How to Play LinkedIn Patches: Shape Rules and Spoiler-Free Strategy
Patches asks you to cover a grid with clue-sized rectangles and squares. These beginner techniques help you see the board without spoiling the daily answer.
LinkedIn released Patches on March 18, 2026 as a spatial-logic companion to Zip. The puzzle is easy to describe and surprisingly good at hiding one stubborn boundary.
Your goal is to divide the entire grid into rectangles and squares. Each shape contains one numbered clue, and its total area must equal that number. Shapes cannot overlap and no cell can remain uncovered.
Translate every clue into possible dimensions
A clue of 4 could make a 1×4 strip, a 4×1 strip or a 2×2 square. A clue of 6 could be 1×6, 6×1, 2×3 or 3×2, depending on the board.
You do not need to draw every option. Just remember that the number describes area, not width or height.
Begin at corners and edges
A clue close to a corner has fewer possible shapes because the grid boundary blocks expansion. Test those clues before working in the open centre.
Edge clues are also useful when their area has only a few factor pairs. A corner 5 is almost always a straight five-cell strip because five is prime; the only question is direction.
Let large shapes define the board
Large numbers occupy more cells and often create the framework for smaller patches. Sketch their plausible boundaries mentally, then ask which version leaves enough room for neighbouring clues.
Do not automatically place the largest clue first. Place it when surrounding clues or edges reduce it to one realistic option.
Watch for orphan cells
An orphan is a blank cell that none of the remaining clues can reach with a legal rectangle. Before confirming a patch, inspect the cells around its boundary. If one would be cut off, adjust now.
This check is especially valuable near concave gaps. Every finished Patches board is a clean tiling; awkward single-cell notches are a warning.
Use forced ownership
Sometimes a blank cell can only belong to one nearby clue. That relationship may reveal a whole side of the shape even when its other boundary remains uncertain.
Work from these forced cells outward. Patches becomes much faster when you stop guessing complete rectangles and start proving which clue owns each space.
A reliable solve order
- Check prime-number clues on corners and edges.
- Mark any cell reachable by only one clue.
- Test large shapes against their neighbours.
- Look for orphan cells before locking a boundary.
- Finish small flexible shapes with the space that remains.
LinkedIn's official announcement says difficulty rises through the week, so a method that feels unnecessary on an easy board becomes valuable later.
You can play Patches on LinkedIn or open the GameBut Patches guide for the rules and spoiler-free strategy.
