LinkedIn Patches #103 Answer & Analysis

The most constrained patches are the tall edge pieces. The left edge becomes a 6-cell vertical strip, while the two right-side 6s also lock into long vertical runs. At the same time, the top row has room for one long horizontal patch, so those placements should be fixed first.

Once the top row is reserved, the orange 5 on the left has only one sensible fit: a vertical strip just under the top edge. That placement leaves a compact upper-middle pocket that matches the teal 6 as a 2-by-3 block.

The gold 5 on the right side of the middle must also run vertically, and that forces the board into two connected center zones. The next natural fit is the green 6 below the teal block, which fills the remaining middle space as another clean rectangle.

After the center blocks are set, the remaining cells in row 6 form a short 3-cell patch. That patch acts as the bridge into the final lower band, while row 7 becomes a full-width 8-cell strip that is impossible to split any other way.

The last row is split into two equal 4-cell blocks. That final partition removes any leftover gaps and completes the grid without leaving isolated cells. At this point, every numbered patch has the correct size, every region is connected, and the board is fully filled.