One cat per color region
Each colored region must contain exactly one cat. Region sizes can differ — a single-cell color is a forced placement and should usually be handled first.
How to play Meowdoku
These four rules explain every legal solution. When stuck, re-check in order: color → row/column → diagonal → forced cells.
One cat per row and column
On an N×N board, each row and each column gets exactly one cat (N cats total). Once a cat is placed, that row and column are closed for other cats.
Cats cannot touch
No two cats may share an edge or a corner. Equivalently, each cat blocks all eight surrounding cells. This is one of the biggest differences from classic Sudoku.
Logic first, guessing last
Puzzles are built for deduction. Wrong placements cost fish tokens — mark impossibles with X instead of gambling.
Controls & interface
- Place / remove: tap empty cells to place, tap again to remove (except locked cats).
- X marks: switch to mark mode to note cells that cannot hold a cat.
- Hint: spends a hint to reveal one correct cat and mark its blocked zone.
- Undo / restart: reverse recent moves or clear the level.
- Fish tokens: wrong placements cost lives; run out and the level fails.
Recommended beginner flow
- Start from locked cats; mark their row, column, and 8 neighbors.
- Find every single-cell color and place those forced cats.
- Look for rows, columns, or regions with only one legal cell left.
- Repeat elimination until the board converges; use a hint or a level guide if needed. Level Guides
Vs Sudoku
Sudoku uses numbers and boxes; Meowdoku uses cats and freeform color regions plus the no-touch diagonal rule. You need spatial elimination, not arithmetic. See strategy for deeper techniques. Strategy
Rules clear? Start playing
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