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Archive · Patches #20

Patches #20 (October 16, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 7×7 hard board from Friday, October 16, 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

← #19#21 →

Patches #20 was the 7×7 hard board of Friday, October 16, 2026: 9 clues (1 square, 3 talls, 3 wides and 2 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 1 to 12 cells. Our deduction solver, the one behind the hint button, lays them all without guessing in 9 steps: 4 because only one rectangle fits a clue, 5 because some uncovered cell can be reached by only one clue. The tightest clue at the start is the wide 3 at row 7, column 6, with only 1 possible rectangle before anything is placed. A brute-force solver would face 66 branch points on the way to the unique answer.

Patches #20 in numbers

Board7×7, Hard
Clues9 (3 with a number)
Shapes1 square · 3 tall · 3 wide · 2 any
Patch sizes1 to 12 cells
Deduction steps9
“Only one rectangle fits” steps4
“Only one clue reaches this cell” steps5
Brute-force branch points66
How to start Patches #20: 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. Wide 3 clue at row 7, column 6 → 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 2 clue at row 7, column 3 → 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 2 clue at row 6, column 2 → 1×2 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle (2) clue here: 1 wide × 2 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  4. Square clue at row 7, column 7 → 1×1 patch. Only one patch fits the square clue here: 1×1. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  5. Wide clue at row 2, column 3 → 3×2 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: 3 wide × 2 tall.)

  6. Tall clue at row 3, column 1 → 2×4 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 × 4 tall.)

  7. Tall clue at row 1, column 6 → 2×6 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 × 6 tall.)

  8. Any shape clue at row 6, column 3 → 3×4 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: 3 wide × 4 tall.)

  9. Any shape clue at row 6, column 1 → 1×3 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: 1 wide × 3 tall.)

Patches #20 solution

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

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

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