How to Play Meowdoku: Rules, Controls, and Beginner Tips

Meowdoku asks one clear question: where can each cat live without crowding another cat? Every move follows three connected rules. The challenge is not speed or luck; it is noticing how one certain placement changes the rest of the board.

The three Meowdoku rules

All three rules apply at the same time. A tile may look open when you consider its color alone, then become impossible because of its row, column, or a nearby cat. Good solving means reading those constraints together.

One cat in every colored region

Each color forms a territory, even when that territory bends around other colors. Exactly one tile in each territory must contain a cat. A one-tile color is therefore an immediate placement, while a larger color asks you to eliminate impossible tiles first.

One cat in every row and column

No row or column can contain two cats. When you settle a cat, every other tile in its row and column becomes impossible. Reading colors together with rows and columns is the heart of the puzzle.

Cats cannot touch, even at corners

Two cats may not sit side by side, above or below one another, or diagonally corner to corner. After every placement, cross the neighboring tiles so you do not accidentally reuse them.

Controls: crosses and cats

A single tap toggles a cross. Crosses are notes: they mark homes you have ruled out, and a second single tap removes a manual cross when you reconsider. Double-tap a tile when logic proves it is a cat's home. A wrong home costs a fish; a correctly settled cat cannot be removed, so it remains a reliable anchor for the rest of the solve.

Dragging across several tiles lets you mark or unmark crosses quickly. The same reasoning applies whether you work one tile at a time or sweep through a row: crosses record deductions, while a double-tap commits a cat.

Your first deductions

Scan for the smallest color

Begin with one-tile colors, then colors with only two or three open homes. Small territories expose constraints sooner. If all but one tile are crossed by a row, column, or neighboring cat, the final tile is forced.

Rescan each affected line

After settling a cat, pause and inspect its row, column, neighboring tiles, and color. Then scan the remaining rows and columns for any line with only one possible cat position. One placement often creates the next deduction.

Use crosses as evidence

A cross should answer “why can no cat live here?” It may share a line with a cat, touch one, or leave its color's only cat elsewhere. Marking only defensible exclusions keeps the board readable and prevents guessing.

Common beginner mistakes

• Checking rows but forgetting columns.
• Forgetting that diagonal cats still touch.
• Treating every tile of one color as a straight block instead of following its full shape.
• Double-tapping a plausible tile before proving it is the only valid home.
• Continuing from memory instead of rescanning after a cat changes several constraints.

When you feel stuck, do not choose between two guesses. Return to the smallest unresolved color, then inspect every row and column that passes through it. Meowdoku becomes calmer when each move has a short explanation.

Frequently asked questions