Intermediate Star Battle Strategy
Line Locks
When a region's remaining candidates are confined to one row or column, that line is partially reserved.
Core concept
What it means
A region may not reveal its exact stars yet, but its remaining candidates can still reserve rows or columns. This is how larger Star Battle boards produce eliminations before placements.
When a region's remaining candidates are confined to one row or column, that line is partially reserved.
After each forced pair, scan nearby regions and ask whether their legal cells now live in fewer lines.
Pattern triggers
When to use it
Use Line Locks when the board has stopped giving obvious stars but one row, column, or region has become visibly tighter than the rest.
- Regions reduced to a straight strip.
- Pairs of candidates that share the same row.
- Rows where one region must spend both stars.
Solving routine
Step-by-step method
Use this routine slowly. Each step should either place a star, remove a candidate, or make the next count easier.
- 1
Pick an unsolved region and list its legal cells.
- 2
Check whether all remaining cells occupy one row or one column.
- 3
Use that line pressure to remove incompatible candidates outside the region.
- 4
Repeat after every cleanup because locks often chain.
Worked example
How it appears on a real board
A green region has four candidates, all in rows three and four. If row three already needs exactly two stars from green, other row-three candidates can be removed.
After making the deduction, rescan the affected rows, columns, regions, and no-touch neighbors. Most Star Battle progress comes from this cleanup loop rather than from the original star placement.
Accuracy checks
Common mistakes
Most errors come from approving a cell too early. Before you place a star, check the row count, column count, region count, and all eight neighboring cells. If one rule fails, the cell is not legal.
- Looking at the original region shape instead of current candidates.
- Eliminating the region's own legal cells.
- Using a lock before checking the no-touch rule.
Practice checklist
Use it on your next board
After each forced pair, scan nearby regions and ask whether their legal cells now live in fewer lines.
- Name the row, column, and region before placing a star.
- Count legal candidates, not empty-looking cells.
- After every star, mark all touching neighbors before continuing.
- When stuck, choose the unit with the fewest legal candidates left.