How to Play Star Battle (Candles): Rules and 6 Beginner Tips
November 2, 2026
Star Battle is a logic puzzle played on a square grid that is split into colored regions. In Grid Ritual we call it Candles, because you light a candle instead of placing a star. If you enjoy LinkedIn’s Queens, this is the classic puzzle behind it.
You never need to guess. Every grid has exactly one answer, and you can always find the next step by reasoning.
The rules
Place candles on the grid so that:
- Every row has exactly one candle.
- Every column has exactly one candle.
- Every colored region has exactly one candle.
- Candles never touch, not even at the corners.
A grid with 5 rows has 5 candles, a grid with 7 rows has 7, and so on.
In the solved grid above, look at any row, column or color and you will find exactly one candle. No two candles sit next to each other.
How to mark squares
In Grid Ritual, tap a square once to mark it with an × (“no candle here”). Tap it again to place a candle. You can drag across several empty squares to mark them all with × at once.
Marking × is the heart of the puzzle. Most of the time you don’t find where a candle goes. You find all the places it can’t go, until only one square is left.
6 tips to solve any grid
1. Start with the smallest region
A region with only two or three squares has very few choices. Look there first. If a region is a single square, the candle goes there.
2. Cross out around every candle
As soon as you place a candle, mark × on all eight squares around it, and on the rest of its row and column. This one habit solves a surprising amount of the puzzle.
3. Look for a region stuck in one row
If every square of a region sits in the same row, that region’s candle must be in that row. So no other region can use that row: mark × on every square of the row outside the region. The same works for columns.
4. Count regions and rows together
If two regions fit entirely inside the same two rows, those two rows are “used up” by those two regions. Mark × on everything else in those two rows. This works for any number: three regions inside three columns, and so on.
5. Find squares that would block a whole region
Imagine putting a candle on a square. Would it touch or share a row with every open square of some region? Then that region would have nowhere to go, so the square must be an ×.
6. When you feel stuck, take a hint
Grid Ritual’s hints don’t just show the answer. They point to the next square and tell you why, using the same tricks as above. After a few hints you’ll start spotting them on your own.
Why it’s a nice morning habit
A Candles grid takes a few minutes. There is no timer unless you turn one on, and every puzzle can be solved by thinking, not luck. In Grid Ritual it’s the last of three short puzzles each morning: solve all three and you light all three candles for the day.