Huestar

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App Info

Huestar is a Star Battle logic puzzle: place stars in every row, column and color region of the board. Every board has exactly one solution and can be solved by logic alone, without guessing.

• There are no lives and no mistake counter. Hints are free and unlimited, and there is no time limit.
• No sign-up, no login. The first time you open the app, a short Tutorial on a small 5×5 board teaches the rules. You can end it at any time with Skip.
• The game works without an internet connection. The internet is only used for the banner ad at the bottom of the screen and for sending usage statistics and crash reports.
• The app follows your device language. It supports English, Korean, Japanese and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), and you can also pick a language in Settings.

1. Rules

• The board is a grid of square cells, divided by thick lines into as many color regions as the board has rows.
• Place one star in every row, every column and every region. On Level 6 (two-star boards), place two in each.
• Stars can't touch. Two stars can't sit in neighboring cells, not even diagonally.
• The board is solved when every star is in place. You don't have to fill in all the dots. If removing a wrong star leaves exactly the answer, the board is solved too.
• A dot is your own mark for "no star can go here". You don't need dots to finish, but marking ruled-out cells makes the remaining cells easier to see.
• Every board has exactly one solution and can be solved by logic alone. You will never get a board where a cell can only be settled by guessing.
• There are no lives and mistakes aren't counted. A wrong star doesn't end the board, and you can undo as much as you like.
• Best times count only boards solved without hints. Solve a board without hints and the result gets a Perfect stamp.

Reading the board

• Each region is filled with its own jewel color, like a piece of stained glass. Thick black lead lines separate the regions and thin lines separate the cells inside a region. Regions are told apart by the thick lines, not by color alone.
• A region that has all its stars (with no conflicting star) lights up like glass in the sun.
• If the colors are hard to tell apart, turn on Region patterns in Settings. Each region gets its own line pattern.
• Rule conflicts (on by default): touching stars turn red with a double ring, and rows, columns or regions with too many stars, or with too few cells left for their stars, get diagonal stripes. Only the rules are checked; the answer is never used.
• Rows, columns or regions brushed with white light, and cells with a soft glow and a dotted outline, are where a hint is pointing (section 4).

2. Solving tips

The Tutorial teaches the basics on a single 5×5 board in six steps: Regions → No touching → Dots → Rows → Columns → On your own. Each step highlights where to look, and only the cells you need to decide can be tapped. Hints label the technique they use. From the easiest:

• Around a star: no star can go in the eight cells around a star.
• Full line, Full region: once a row, column or region has all its stars, no star can go in its remaining cells.
• Last cells: if a row, column or region has exactly as many cells left as it still needs stars, all of those cells are stars.
• Touches all: if a cell touches every remaining cell of some row, column or region, a star there would leave that line or region no room for its star. So no star can go in that cell.
• Confined region, Confined line: if all the remaining cells of a region lie in one row (or column), that region's star is also that line's star. So no star can go in the other cells of that line (and the same works the other way round).
• Try a star: if placing a star in a cell would clear its surroundings and the rest of any line or region it fills, leaving some row, column or region without enough room for its stars, then no star can go in that cell.
• Two regions in two lines, Two lines in two regions: the confined idea for two at a time. If the remaining cells of two regions lie within two rows, no star can go in the other cells of those rows.
• Three or more confined: the same idea for three or more.
• 2×2 blocks (two-star boards): if the remaining cells of a line or region can be covered by as many 2×2 blocks as it still needs stars, each 2×2 block holds exactly one star.

Level 1 can be solved with techniques up to Try a star. Higher levels include boards that need the wider confinement techniques. The hint explains any harder technique with its reason (section 4).

