LinkedIn Patches puzzle #217 for October 20, 2026: spoiler-free hints first, then the complete solution when you want it.
This is an earlier Patches puzzle. Latest Patches Answer: #241 (Nov 13)
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Reveal hints one at a time to avoid spoilers.
Reveal Hint #1Hint #1
Each 7 must form a full-height column or a full-width row. Look at which directions would include another clue.
Reveal Hint #2Hint #2
Purple 7, teal 7 and brown 7 fill columns 4, 5 and 7 respectively. Cyan 3 occupies R1C1–R1C3.
Reveal Hint #3Hint #3
The yellow tall rectangle is R2C1–R6C2. The green tall rectangle is R6C6–R7C6, while red 5 fills R2C3–R6C3.
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Reveal one patch at a time, or the whole board.
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Patches #217 Solution
Patches: 3 (1×3) from R1C1 to R1C3; 7 (7×1) from R1C4 to R7C4; 7 (7×1) from R1C5 to R7C5; 5 (5×1) from R1C6 to R5C6; 7 (7×1) from R1C7 to R7C7; 10 (5×2) from R2C1 to R6C2; 5 (5×1) from R2C3 to R6C3; 2 (2×1) from R6C6 to R7C6; 3 (1×3) from R7C1 to R7C3.
How to Solve Patches #217
Count rows from the top and columns from the left. Rectangle corners below are inclusive.
- Cyan 3: R1C1 to R1C3, a 1×3 rectangle.
- Orange 5: R1C6 to R5C6, a 5×1 rectangle.
- Yellow: R2C1 to R6C2, a 5×2 tall rectangle containing 10 cells.
- Red 5: R2C3 to R6C3, a 5×1 rectangle.
- Purple 7: R1C4 to R7C4, a 7×1 rectangle.
- Teal 7: R1C5 to R7C5, a 7×1 rectangle.
- Green: R6C6 to R7C6, a 2×1 tall rectangle.
- Magenta 3: R7C1 to R7C3, a 1×3 rectangle.
- Brown 7: R1C7 to R7C7, a 7×1 rectangle.
The nine patches cover all 49 cells without overlaps. Each patch contains exactly one clue, every printed number matches its area, and both unnumbered clues form tall rectangles. Use clue positions to match the colours in the solution diagram.
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