AlgoScope

Constraint Search and Pruning

AnalysisadvancedBacktracking

Checking a constraint at each placement prunes whole subtrees before they are explored.

Decision · step 2 of 198Backtracking: 6 queens, the long way
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Row 0, square (0, 0): no queen shares its column or a diagonal. Place a queen and move to row 1.

Open in the player →or start at step 2

What you will see

The same problem with and without pruning; the pruned tree is a fraction of the size.

How backtracking works →

Cost

SpaceO(depth)

How you work with it here

play it through, step one change at a time, scrub to any step, run it on your own input, predict what happens next.

Screen readers: Each node of the decision tree announces the choice made and whether it led to success, failure or further choices.

Reduced motion: Tree nodes appear and grey out in place; no travelling focus.

Before this

Leads to

Topics that need this one first.

Taught by the same lesson

Backtracking covers these too, in the same run.