How to play Patches

Patches is LinkedIn's daily rectangle puzzle. Cut the grid into rectangular patches so that every patch holds exactly one clue and matches it.

The rules

1. Divide the whole grid into rectangles. Every cell belongs to exactly one.
2. Each rectangle contains exactly one clue.
3. A number on a clue is the rectangle's size in cells. A clue with no number can be any size.
4. The little shape on a clue sets the rectangle's shape: wide (more columns than rows), tall (more rows than columns) or square. A clue without a shape can be any rectangle.
5. Every official puzzle has exactly one solution.

A new puzzle comes out every day at 12:00 AM Pacific Time.

A small example

This 4×4 board is ours, not LinkedIn's:

1. The wide 2 in the top-right corner can only be the last two cells of row 1.
2. The square 4 in row 1 must be a 2×2. It can't reach column 3, which the wide piece took, so it covers columns 1–2 of rows 1–2.
3. The square 4 in the bottom-left corner has only one 2×2 that fits.
4. What is left is two columns of three cells: the tall 3 takes column 3 and the 3 in column 4 takes the rest.

Strategy

1. Start in the corners

Clues near a corner or an edge have far fewer rectangles that fit, often just one.

2. Let clues fence each other in

A rectangle can never cover a second clue. Two clues close together cut each other's options down fast.

3. Check the shape before the size

A wide 6 can be 1×6 or 2×3 but never 3×2 or 6×1. The shape often rules out half the options at once.

4. Count what is left

When only a few cells remain, add up the open clue numbers: they must match the free cells exactly.

Where to go next

Today's Patches answer with hints · Past Patches answers

Want practice? Play Patches Game Unlimited: our own rectangle boards, as many as you like, each checked to have exactly one solution.