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Archive · Patches #35

Patches #35 (October 31, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 8×8 hard board from Saturday, October 31, 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

← #34Today's puzzle →

Patches #35 was the 8×8 hard board of Saturday, October 31, 2026: 13 clues (4 squares, 4 talls, 1 wide and 4 any-shape), 3 of them with an area number, and 13 rectangles to draw so that every cell is covered exactly once. The patches run from 1 to 10 cells. Our deduction solver, the one behind the hint button, lays them all without guessing in 13 steps: 5 because only one rectangle fits a clue, 8 because some uncovered cell can be reached by only one clue. The tightest clue at the start is the tall 4 at row 4, column 4, with only 1 possible rectangle before anything is placed. A brute-force solver would face 134 branch points on the way to the unique answer.

Patches #35 in numbers

Board8×8, Hard
Clues13 (3 with a number)
Shapes4 square · 4 tall · 1 wide · 4 any
Patch sizes1 to 10 cells
Deduction steps13
“Only one rectangle fits” steps5
“Only one clue reaches this cell” steps8
Brute-force branch points134
How to start Patches #35: 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 4 clue at row 4, column 4 → 1×4 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle (4) clue here: 1 wide × 4 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  2. Tall 2 clue at row 4, 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. Tall clue at row 5, column 4 → 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.

  4. Square clue at row 7, 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.

  5. Any shape clue at row 3, column 3 → 3×3 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. That fixes the patch: 3×3.

  6. Any shape clue at row 1, column 6 → 2×1 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: 2 wide × 1 tall.)

  7. Any shape clue at row 1, column 8 → 2×5 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: 2 wide × 5 tall.)

  8. Square clue at row 2, column 5 → 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.

  9. Square clue at row 4, column 2 → 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.

  10. Any shape clue at row 5, column 5 → 2×4 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: 2 wide × 4 tall.)

3 more placements finish the board.

Patches #35 solution

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

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

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