LinkedIn Patches #77 Answer & Analysis

Begin with the patches that have almost no freedom. The left edge forms a 5-cell vertical strip, and the top-left corner area forces the nearby 3-cell strip. The top row also fixes two compact 2-cell patches before any center placement can be considered.

Once the border anchors are fixed, the remaining top-row patches become clear. The orange pair stays as a 2-cell horizontal patch near the middle, and the blue pair sits at the top-right corner. This keeps the top row fully covered without breaking patch connectivity.

The large 9-cell patch in the center-right is the main structural clue. It spans a 3x3 region and is bordered by the top-row pairs, the teal vertical patch, and the lower patches. The teal 3-cell patch sits directly under the top row and stays as a narrow vertical strip because the large block blocks any sideways expansion.

After the center is anchored, the lower-middle area becomes straightforward. The green 2-cell patch sits on the left side of the lower half, the gray 2-cell patch takes the center of row 5, and the pink and brown 2-cell patches stack on the right edge. These placements avoid isolated cells and keep each patch connected.

The final row closes the grid with two horizontal 2-cell patches on the left and center. Once those are set, every numbered patch has the correct size, each one remains connected, no regions overlap, and the entire 6x6 board is filled. That is the completed LinkedIn Patches answer for #77.