Patches #82 answer board
Sunday, June 7, 2026 — the day this LinkedIn patch went live as that day's daily board.
Stuck on Patches #82? Below is the full colored board, the deductions that get you there, and the lessons you can carry to tomorrow's grid.
Sunday, June 7, 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 logical starting point is the Purple 4 in the bottom-left. A region of area 4 can be a 1x4, 4x1, or 2x2 rectangle. Given its proximity to the grid's corner, both the 1x4 and 4x1 orientations are impossible as they would extend off the board. This forces it to be a 2x2 square, immediately defining the bottom-left corner of the puzzle.
With the 2x2 square in place, look at the Purple 3 clue directly above it. As 3 is a prime number, its region must be a 1x3 or 3x1 rectangle. The newly placed Purple 4 region forms a wall below it, making a 3x1 horizontal shape impossible. Therefore, it must be a 1x3 vertical strip.
Now, let's jump to the top of the grid. The Orange 2 clue must be a 1x2 or 2x1 rectangle. The Teal 3 clue sits directly in the cell below it, physically blocking a 2x1 vertical orientation. This forces the Orange 2 into a 1x2 horizontal shape.
These initial, certain placements create a cascade of solutions: The Teal 3 clue, now boxed in by the Orange 2 and the edge, is forced to become a 1x3 vertical strip.
The region for the top-left Dark Green solid is now confined by the grid edge and the new Teal 3 wall, leaving only a 2x3 rectangle as a possible fit.
This pattern continues across the grid. The Teal 6, for example, is now bounded on multiple sides, forcing its 2x3 shape. Each solved piece simplifies the next, leading to the final solution.
Clues with prime number areas (like the 2s and 3s here) are your most starting points. They have the fewest possible rectangular dimensions (only 1xN), which reduces ambiguity and provides a solid foothold.
Always scan for clues near the grid's boundaries. The edges act as "free" walls that severely limit a shape's possible orientations. We saw this with the bottom-left Purple 4, which could only be a 2x2 square. Use the edges to anchor your solution.
The core of Patches is understanding how solving one region creates an impassable wall for its neighbors. This often "squeezes" an adjacent clue, leaving it with only one valid configuration. The better you get at spotting these forced moves, the faster you'll solve the puzzle.
Patches #82 ran on Sunday, June 7, 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 #82 is a 7×7 board — 49 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.