How to Play Patches Puzzle: A Complete Patches Game Guide

About Patches

Patches is a free color-block logic puzzle game you can play online — fit blocks to fill the grid. Cover the whole board with rectangles, each holding exactly one numbered clue. The clue is the number of cells its rectangle must fill, and a small badge shows the shape: square, tall, or wide. No overlaps, no gaps — every cell has one logical answer. It's free to play online with no login required.

• • Fill every cell — no gaps, no overlaps.
• • Each rectangle holds exactly one clue.
• • The clue number is the rectangle's area; the badge shows its shape — square, tall, or wide.

Rules

Drag to draw a rectangle around each clue. The rectangle's area must equal the clue number, and its proportions must match the clue's shape badge — square, tall, or wide.

• • Drag from one corner to another to draw a rectangle.
• • Make sure each rectangle contains exactly one clue.
• • Match the clue's number (its area) and its shape badge — square, tall, or wide.
• • Fill every cell to finish the board.
• • Rectangles can't overlap or leave gaps.
• • Each rectangle contains exactly one clue.
• • Area equals the clue number; the shape — square, tall, or wide — matches the badge.
• • Start with clues whose size leaves only one option.
• • Use the board edges and filled cells to narrow shapes.
• • Dashed (any-shape) clues are most flexible — leave them for last.

FAQ: Patches

• • What is Patches? Patches is a free daily color-block logic puzzle game you can play online in your browser. You fill the board with rectangles, each containing exactly one numbered clue that sets its area and its shape — square, tall, or wide.
• • Is Patches the same as the Patches game on LinkedIn? No. This Patches is an independent web puzzle game inspired by the LinkedIn-style Patches game — a free LinkedIn Patches alternative you can play directly in your browser, with no LinkedIn account or login required. If you want a game like LinkedIn Patches but without signing in, this is it.
• • How is Patches related to Shikaku? Patches is a Shikaku-style puzzle: the no-shape-hint mode plays like classic Shikaku, while Patches adds shape-hint badges — square, tall, or wide — to guide each rectangle's proportions.
• • Is Patches free? Yes. A new Patches puzzle is free to play every day on PuzzleZone, with archives and answer guides.
• • Is there a new Patches puzzle every day? Yes. A new Patches board goes live each day, and everyone solves the same puzzle on the same date. Missed a day? Every past puzzle stays playable in the archive.
• • How hard is Patches? The daily web board is a medium 6×6 — friendly for newcomers while still rewarding careful deduction. Every puzzle has exactly one solution, so you can always reach it by logic alone, no guessing required.
• • Can I remove or change a placed rectangle? Yes. Tap a placed rectangle to remove it, or simply draw a new rectangle over it — overlapping blocks are replaced automatically. You can also clear the whole board and start fresh.
• • Does Patches track my progress? Your daily streak and completed days are saved locally in your browser, and the archive marks the days you've solved. Nothing is uploaded — your progress stays on your device.
• • Where can I play more Patches puzzles? Beyond the free daily puzzle and the archive here on the web, the free Patches Puzzle app on the App Store lets you keep solving with hundreds of hand-crafted boards across six difficulty tiers, offline play, achievements and themes.
• • Is there a Patches unlimited mode? A Patches unlimited mode is coming soon — it will let you play endless Patches puzzles back to back with no daily limit. For now, you can play a free new puzzle every day on the web plus the full archive, and the Patches Puzzle app already offers hundreds of hand-crafted boards to keep solving.