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Archive · Patches #26

Patches #26 (October 22, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 7×7 medium board from Thursday, October 22, 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

← #25#27 →

Patches #26 was the 7×7 medium board of Thursday, October 22, 2026: 8 clues (2 squares, 4 talls and 2 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 9 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 tall 2 at row 1, column 7, with only 1 possible rectangle before anything is placed. A brute-force solver would face 14 branch points on the way to the unique answer.

Patches #26 in numbers

Board7×7, Medium
Clues8 (4 with a number)
Shapes2 square · 4 tall · 2 wide · 0 any
Patch sizes2 to 9 cells
Deduction steps8
“Only one rectangle fits” steps2
“Only one clue reaches this cell” steps6
Brute-force branch points14
How to start Patches #26: 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. Tall 2 clue at row 1, column 7 → 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.

  2. Wide 8 clue at row 3, column 4 → 4×2 patch. Only one patch fits the wide rectangle (8) clue here: 4 wide × 2 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  3. Wide clue at row 2, column 4 → 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.)

  4. Tall 8 clue at row 4, 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. (Fill it in draws the whole patch: 2 wide × 4 tall.)

  5. Square clue at row 1, column 1 → 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.)

  6. Square 9 clue at row 6, column 5 → 3×3 patch. The outlined cell can only be reached by the square (9) 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. Tall clue at row 4, column 3 → 1×4 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: 1 wide × 4 tall.)

  8. Tall clue at row 5, column 7 → 1×3 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: 1 wide × 3 tall.)

Patches #26 solution

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

  • square at row 1, column 1: 3 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 1, column 1
  • wide at row 2, column 4: 3 wide × 2 tall, top-left row 1, column 4
  • tall 2 at row 1, column 7: 1 wide × 2 tall, top-left row 1, column 7
  • wide 8 at row 3, column 4: 4 wide × 2 tall, top-left row 3, column 4
  • tall 8 at row 4, column 1: 2 wide × 4 tall, top-left row 4, column 1
  • tall at row 4, column 3: 1 wide × 4 tall, top-left row 4, column 3
  • square 9 at row 6, column 5: 3 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 5, column 4
  • tall at row 5, column 7: 1 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 5, column 7

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