Queens Puzzle vs Ember

Queens is a clean, calming puzzle game. Place stars on the grid so that each row, column, and coloured region contains exactly the right number — no two stars can touch, even diagonally. Simple rules, satisfying logic. New puzzles added regularly, no ads, no nonsense. The internet as it should be.

Ember is a logic puzzle with three rules and no noise, played beside a campfire under a desert night sky. Place one flame in every row, every column and every coloured region. No two flames may touch — not even diagonally. That is the whole game. It is the puzzle known as Queens, or Star Battle: the same rules, two thousand levels deep. EVERY BOARD IS FAIR Each puzzle is checked twice before it reaches you: once to prove it has exactly one answer, and again to prove that answer can be reached by reasoning alone. You will never need to guess. Not once. TWO THOUSAND LEVELS, 6x6 TO 12x12 One ordered campaign, identical for every player, so level 400 means the same board to everyone. Board sizes mix from the very first levels and climb to sprawling 12x12 boards late on — but even the last stretch deals a small board often enough to change the rhythm. THE LAST STRETCH BITES Late levels deal Master boards, where two or three regions have to be weighed together before a single square can be crossed off. Still no guessing, ever — the proof just takes more steps. A TAP IS NOT A CHOICE Tapping a square crosses it out — a note to yourself, costing nothing. Placing a flame is a decision, so it takes a deliberate double tap. Nothing is ever crossed out for you. THREE LIVES A flame placed where one cannot go turns red, costs a life, and settles into a red cross — so a mistake still leaves you something true about the board. HINTS THAT TEACH A hint never simply hands you a square. The board dims to leave only the squares the rule is about, and states that rule in plain words. Tap Apply and the crosses go down one at a time, so you can follow the reasoning as it happens. SOUND WORTH LEAVING ON A quiet theme over falling rain, generated as it plays. It stays well back, respects the silent switch, and steps aside entirely if you are already listening to something else. YOUR PROGRESS FOLLOWS YOU Levels, stars and flawless wins save to your own iCloud, so a new phone picks up exactly where you left off. Nothing is sent anywhere else. WHAT EMBER DOES NOT DO No adverts, anywhere, ever. No subscription. No account to create. No analytics, no tracking, nothing about you collected or sold. It is a small download that plays entirely offline, with no server behind it. LEADERBOARDS, IF YOU WANT THEM Three boards — total stars, flawless wins, and how far through the campaign you have come — run on Apple's own Game Center. Decline the sign-in and nothing is ever sent; the whole game plays exactly the same either way. Every puzzle, every hint and every colour scheme is free. There is nothing to buy, nothing to unlock and nothing held back. Ember asks for no money and no attention. Designed for iPhone and iPad. Full VoiceOver support, a colour-blind mode that separates the regions by lightness rather than hue, light and dark.