Patches · No. 158 · Saturday edition
LinkedIn Patches #158 Answer (Aug 22, 2026)
Hint: Place the large numbered patches first — they have the fewest ways to fit.
Show Patches #158 answer as text
- Patch 1: R1C2–R1C3 (2 cells)
- Patch 2: R1C4–R2C4 (2 cells)
- Patch 3: R1C5–R2C5 (2 cells)
- Patch 4: R2C2–R4C3 (6 cells)
- Patch 5: R1C6–R2C7 (4 cells)
- Patch 6: R1C1–R6C1 (6 cells)
- Patch 7: R3C6–R5C7 (6 cells)
- Patch 8: R5C3–R7C3 (3 cells)
- Patch 9: R3C4–R5C4 (3 cells)
- Patch 10: R3C5–R5C5 (3 cells)
- Patch 11: R5C2–R6C2 (2 cells)
- Patch 12: R6C4–R7C6 (6 cells)
- Patch 13: R7C1–R7C2 (2 cells)
- Patch 14: R6C7–R7C7 (2 cells)
About Patches #158
- Patches #158 splits a 7×7 grid into 14 patches.
- Clue shapes: 2 tall, 12 free-form.
- LinkedIn rates it Hard.
- It has 14 patches, more than the average of 11.1 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 free-form rectangle of 2 squares fits inside the grid around the free-form 2 clue at R1C4 without taking in another clue, so its patch must be the 2×1 block from R1C4 to R2C4.
- With the patch for the free-form 2 clue at R1C4 fixed, the free-form 6 clue at R2C2 has only one rectangle left, the 3×2 block from R2C2 to R4C3.
- With the patch for the free-form 6 clue at R2C2 fixed, the free-form 2 clue at R1C3 has only one rectangle left, the 1×2 block from R1C2 to R1C3.