behind it: bigger boards, two stars per region, and difficulty that goes as far as you do.
Queens is Star Battle: the training-wheels edition
LinkedIn Queens took a decades-old logic puzzle, Star Battle, and shipped its gentlest form to a few million phones: a small coloured grid, one queen per row, column, and region, none touching, auto-marked so you can't even make a mistake. It's a brilliant on-ramp. It's also, deliberately, the shallow end.
Full Star Battle keeps the exact same no-touching rule and asks for two stars in every row, column, and region, usually on a bigger board and with no auto-marking. That one change multiplies everything: more stars interacting, longer chains of deduction, and puzzles that stay genuinely hard for twenty minutes instead of two.
| LinkedIn Queens | Star Battle (Zavija) | |
|---|---|---|
| Stars per unit | One per row, column, region | Two per row, column, region |
| Board size | Small, fixed daily | Up to 14×14 and beyond |
| Marking | Auto-marked for you | You mark by hand; housekeeping matters |
| Depth | Singles & simple logic | Counting, forcing, look-ahead |
| Supply | One per day | Never runs out |
| Touching rule | No two touch, incl. diagonals | Identical |
What actually gets harder
The jump from one star to two isn't linear; it's where the interesting techniques live. With a single queen per unit, most moves are "only one square left." With two stars per unit, you start counting: how many stars a band of rows owes, weighed against the regions inside it. You start forcing: placing a star in your head and watching a region break. And on the hardest boards you look ahead, following a forced line several moves out to prove a square impossible.
None of it is guessing. A good Star Battle always has a forced next move; the skill is finding it. If you enjoyed the click of a Queens solution, this is that click, deeper and on demand. The techniques guide walks the whole ladder.
Making the jump without the wall
Coming straight from Queens, the two-star board can look busy at first. What makes it click fast:
- Start easy, size up gradually. Begin at a small two-star board and let the boards grow as the moves become second nature.
- Use the hint as a teacher. Stuck? Zavija names the technique and shows you where to look, so next time you find it yourself. Hints are free and unlimited.
- Read the review. After every solve, see which moves you nailed, where a simpler line was sitting there, and whether you deduced or guessed. It's the shortcut Queens never gave you.
Common questions
Is Star Battle harder than Queens?
Yes, meaningfully. Two stars per unit on a larger board multiplies the interactions and the depth of deduction, and difficulty scales far past anything Queens offers. But it starts gentle: an easy two-star board is a comfortable next step, not a cliff.
Are the rules different?
The core rule is identical: no two stars touch, even diagonally. The only change is two stars per row, column, and region instead of one. Full rules here.
Do I have to pay or sign up?
No. There's a free weekly puzzle and a rotating set of boards with no account needed. Unlocking the full library, every size and difficulty, is a single one-time $7.99, no subscription.
Will I run out of puzzles like I do with Queens?
No. Zavija generates fresh, engine-verified boards, so there's always another. That's the whole point of graduating.
Ready for one that fights back?
Start with an easy two-star board, free and with no account, then size up as it starts to feel small.