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Archive · Patches #23

Patches #23 (October 19, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 6×6 easy board from Monday, October 19, 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

← #22#24 →

Patches #23 was the 6×6 easy board of Monday, October 19, 2026: 6 clues (2 squares and 4 talls), 6 of them with an area number, and 6 rectangles to draw so that every cell is covered exactly once. The patches run from 3 to 9 cells. Our deduction solver, the one behind the hint button, lays them all without guessing in 6 steps: 5 because only one rectangle fits a clue, 1 because some uncovered cell can be reached by only one clue. The tightest clue at the start is the tall 6 at row 1, column 5, with only 1 possible rectangle before anything is placed. A brute-force solver would face 0 branch points on the way to the unique answer.

Patches #23 in numbers

Board6×6, Easy
Clues6 (6 with a number)
Shapes2 square · 4 tall · 0 wide · 0 any
Patch sizes3 to 9 cells
Deduction steps6
“Only one rectangle fits” steps5
“Only one clue reaches this cell” steps1
Brute-force branch points0
How to start Patches #23: 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. Tall 6 clue at row 1, column 5 → 2×3 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle (6) clue here: 2 wide × 3 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  2. Tall 8 clue at row 2, column 1 → 2×4 patch. The outlined cell can only be reached by the tall rectangle (8) clue — no other clue's patch can stretch to it — so it belongs to that patch. That fixes the patch: 2 wide × 4 tall.

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

  4. Square 9 clue at row 5, column 5 → 3×3 patch. Only one patch fits the square (9) clue here: 3×3. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  5. Tall 3 clue at row 3, column 4 → 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.

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

Patches #23 solution

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

  • tall 8 at row 2, column 1: 2 wide × 4 tall, top-left row 1, column 1
  • tall 6 at row 1, column 3: 1 wide × 6 tall, top-left row 1, column 3
  • tall 3 at row 3, column 4: 1 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 1, column 4
  • tall 6 at row 1, column 5: 2 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 1, column 5
  • square 9 at row 5, column 5: 3 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 4, column 4
  • square 4 at row 6, column 2: 2 wide × 2 tall, top-left row 5, column 1

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