Patches · No. 176 · Wednesday edition
LinkedIn Patches #176 Answer (Sep 9, 2026)
Hint: Place the large numbered patches first — they have the fewest ways to fit.
Show Patches #176 answer as text
- Patch 1: R1C1–R2C3 (6 cells)
- Patch 2: R1C4–R3C7 (12 cells)
- Patch 3: R3C3–R7C3 (5 cells)
- Patch 4: R3C1–R7C2 (10 cells)
- Patch 5: R4C6–R5C7 (4 cells)
- Patch 6: R4C5–R7C5 (4 cells)
- Patch 7: R4C4–R7C4 (4 cells)
- Patch 8: R6C6–R7C7 (4 cells)
About Patches #176
- Patches #176 splits a 7×7 grid into 8 patches.
- Clue shapes: 2 tall, 6 free-form.
- It has 8 patches, fewer 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 free-form rectangle of 12 squares fits inside the grid around the free-form 12 clue at R2C4 without taking in another clue, so its patch must be the 3×4 block from R1C4 to R3C7.
- Only one free-form rectangle of 10 squares fits inside the grid around the free-form 10 clue at R4C2 without taking in another clue, so its patch must be the 5×2 block from R3C1 to R7C2.