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Archive · Patches #18

Patches #18 (October 14, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 7×7 medium board from Wednesday, October 14, 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

← #17#19 →

Patches #18 was the 7×7 medium board of Wednesday, October 14, 2026: 6 clues (1 square, 1 tall and 4 wides), 3 of them with an area number, and 6 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 6 steps: 2 because only one rectangle fits a clue, 4 because some uncovered cell can be reached by only one clue. The tightest clue at the start is the wide 15 at row 3, column 3, with only 2 possible rectangles before anything is placed. A brute-force solver would face 3 branch points on the way to the unique answer.

Patches #18 in numbers

Board7×7, Medium
Clues6 (3 with a number)
Shapes1 square · 1 tall · 4 wide · 0 any
Patch sizes2 to 15 cells
Deduction steps6
“Only one rectangle fits” steps2
“Only one clue reaches this cell” steps4
Brute-force branch points3
How to start Patches #18: the first 6 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 15 clue at row 3, column 3 → 5×3 patch. The outlined cell can only be reached by the wide rectangle (15) clue — no other clue's patch can stretch to it — so it belongs to that patch. That fixes the patch: 5 wide × 3 tall.

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

  3. Tall 4 clue at row 6, column 7 → 1×4 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle (4) clue here: 1 wide × 4 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  4. Square clue at row 1, column 7 → 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.

  5. Wide clue at row 5, column 1 → 6×2 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: 6 wide × 2 tall.)

  6. Wide clue at row 6, column 1 → 6×2 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: 6 wide × 2 tall.)

Patches #18 solution

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

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

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