The current official English Chiidoku description says: “Chiikawas cannot be placed next to each other.” Therefore, do not use older guides that say adjacent placements are allowed. The remaining question is which directions the game counts as “next to.” The public description does not state whether the ban covers shared edges only or includes diagonals.
Current answer versus old answer
This conflict matters because a wrong neighbor model changes every candidate set. Allowing a placement the game forbids can produce an immediate mistake. Banning extra cells the game permits can make a valid board appear impossible.
How to test the direction scope safely
Use a low-pressure current Campaign board or tutorial where the board naturally presents a confirmed Chiikawa and nearby empty cells. Observe any highlighting or automatic elimination before tapping. Check shared-edge neighbors separately from diagonal neighbors, and repeat the observation on more than one board if the interface is unclear.
Record the game update date, mode, device, and what the interface did. A blocked visual state is stronger than a single accidental tap, while a repeated accepted/rejected placement is stronger still. Do not spend a streak attempt to answer the question if an early board offers the same geometry.
If the game’s feedback is ambiguous, follow the tutorial text and avoid publishing a universal direction statement. The correct public conclusion remains “no adjacency,” with direction scope needing in-game confirmation.
Apply the rule to candidates
After every confirmed placement, remove its forbidden neighboring cells according to the live behavior you established. Do this before counting candidates in rows, columns, and color areas. Otherwise you may call a unit “three candidates” when only one or two are actually legal.
Then close the placement’s row, column, and color area. A neighbor is not the only affected cell: every cell sharing those three units also becomes unavailable. The adjacency rule works alongside uniqueness, not instead of it.
Why current official wording wins
The developer-controlled Roblox description was checked after the August event expanded Campaign to 400 levels. Search results still show localized or third-party text describing 300 levels and allowed adjacency. The simultaneous presence of an old level count is a strong warning that those copies were not updated with the current English version.
A competing guide can document what players once saw, but it cannot override a newer current developer statement without reproducible live evidence. Use old pages to understand why the question exists, then verify the present game.
Do not borrow a neighbor rule from another puzzle
Players may recognize patterns from Queens, Star Battle, Minesweeper, Sudoku variants, or chess. Those comparisons can help name possible direction questions, but they do not establish Chiidoku’s exact geometry. Some games ban shared edges, others ban edges and diagonals, and others use different region rules.
Chiidoku’s published fact is the no-neighbor result. Let Chiidoku’s current board define how it reaches that result. Avoid statements such as “all eight surrounding cells are always illegal” until a reproducible current test supports them.
Troubleshoot an adjacency-looking error
Before blaming adjacency, check the row, column, and color area. A nearby rejected cell may already share a filled unit, so the neighbor relationship may not be the deciding cause. Isolate the constraint by finding a situation where the tested cell is otherwise open.
On touch devices, confirm that the tap landed in the intended cell. On a color border, the visual region may be different from what you assumed. If the interface shows an error or removes a heart, note the exact preceding state rather than reconstructing it later from memory.
If a previously working pattern changes after an update, revisit the experience description and Updates. Do not silently keep a rule tied to an older build.
Use adjacency in the solve order
After a placement
Close its row, column, and color area, then exclude live-game neighbors immediately.
Before a forced-cell claim
Confirm every surviving candidate respects the current direction scope.
During a contradiction test
Propagate neighbor exclusions in the hypothetical branch before deciding whether a unit reaches zero cells.
After an update
Recheck tutorial feedback if the creator changes wording, board themes, or placement behavior.
Frequently asked questions
Can Chiikawas be next to each other?
Not under the current official English rule. It says they cannot be placed next to each other.
Do diagonal Chiikawas count as adjacent?
The public wording does not specify. Confirm diagonals separately in the current live game and attach the update date to any result.
Why do some pages say adjacency is allowed?
Several older pages also use the obsolete 300-level count, indicating they reflect stale text or an earlier version. The current official description uses 400 levels and a no-adjacency rule.
Can I use another puzzle’s adjacency rule?
No. Similar games define neighborhoods differently. Use Chiidoku’s own live tutorial and feedback.
What if the game accepts a placement an old guide rejects?
Check all four constraints and reproduce the result. The live current build should guide your play; record the date and mode before reporting a rule change.