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Archive · Patches #39

Patches #39 (November 4, 2026): solution and step-by-step

The 7×7 medium board from Wednesday, November 4, 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

← #38Today's puzzle →

Patches #39 was the 7×7 medium board of Wednesday, November 4, 2026: 11 clues (3 squares, 5 talls and 3 wides), 6 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: 8 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 wide 12 at row 1, column 1, with only 1 possible rectangle before anything is placed. A brute-force solver would face 15 branch points on the way to the unique answer.

Patches #39 in numbers

Board7×7, Medium
Clues11 (6 with a number)
Shapes3 square · 5 tall · 3 wide · 0 any
Patch sizes1 to 12 cells
Deduction steps11
“Only one rectangle fits” steps8
“Only one clue reaches this cell” steps3
Brute-force branch points15
How to start Patches #39: 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. Wide 12 clue at row 1, column 1 → 6×2 patch. Only one patch fits the wide rectangle (12) clue here: 6 wide × 2 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  2. Tall 4 clue at row 7, column 7 → 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.

  3. Tall 3 clue at row 6, column 6 → 1×3 patch. Only one patch fits the tall rectangle (3) clue here: 1 wide × 3 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  4. Tall clue at row 4, column 6 → 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.

  5. Wide 2 clue at row 7, column 4 → 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.

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

  7. Tall clue at row 3, 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. That fixes the patch: 1 wide × 3 tall.

  8. Tall clue at row 5, column 1 → 2×3 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: 2 wide × 3 tall.)

  9. Wide 3 clue at row 3, column 4 → 3×1 patch. Only one patch fits the wide rectangle (3) clue here: 3 wide × 1 tall. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

  10. Square 9 clue at row 6, column 4 → 3×3 patch. Only one patch fits the square (9) clue here: 3×3. Every other rectangle would cross another clue, a placed patch or the edge.

1 more placements finish the board.

Patches #39 solution

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

  • wide 12 at row 1, column 1: 6 wide × 2 tall, top-left row 1, column 1
  • tall at row 3, column 7: 1 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 1, column 7
  • tall at row 5, column 1: 2 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 3, column 1
  • wide 3 at row 3, column 4: 3 wide × 1 tall, top-left row 3, column 3
  • tall at row 4, column 6: 1 wide × 2 tall, top-left row 3, column 6
  • square 9 at row 6, column 4: 3 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 4, column 3
  • tall 4 at row 7, column 7: 1 wide × 4 tall, top-left row 4, column 7
  • tall 3 at row 6, column 6: 1 wide × 3 tall, top-left row 5, column 6
  • square at row 6, column 1: 2 wide × 2 tall, top-left row 6, column 1
  • wide 2 at row 7, column 4: 2 wide × 1 tall, top-left row 7, column 3
  • square at row 7, column 5: 1 wide × 1 tall, top-left row 7, column 5

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