Puzzlune

Archive · Patches #34

Patches #34 (October 30, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 7×7 hard board from Friday, October 30, 2026. Play it first; the placements and the solved board are folded below. Replays don't affect your streak.

— 0:00TIMER

Loading the puzzle…

squaretallwideany shapenumber = that many cells

← #33Today's puzzle →

Patches #34 was the 7×7 hard board of Friday, October 30, 2026: 11 clues (3 squares, 3 talls, 1 wide and 4 any-shape), 1 of them with an area number, and 11 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 11 steps: 4 because only one rectangle fits a clue, 7 because some uncovered cell can be reached by only one clue. The tightest clue at the start is the tall at row 7, column 7, with only 1 possible rectangle before anything is placed. A brute-force solver would face 27 branch points on the way to the unique answer.

Patches #34 in numbers

Board7×7, Hard
Clues11 (1 with a number)
Shapes3 square · 3 tall · 1 wide · 4 any
Patch sizes1 to 12 cells
Deduction steps11
“Only one rectangle fits” steps4
“Only one clue reaches this cell” steps7
Brute-force branch points27
How to start Patches #34: the first 10 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 7, column 7 → 1×2 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle clue here: 1 wide × 2 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  2. Tall clue at row 5, column 7 → 1×2 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle clue here: 1 wide × 2 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  3. Any shape clue at row 3, column 1 → 1×4 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: 1 wide × 4 tall.)

  4. Square clue at row 3, column 7 → 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. That fixes the patch: 3×3.

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

  6. Square clue at row 4, column 6 → 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.

  7. Square clue at row 5, column 4 → 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.

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

  9. Any shape clue at row 5, column 1 → 3×1 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 × 1 tall.)

  10. Any shape clue at row 7, column 3 → 4×1 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: 4 wide × 1 tall.)

1 more placements finish the board.

Patches #34 solution

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

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

Back to the Patches archive, today's puzzle, or how to play Patches.

More free daily puzzles

Every game on Puzzlune has a daily, unlimited mode and a full archive. See all games.