Patches #81 answer board
Saturday, June 6, 2026 — the day this LinkedIn patch went live as that day's daily board.
Stuck on Patches #81? Below is the full colored board, the deductions that get you there, and the lessons you can carry to tomorrow's grid.
Saturday, June 6, 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 most constrained clues are the two 7s in the corners. A prime number like 7 can only form a 1x7 or 7x1 rectangle. The Purple 7 in the top-right corner cannot be a 7x1 vertical strip, as it would collide with the bottom of the grid. It must be a 1x7 horizontal strip. This solves the top row.
Similarly, the Pink 7 in the bottom-right corner cannot be a 1x7 horizontal strip (it would hit the left edge). It must be a 1x7 vertical strip, solving the right-most column.
The placement of these two strips creates a chain reaction. With the entire right column now occupied by the Pink 7, the Blue 4 clue next to it is forced. It becomes part of a 2x2 square, also containing the dark grey block, as this is the only way to satisfy a 4-area shape in that confined space.
The Blue 8 in the top-left corner now has its horizontal expansion blocked by the Purple 7's strip. It can no longer be an 8x1 rectangle. Its only remaining logical shape is a 1x8 vertical strip, locking down the entire left edge.
This forces the Gold 3 to become a 1x3 strip right beside it.
With the outer frame largely defined, the inner pieces fall into place. The Brown 6 on the bottom is now boxed in by the Blue 8 and Pink 7 strips. It has only 7 cells of width to work with, forcing it into a 6x1 horizontal shape.
Always start with prime-numbered clues in corners. Their limited configurations (1xN or Nx1) often reveal the solution for an entire row or column right away, providing the structure needed to solve the rest of the grid.
A important takeaway here is that the patches do not need to fill the entire grid. Many players get stuck trying to use every square. Recognizing the possibility of empty space is a high-level strategy that unlocks difficult puzzles. This grid leaves 24 cells empty.
The top lavender patch contained both a '5' and a '7' clue. The rule states the area must match one of the clues. Choosing 1x7 was the correct move because a 1x5 shape would have created an unsolvable 2-cell gap next to it.
Patches #81 ran on Saturday, June 6, 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 #81 is a 9×9 board — 81 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.