Patches · No. 170 · Thursday edition
LinkedIn Patches #170 Answer (Sep 3, 2026)
Hint: Place the large numbered patches first — they have the fewest ways to fit.
Show Patches #170 answer as text
- Patch 1: R1C1–R1C4 (4 cells)
- Patch 2: R1C5–R2C7 (6 cells)
- Patch 3: R2C3–R5C4 (8 cells)
- Patch 4: R2C1–R3C2 (4 cells)
- Patch 5: R3C5–R3C7 (3 cells)
- Patch 6: R4C1–R4C2 (2 cells)
- Patch 7: R4C5–R5C6 (4 cells)
- Patch 8: R5C1–R7C2 (6 cells)
- Patch 9: R4C7–R6C7 (3 cells)
- Patch 10: R6C3–R6C6 (4 cells)
- Patch 11: R7C3–R7C4 (2 cells)
- Patch 12: R7C5–R7C7 (3 cells)
About Patches #170
- Patches #170 splits a 7×7 grid into 12 patches.
- Clue shapes: 1 square, 2 wide, 1 tall, 8 free-form.
- It has 12 patches, more than the average of 9.4 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 6 squares fits inside the grid around the wide 6 clue at R1C5 without taking in another clue, so its patch must be the 2×3 block from R1C5 to R2C7.
- With the patch for the wide 6 clue at R1C5 fixed, the free-form 8 clue at R2C4 has only one rectangle left, the 4×2 block from R2C3 to R5C4.
- With the patch for the free-form 8 clue at R2C4 fixed, the free-form 4 clue at R1C3 has only one rectangle left, the 1×4 block from R1C1 to R1C4.