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Archive · Patches #33

Patches #33 (October 29, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 7×7 medium board from Thursday, October 29, 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

← #32Today's puzzle →

Patches #33 was the 7×7 medium board of Thursday, October 29, 2026: 6 clues (1 square, 4 talls and 1 wide), 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: 3 because only one rectangle fits a clue, 3 because some uncovered cell can be reached by only one clue. The tightest clue at the start is the tall 8 at row 6, column 5, with only 2 possible rectangles before anything is placed. A brute-force solver would face 7 branch points on the way to the unique answer.

Patches #33 in numbers

Board7×7, Medium
Clues6 (3 with a number)
Shapes1 square · 4 tall · 1 wide · 0 any
Patch sizes2 to 15 cells
Deduction steps6
“Only one rectangle fits” steps3
“Only one clue reaches this cell” steps3
Brute-force branch points7
How to start Patches #33: 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 clue at row 1, column 2 → 3×5 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: 3 wide × 5 tall.)

  2. Tall 2 clue at row 6, column 3 → 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.

  3. Wide clue at row 1, column 4 → 4×3 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 × 3 tall.)

  4. Tall 8 clue at row 6, column 5 → 2×4 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle (8) clue here: 2 wide × 4 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  5. Tall 8 clue at row 4, column 6 → 2×4 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle (8) clue here: 2 wide × 4 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

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

Patches #33 solution

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

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

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