How to play
- Cut the grid into rectangles. Every cell ends up in exactly one patch: no gaps, no overlaps.
- One clue per patch. Each patch holds exactly one clue, never two, never none.
- Numbers are sizes. A 6 means its patch covers six cells (2×3, 3×2, 1×6 or 6×1). A ? keeps the size secret.
- Badges are shapes. A square badge means a square patch, a wide badge a patch wider than it is tall, a tall badge one taller than it is wide. Corner brackets mean any rectangle, squares included.
Here’s a 6×6 board, and the one way to cut it:
Controls
| Action | Mouse or touch | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Draw a patch | Drag from one corner to the opposite corner | Enter on one corner, arrows, Enter again |
| Remove a patch | Tap or click it | Delete or Backspace |
| Cancel a drawing | Drag back to where you started | Escape |
Drawing over other patches replaces them. A patch that breaks its own clue (wrong size or shape) shows striped, so you can spot it. Check is free: it outlines any patch that isn’t part of the answer.Hints (3 per board) place the next patch you can prove and say why. Best times only count boards solved without hints.
Solving tips
The hints use these ideas, easiest first. You can solve every board with them.
- Only one fit. This clue’s patch can only be drawn one way.
- Only one reach. Only one clue’s patch can reach this cell, so it must cover it.
- Dead ends. Every other way to draw this patch would leave a cell or a clue that nothing can finish.
Squares are the stiffest clues: a numbered square has one size, so it often has only a couple of places to go. Odd sizes like 5 and 7 can only be a single row or column. Corners and edges are the other place to start: a corner cell can only be reached from two directions, so ask which clues could possibly cover it.
Patches is our take on a well-known kind of grid puzzle (often called Shikaku), with shape badges added. Every puzzle here is generated and checked by our own code.