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I'm playing a 2-star 9x9 grid game. The app provides incremental clues when requested.

In this scenario, the clue states "the green region cannot be finished."

I'm just not seeing it, nor understanding the clue. Is the app thinking several steps ahead of me, or is there some obvious explanation why the blue spot can't contain a star?

Star Battle Puzzle

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This is a badly worded clue. However, it is technically correct.

enter image description here

If the cell marked is a star, then the red cell cannot be a star.

That leaves the 2 blue cells as the only possible way to get the last 2 stars in the green area.

This also means there is a star in the top left area that can be placed.

enter image description here

However, this means there is only one place in the 6th column for a star, and of course we need 2 - so this isn't possible

Whilst this technically happens because the green area can't be completed, the clue isn't worded great as the area can be completed, and it's what happens after that's invalid

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    $\begingroup$ So the app is really thinking 3+ steps ahead and offering a strategy that is not based on a simple placement rule. Interesting. $\endgroup$
    – Robert Chapin
    Commented Jul 25 at 19:20
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While this isn't exactly what the clue points out, it is a teachable example:

Consider the four columns on the right:
enter image description here
These four columns contain three full regions, leaving two stars to occupy the remaining six cells. If you place a star in the marked cell, the remaining area fits inside a 2×2 box, and can thus only accommodate one star, breaking the puzzle.

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    $\begingroup$ That is a very nice explanation. $\endgroup$
    – Graylocke
    Commented Jul 26 at 3:32

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