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Archive · Patches #17

Patches #17 (October 13, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 6×6 medium board from Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Play it first; the placements and the solved board are folded below. Replays don't affect your streak.

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squaretallwideany shapenumber = that many cells

← #16#18 →

Patches #17 was the 6×6 medium board of Tuesday, October 13, 2026: 7 clues (1 square, 3 talls and 3 wides), 4 of them with an area number, and 7 rectangles to draw so that every cell is covered exactly once. The patches run from 2 to 10 cells. Our deduction solver, the one behind the hint button, lays them all without guessing in 7 steps: 4 because only one rectangle fits a clue, 3 because some uncovered cell can be reached by only one clue. The tightest clue at the start is the wide 3 at row 6, column 1, with only 1 possible rectangle before anything is placed. A brute-force solver would face 6 branch points on the way to the unique answer.

Patches #17 in numbers

Board6×6, Medium
Clues7 (4 with a number)
Shapes1 square · 3 tall · 3 wide · 0 any
Patch sizes2 to 10 cells
Deduction steps7
“Only one rectangle fits” steps4
“Only one clue reaches this cell” steps3
Brute-force branch points6
How to start Patches #17: the first 7 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. Wide 3 clue at row 6, column 1 → 3×1 patch. Only one patch fits the wide rectangle (3) clue here: 3 wide × 1 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  2. Wide 3 clue at row 6, column 4 → 3×1 patch. Only one patch fits the wide rectangle (3) clue here: 3 wide × 1 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  3. Tall 3 clue at row 5, column 6 → 1×3 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle (3) clue here: 1 wide × 3 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  4. Tall clue at row 2, column 6 → 1×2 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle clue here: 1 wide × 2 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  5. Tall 6 clue at row 1, column 2 → 2×3 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: 2 wide × 3 tall.

  6. Square clue at row 1, column 4 → 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. (Fill it in draws the whole patch: 3×3.)

  7. Wide clue at row 5, column 3 → 5×2 patch. The outlined cell can only be reached by the wide rectangle clue — no other clue's patch can stretch to it — so it belongs to that patch. (Fill it in draws the whole patch: 5 wide × 2 tall.)

Patches #17 solution

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

  • tall 6 at row 1, column 2: 2 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 1, column 1
  • square at row 1, column 4: 3 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 1, column 3
  • tall at row 2, column 6: 1 wide × 2 tall, top-left row 1, column 6
  • tall 3 at row 5, column 6: 1 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 3, column 6
  • wide at row 5, column 3: 5 wide × 2 tall, top-left row 4, column 1
  • wide 3 at row 6, column 1: 3 wide × 1 tall, top-left row 6, column 1
  • wide 3 at row 6, column 4: 3 wide × 1 tall, top-left row 6, column 4

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