Star Battle Hoshi Puzzles

About Star Battle Hoshi Puzzles

Hoshi, Japanese for star, is a Star Battle app by Simon Schuster, released on the App Store in January 2023 and also on Google Play, under the Guriddo name. Star Battle, also called Two Not Touch, is an old pen-and-paper puzzle from newspapers and puzzle magazines. In the common two-star version every row, column and outlined region must hold exactly two stars, and no star may touch another, even at a corner.

The heart of the app is the daily puzzle: one new grid a day that everyone plays, with your time compared on a leaderboard by rank, country and friends. A weekly challenge gives a bigger grid with three or more stars per row for players who want a long solve. Beyond that the app has grids with one to five stars, five difficulty levels from easy to diabolical, and hand-picked packs for beginners.

When you get stuck, the hint system points out the next logical step and explains why it works rather than just filling in a star, and a guide covers solving strategies. A profile keeps your streak, solve times and placements.

It suits players of LinkedIn's Queens who want the same idea with more stars and bigger grids, and anyone who likes a daily logic puzzle with a race against the clock.

How to play Star Battle Hoshi Puzzles

1. Open the day's puzzle from the daily screen.
2. Place stars on the grid and mark the cells you know must stay empty.
3. Put the required number of stars in every row, column and outlined region.
4. Never let two stars touch, including diagonally.
5. Fill the grid correctly and see where your time ranks on the leaderboard.

Screenshots

Tips

• Start with the smallest regions: they leave the fewest places a star can go.
• Mark every cell around a placed star as empty at once, since none of them can hold another.
• When a group of regions fills exactly as many rows as they need stars, every other region must stay out of those rows.
• Use a hint when stuck: it explains the step, which helps on the next puzzle too.

Questions