Starlock · 2 August 2026

Starlock No. 5 hints and answer

Nudges first, in order, each one giving a little more away than the last. The full answer is tucked behind a click, so you can take exactly as much help as you want and no more.

4 graded hints 1 full answer Spoiler-safe

Hints for 2 August

Read only as far down this list as you need to. Hint 1 is nearly free; hint 4 will effectively hand you the opening.

Size and count. This grid is 9×9, so you are placing 9 stars — one per row, one per column, one per colour region, and no two touching.
Where to start. The first star to find is in row 5: it sits in the leftmost column used anywhere on the board.
The region to solve first. Region 1 holds the star for row 1. Regions that are long and thin are almost always the ones to crack first.
How tight it gets. Exactly 3 pairs of stars sit in adjacent rows just two columns apart — the tightest legal spacing there is.

Show the full answer for No. 5

Reading top row to bottom row, the star in each row sits in this column:

R1→C8 · R2→C5 · R3→C3 · R4→C6 · R5→C1 · R6→C7 · R7→C9 · R8→C2 · R9→C4

Where to next

Play No. 5 →The exact grid these hints describe. Stop needing hints →Marks before stars, smallest regions first, and the two-row squeeze — the handful of techniques that separate a five-minute solve from a ninety-second one. All 40 puzzles →The full library, each at a permanent address with its own hints. Today's Starlock →A fresh grid is already waiting, free.