3. Controls

• Controls A (default): each tap cycles a cell: empty → dot → star → empty. A cell showing an auto dot counts as a dot, so tapping it places a star.
• Controls B: choose B: Tap · hold under Controls in Settings. Tap to place or remove a star; long-press to place or erase a dot. [Dot|Star] below the board swaps what tap and long press do. A ring fills while you hold; the long-press time is set in Settings (default 350 ms).
• Drag to dot: drag across empty cells to dot them. Start a drag on a dot to erase the dots you pass over. Drags only count inside the board.
• Auto dots (on by default): when you place a star, dots fill in around it and in the remaining cells of any row, column or region that now has all its stars. They look a little smaller and lighter than your own dots and disappear when you remove the star.
• Undo: Undo below the board takes back your last move. You can undo as much as you like, and one drag is undone in one step.
• A tap counts when you lift your finger. If a second finger touches the screen, that touch is ignored.

The left side of the top bar shows the mode and the board (for example: Classic, Level 3 · 8×8 and a star picture). The number of stars in the picture is how many stars go in each row, column and region (two-star boards show ★★). Daily shows the Daily number (#12) and the board size. The buttons on the right:

The row just above the board:

• The number next to the star picture is stars placed / stars needed (for example, 4 / 8). Two-star boards show two stars.
• The number next to the light bulb is how many hints you've used.
• The time is on the right (hide it with Show timer in Settings).
• Hint bubbles and notices appear in the strip above it (section 4). An untouched board shows a one-line rule there.

The row below the board:

The Restart sheet:

4. Hints

Hint shows the next step of the solution together with its reason. Hints are free and unlimited.

You tap the same button up to three times: Hint → Show → Apply.

• Step 1: Hint shows where to look. The rows, columns or regions the reasoning is based on are brushed with white light and outlined on the inside. The tag in the bubble names the technique (section 2). For example: "See which rows hold the remaining cells of the highlighted region."
• Step 2: the button becomes Show. Tap it and the cells to decide get a soft glow and a dotted outline; stars to place appear faded, dots to place appear faded, and the reason is shown. Reasons never use color names or row numbers; they point to what is highlighted.
• Step 3: the button becomes Apply. Tap it to place the stars or dots. One undo takes it back.
• Wrong marks come first (tags Wrong star, Wrong dot). A star that isn't in the answer, or a dot on a cell that holds a star in the answer, is pointed out starting with the one you placed first. The button goes straight to Apply, which removes that mark.
• When several steps in a row only decide dots, tap To next star in the bubble to place all those dots at once and jump straight to the next step that decides a star.
• Hints reason only from correctly placed stars and the dots they settle. Your own dots are never used as evidence, so hints are always right, even if you haven't placed any dots or some of your dots are wrong. Steps whose results you already have on the board are skipped.
• The number of hints you've used shows above the board and in the result, and is included in the Daily share text. A hint is counted when you ask for it (step 1). Show and Apply aren't counted separately; closing a hint and asking again counts one more. To next star counts only when it starts a new hint.
• Tapping the close button (X) on the bubble, or tapping a cell, closes the hint. When there is nothing left to show, you'll see "No more hints to show".

5. Assistance

Turn these on or off under Board and controls and Assistance in Settings. During a game you can change them right away in Quick settings.

• Auto dots (on by default): dots fill in around stars and in full rows, columns and regions (section 3). Turn it off to see only your own dots.
• Show rule conflicts (on by default): shows touching stars, and rows, columns or regions with too many stars or no room left for their stars (section 1).
• Show mistakes instantly (off by default): marks stars that don't match the answer right away. When it's off, a wrong star is only pointed out by a hint.
• Show timer (on by default): shows the time above the board. Turning it off only hides the time; it keeps running. The time a board took is shown in the result.
• Region patterns (off by default): adds a different line pattern to each region, for when colors are hard to tell apart.
• Long-press time (ms) (default 350): choose from 250, 300, 350, 400 and 500. Shown only with Controls B.

6. Modes

Classic — pick a level, no time limit

• On the Classic card on the home screen, choose a level with the level tabs (1–6) and tap Play. If you have a board in progress it says Continue. If you're new, start with Level 1.
• Levels differ in board size and stars per line. All levels are open from the start, and each level has 2,000 boards.

