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Patches #1 (September 27, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 8×8 hard board from Sunday, September 27, 2026. Play it first; the placements and the solved board are folded below. Replays don't affect your streak.

— 0:00TIMER

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squaretallwideany shapenumber = that many cells

#2 →

Patches #1 was the 8×8 hard board of Sunday, September 27, 2026: 9 clues (2 squares, 4 talls, 2 wides and 1 any-shape), 3 of them with an area number, and 9 rectangles to draw so that every cell is covered exactly once. The patches run from 2 to 15 cells. Our deduction solver, the one behind the hint button, lays them all without guessing in 9 steps: 3 because only one rectangle fits a clue, 6 because some uncovered cell can be reached by only one clue. The tightest clue at the start is the tall 15 at row 1, column 5, with only 1 possible rectangle before anything is placed. A brute-force solver would face 21 branch points on the way to the unique answer.

Patches #1 in numbers

Board8×8, Hard
Clues9 (3 with a number)
Shapes2 square · 4 tall · 2 wide · 1 any
Patch sizes2 to 15 cells
Deduction steps9
“Only one rectangle fits” steps3
“Only one clue reaches this cell” steps6
Brute-force branch points21
How to start Patches #1: the first 9 patches

Each placement is what the hint button would say at that point, from the empty board. Rows and columns are counted from the top-left corner.

  1. Tall 15 clue at row 1, column 5 → 3×5 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle (15) clue here: 3 wide × 5 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  2. Wide 6 clue at row 8, column 8 → 3×2 patch. Only one patch fits the wide rectangle (6) clue here: 3 wide × 2 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  3. Square clue at row 2, column 1 → 2×2 patch. The outlined cell can only be reached by the square clue — no other clue's patch can stretch to it — so it belongs to that patch. That fixes the patch: 2×2.

  4. Tall clue at row 1, column 6 → 2×3 patch. The outlined cell can only be reached by the tall rectangle clue — no other clue's patch can stretch to it — so it belongs to that patch. (Fill it in draws the whole patch: 2 wide × 3 tall.)

  5. Tall 6 clue at row 6, column 8 → 1×6 patch. The outlined cell can only be reached by the tall rectangle (6) clue — no other clue's patch can stretch to it — so it belongs to that patch. That fixes the patch: 1 wide × 6 tall.

  6. Any shape clue at row 4, column 1 → 2×5 patch. The outlined cell can only be reached by the any-shape clue — no other clue's patch can stretch to it — so it belongs to that patch. (Fill it in draws the whole patch: 2 wide × 5 tall.)

  7. Tall clue at row 6, column 6 → 2×3 patch. The outlined cell can only be reached by the tall rectangle clue — no other clue's patch can stretch to it — so it belongs to that patch. (Fill it in draws the whole patch: 2 wide × 3 tall.)

  8. Square clue at row 8, column 5 → 3×3 patch. The outlined cell can only be reached by the square clue — no other clue's patch can stretch to it — so it belongs to that patch. That fixes the patch: 3×3.

  9. Wide clue at row 8, column 1 → 2×1 patch. Only one patch fits the wide rectangle clue here: 2 wide × 1 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

Patches #1 solution

Each colour is one patch; the clue cell shows its shape (■ square, ▮ tall, ▬ wide, ✦ any) and area.

  • square at row 2, column 1: 2 wide × 2 tall, top-left row 1, column 1
  • tall 15 at row 1, column 5: 3 wide × 5 tall, top-left row 1, column 3
  • tall at row 1, column 6: 2 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 1, column 6
  • tall 6 at row 6, column 8: 1 wide × 6 tall, top-left row 1, column 8
  • any shape at row 4, column 1: 2 wide × 5 tall, top-left row 3, column 1
  • tall at row 6, column 6: 2 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 4, column 6
  • square at row 8, column 5: 3 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 6, column 3
  • wide 6 at row 8, column 8: 3 wide × 2 tall, top-left row 7, column 6
  • wide at row 8, column 1: 2 wide × 1 tall, top-left row 8, column 1

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