Patches · No. 138 · Sunday edition
LinkedIn Patches #138 Answer (Aug 2, 2026)
Hint: Place the large numbered patches first — they have the fewest ways to fit.
Show Patches #138 answer as text
- Patch 1: R1C1–R1C3 (3 cells)
- Patch 2: R1C6–R6C7 (12 cells)
- Patch 3: R2C2–R2C3 (2 cells)
- Patch 4: R1C4–R2C4 (2 cells)
- Patch 5: R1C5–R2C5 (2 cells)
- Patch 6: R3C5–R4C5 (2 cells)
- Patch 7: R3C2–R4C4 (6 cells)
- Patch 8: R5C2–R5C3 (2 cells)
- Patch 9: R6C2–R6C3 (2 cells)
- Patch 10: R5C4–R6C4 (2 cells)
- Patch 11: R5C5–R6C5 (2 cells)
- Patch 12: R2C1–R7C1 (6 cells)
- Patch 13: R7C2–R7C7 (6 cells)
About Patches #138
- Patches #138 splits a 7×7 grid into 13 patches.
- Clue shapes: 1 wide, 1 tall, 11 free-form.
- 5 clues show no size, so those patches can be any area.
- It has 13 patches, more than the average of 9.7 across the previous 7 puzzles.
- Each patch is one rectangle holding exactly one clue, with the clue's shape and, where a number is shown, exactly that many squares.
- Only one wide rectangle of 2 squares fits inside the grid around the wide 2 clue at R2C3 without taking in another clue, so its patch must be the 1×2 block from R2C2 to R2C3.
- Square R3C3 can only be reached by the free-form clue with no number at R4C4, so it belongs to that patch.
- With R3C3 given to the free-form clue with no number at R4C4, square R4C5 can only be reached by the free-form 2 clue at R3C5, so it belongs to that patch, and the only rectangle for that clue that includes it is the 2×1 block from R3C5 to R4C5.