• Each tab shows the level number and board size; the two-star level has two small stars. The board preview in the middle of the card shows the board you're solving (stars and dots placed), and swiping it moves to the next or previous level. Below it are the chosen level and a line of records (for example "Level 3 · 8×8 · 1 star each" and "Best 03:41 · Solved 12 · Perfect 3").
• Boards come at random from the ones you haven't solved yet, rotated or flipped and with the region colors shuffled. Solved boards don't come back until you've solved every board of that level; then the boards you solved longest ago come back first.
• When you solve a board, light spreads across it twice and then the result card appears. It shows the time, Hints, Best (boards solved without hints only; a New best stamp if you beat your record) and the number of boards Solved. Solving without hints earns a Perfect stamp. Next board takes you to the next board of the same level.
• The board you're solving is saved automatically. Leave and come back, or close and reopen the app, and you continue where you left off on each level. The clock runs while the board screen is open; it stops while you're away from the app or the screen. If you leave a board without touching it, no time is kept and the same board waits for you.

Daily — today's three boards

• Every day everyone gets the same three boards: Small (6×6), Medium (8×8) and Large (10×10), all one-star boards. Everyone in the world solves the same boards on the same day (by the device date). A new Daily opens at midnight, device time.
• Each board is solved and recorded separately. The rules are the same as in Classic (no lives, unlimited hints).
• There is no time limit; the time you've spent so far is shown above the board (you can hide it in Settings).
• Within the same day you can leave and continue later. Restart this board keeps counting the time and hints you've used that day (it's the only restart option). When the day changes, yesterday's unfinished boards disappear and new ones open.
• Solving at least one of the day's three boards keeps your Streak going; skip a day and it resets.
• The Daily card on the home screen shows the Daily number and today's date, your streak, today's three boards and the seven days of this week. Each board tile shows the board name, size and status (New board, Continue, or for a solved board a starlit tile with the time). Tap it to play the board or see its result. The week row shows the weekday, the date and a star for each of that day's three boards (filled when solved; today has a bold outline).
• The result screen shows the board, its size, the time, Hints, Streak (days), how many boards you solved Today, the week row and the time until the next Daily. Solving without hints earns a Perfect stamp, and beating your best streak puts a New best stamp on the streak. Use Share to send your result (one board at a time). For example:

Huestar Daily #12 · Medium ✅ 03:41
Hints 0
🔥 5-day streak

#12 is the Daily number, followed by the board size and the time (minutes:seconds, or hours:minutes:seconds after an hour). "Huestar Daily" on the first line is the same in every language. The second line is the hint count and the third line is your streak (only from two days on). The board itself isn't included, because it would give away the answer. The first Daily is #1 and the number goes up by one each day, so the same number and board size mean the same board.

7. Records

Open them with the trophy button at the top right of the home screen. The button shows how many boards you've solved.

• At the top: the total of Boards solved (Classic and Daily), split into Classic and Daily
• Classic: for each level, the number of boards Solved, the Best time (boards solved without hints only), the Average time (all boards) and the number of Perfect boards (solved without hints). Levels with no solved boards are grayed out and show "-" for times.
• Daily: Streak, Best streak, Days solved and boards Solved. In the calendar below (move a month at a time with the buttons on either side), solved days are starlit with one star per board solved that day, and today has an outline.

8. Settings

Open Settings with the gear at the top right of the home screen. There are four groups. During a game, the Quick settings button changes the first three groups right away.

Sound and effects

Board and controls

Assistance

General

9. Ads and your records

• A single banner ad sits at the very bottom of the screen. During the Tutorial the ad is removed and its space left empty. This banner is the only ad. The game works offline; the internet is used only for the ad and for usage statistics and crash reports.
• There are no in-app purchases.
• Your records and settings are stored on your device. If Google backup (Android Auto Backup) is on, they're included in it, so you can carry on after changing devices. Uninstalling the app deletes the records on the device.
• For details, see the Privacy Policy.

10. Contact