How to Play LinkedIn Patches: Rules and Strategy
Patches is the newest game in LinkedIn’s puzzle line-up and the one that trips up the most first-time players — not because the rules are complicated, but because it looks like a drawing exercise when it’s actually a logic puzzle. Once you know which clues are forced, most grids solve themselves.
For today’s solution, see our LinkedIn Games answers page.
The rules, in full
You’re given a grid with numbered clues scattered across it. Your job is to divide the entire grid into rectangular patches, subject to four constraints:
- Every cell must belong to exactly one patch. No gaps, no overlaps.
- Every patch must contain exactly one clue. Not zero, not two.
- The number tells you the area. A clue of 6 means that patch covers six cells.
- The icon constrains the shape. See below.
You draw a patch by dragging across the cells you want. Tap or click a finished patch to remove it and try again — there’s no penalty for experimenting, and no limit on attempts.
What the shape icons mean
- Square — equal width and height.
- Tall rectangle — taller than it is wide.
- Wide rectangle — wider than it is tall.
- Any shape — any rectangle that fits, including a square.
The number and the icon work together, and that combination is where the puzzle lives. A clue of 6 on its own could be 1×6, 6×1, 2×3 or 3×2. Add a wide-rectangle icon and it must be 1×6 or 2×3. That’s four possibilities cut to two before you’ve placed anything.
Where to start: find the forced clues
Never start with the clue that looks easiest. Start with the clue that has the fewest legal options — often there’s only one.
Squares are the most rigid clues on the board. A square clue has exactly one possible dimension, because only one pair of equal factors gives that area. A 4-square is 2×2. A 9-square is 3×3. A 16-square is 4×4. You don’t need to think about it at all; you just need to work out where it goes, which is a much smaller problem.
Primes can only be strips. A prime number has no factor pair other than 1 and itself, so a clue of 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 or 13 must be a single-file strip — 1×N or N×1. Pair that with a shape icon and it’s completely determined: a 5 with a wide badge is 1×5, full stop. Only the position is left.
Corners and edges narrow things further. A clue sitting in a corner has far fewer orientations available than one in open space, because two of its four directions are walls. Work the perimeter inward.
The technique that actually solves grids
The mistake almost everyone makes is treating each clue as a separate puzzle. It isn’t. Every patch you place removes cells from the pool available to every other clue, and that’s the real mechanism.
So work like this:
- Place the fully-determined clues first — squares and shape-badged primes. These are free moves.
- Look at what’s left over. After a few placements you’ll often find an isolated pocket of cells. Count them. If a pocket holds seven cells and contains one clue reading 7, that patch is solved by elimination.
- Watch for orphaned cells. If a placement would leave a single cell cut off from any clue, that placement is wrong — because every cell must belong to a patch containing a clue. This is the fastest way to rule out a tempting-but-wrong option.
- Check clue count against area. The clue numbers must sum to exactly the number of cells in the grid. If your remaining clues total more or fewer cells than the space left, you’ve made an error earlier.
That last check is worth doing whenever you feel stuck. It’s usually faster to spot a bad placement arithmetically than by staring at the board.
Common mistakes
Forgetting that a patch needs exactly one clue. A perfectly-sized rectangle that swallows two clues is illegal, and a big rectangle that contains none is too. When a placement “fits” but the puzzle won’t accept it, this is usually why.
Reading “any shape” as “any form”. It still has to be a rectangle. Patches never has L-shapes or zigzags — every region is a clean rectangle.
Placing the biggest patch first. Intuitive, and usually wrong. Large “any shape” clues have the most possible configurations, so they carry the least information. Leave them until the surrounding placements have squeezed their options down.
Using the hint
LinkedIn includes a Hint button that highlights a cell or region to point you at the next move. Using it doesn’t break your streak — the puzzle still counts as solved. It costs you time on the leaderboard, which matters only if you’re competing with your connections.
Frequently asked questions
Do patches have to be rectangles?
Yes. Every patch is a rectangle or square. There are no irregular shapes in the game.
Can a patch contain two clues?
No. Exactly one clue per patch, and every clue needs its own patch.
What happens if I get it wrong?
Nothing. Tap the patch to remove it and redraw. There’s no life system or guess limit.
Does using a hint break my streak?
No. Your streak continues; only your solve time is affected.
What time does Patches reset?
Midnight in your local time zone, the same as the other LinkedIn games.
Is Patches free?
Yes. All six LinkedIn games are free with any LinkedIn account — no Premium needed.