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Archive · Patches #24

Patches #24 (October 20, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 6×6 medium board from Tuesday, October 20, 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

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Patches #24 was the 6×6 medium board of Tuesday, October 20, 2026: 8 clues (2 squares, 2 talls and 4 wides), 4 of them with an area number, and 8 rectangles to draw so that every cell is covered exactly once. The patches run from 2 to 8 cells. Our deduction solver, the one behind the hint button, lays them all without guessing in 8 steps: 2 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 wide 2 at row 1, column 6, with only 1 possible rectangle before anything is placed. A brute-force solver would face 5 branch points on the way to the unique answer.

Patches #24 in numbers

Board6×6, Medium
Clues8 (4 with a number)
Shapes2 square · 2 tall · 4 wide · 0 any
Patch sizes2 to 8 cells
Deduction steps8
“Only one rectangle fits” steps2
“Only one clue reaches this cell” steps6
Brute-force branch points5
How to start Patches #24: the first 8 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 2 clue at row 1, 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.

  2. Wide 2 clue at row 6, 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. Square 4 clue at row 2, column 1 → 2×2 patch. The outlined cell can only be reached by the square (4) clue — no other clue's patch can stretch to it — so it belongs to that patch. That fixes the patch: 2×2.

  4. Square clue at row 1, column 3 → 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. Tall clue at row 2, column 5 → 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.)

  6. Wide clue at row 4, column 1 → 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. That fixes the patch: 3 wide × 2 tall.

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

  8. Wide clue at row 6, column 2 → 4×2 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: 4 wide × 2 tall.)

Patches #24 solution

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

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

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