Patches #86 answer board
Thursday, June 11, 2026 — the day this LinkedIn patch went live as that day's daily board.
Stuck on Patches #86? Below is the full colored board, the deductions that get you there, and the lessons you can carry to tomorrow's grid.
Thursday, June 11, 2026
The answer is hidden until you ask for it. Work through the board, then hit Reveal the solution to compare your work — or pick another day.
One puzzle a day from LinkedIn isn't enough to call yourself good at this. Patches Unlimited hides the answer on every past board so you can replay them blind — and find out how much of your read on the grid actually held up.
Each step closes one rectangle. The order matters: every placement narrows what the next clue can be.
The 8x8 grid has a bottom row exactly 8 cells wide. The clues at the bottom are the Peach 3 and the Dark Blue 5. Since 3 + 5 = 8, these two shapes must share the bottom row as 1x3 and 1x5 horizontal strips.
With the bottom-left corner occupied by the Peach 3, the Orange 7 on the left edge is trapped. It cannot go down to the 8th row, leaving exactly 7 vertical cells above the Peach 3. The Orange 7 is forced into a 1x7 vertical strip.
Look at the right side. The Green 9 and Brown 9 are trapped on the right edge. Since the grid is only 8 cells wide, a 1x9 strip is impossible. Therefore, both 9s must be 3x3 squares. Placing the Green 3x3 at the top right and the Brown 3x3 at the bottom right anchors the eastern wall.
Squeezed between the two 3x3 squares is the Yellow 4. Horizontally, there are exactly 4 cells available (columns 5 through 8, row 4), forcing the Yellow 4 into a 1x4 horizontal bridge.
The left-middle section is now bounded. Columns 2 and 3 above the Peach 3 offer exactly 14 open cells (2 columns wide, 7 rows tall). The Purple 14 slots in flawlessly as a 2x7 rectangle. The remaining Teal 4, Red 3, and Light Blue 6 drop naturally into the remaining central columns to complete the puzzle.
Always check total edge lengths against adjacent clues. Seeing a 3 and a 5 on an 8-cell border is an immediate giveaway. Locking down an entire edge on turn one reduces the puzzle's complexity.
Numbers like 3, 5, and 7 are prime. They can only be formed as 1xN strips (e.g., 1x7, 1x5). When you see a prime number near an edge, look for how other shapes block it from turning into a long, unwieldy rectangle.
Recognizing grid limits is important. In an 8x8 grid, any number larger than 8 that isn't a prime (like 9 or 14) must be a blocky rectangle (3x3 or 2x7). Like all logic puzzles, consistent practice will train your brain to spot these boundary constraints instantly.
Patches #86 ran on Thursday, June 11, 2026 as part of LinkedIn's daily mini-game lineup. The board is no longer playable on LinkedIn itself, but the original colored grid lives at the source linked below.
Patches #86 is a 8×8 board — 64 cells in total — to be carved into several non-overlapping rectangles.
Yes — we replay the puzzle on LinkedIn Games every morning, capture the start and solved boards, and only publish once the colored solution matches LinkedIn's official reveal. If the LinkedIn server changes the daily puzzle mid-day, we reflect the change here within minutes.