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Logic Games

Puzzle practice guide

How to play Patches

Use areas and factor pairs to place rectangles.

Practice Patches online by partitioning a grid into clue-sized rectangles. Each rectangle is a small geometry problem, but its placement changes the options for every neighbor. Work through the archive or generated puzzles to build a repeatable habit: list dimensions, test placements, then check uncovered cells.

Practice PatchesPlay a generated puzzle

01 / The essentials

Patches rules

  • Cover the entire grid with non-overlapping rectangles whose edges follow the grid.
  • Each rectangle contains exactly one numbered clue.
  • The clue gives the rectangle’s area in cells. A 6 therefore needs six cells, not a perimeter of six.

02 / Build the habit

Patches strategy

List factor pairs

For a clue of 6, consider dimensions 1×6, 2×3, 3×2, and 6×1. Discard dimensions that do not fit the board or must include another clue.

Compare positions, not just sizes

A 2×3 rectangle may have several placements around its clue. Check every placement against existing rectangles and other clues before deciding it is forced.

Work from uncovered cells

Choose an awkward edge or corner cell and ask which clue could cover it. If only one clue has a legal rectangle reaching that cell, all of that clue’s other placements are eliminated.

03 / Worked example

A clue can lose an entire shape

A 6 in a board only five cells wide cannot form a horizontal 1×6 rectangle. If there are also fewer than six rows, the 6×1 shape is impossible. You can then examine only 2×3 and 3×2 placements, rejecting any that include a second clue.

04 / Put it into practice

A Patches practice plan

  1. Start with an easy board and say each clue’s factor pairs aloud.
  2. On the next board, find a cell that only one clue can reach before placing a rectangle.
  3. At higher difficulty, pause to compare alternative placements of the same dimensions. Speed up only after you can explain why each alternative fails.
Practice PatchesPlay a generated puzzle

A common mistake

A rectangle with the right area is still invalid if it contains two clues or leaves an unreachable hole. Check its consequences for the remaining grid.

Is Patches the same kind of puzzle as Shikaku?

Both use the core idea of splitting a grid into rectangles, with one area clue per rectangle. This trainer’s Patches boards follow the rules listed above.

Keep exploring

Related games & guides

Guide updated . Rules describe the version on Logic Games.