Shikaku vs LinkedIn Patches — What's the Difference?

What is LinkedIn Patches?

Patches is a daily logic puzzle launched by LinkedIn in early 2026 as part of their growing games collection alongside Queens, Pinpoint, Tango, and others. The goal is to divide a grid into rectangles, where each rectangle must contain exactly one number clue — and that number tells you how many cells the rectangle must cover.

What makes Patches slightly different from a standard rectangle puzzle is the shape constraint: each clue also specifies whether its rectangle must be a square, a wide horizontal rectangle, or a tall vertical rectangle. This extra rule guides your solving and makes the puzzle feel more structured for beginners.

Like most LinkedIn games, Patches gives you one puzzle per day. Once you solve it (or run out of time), you can't replay it. There is no unlimited mode, no archive, and no way to practice outside the daily challenge.

What is Shikaku?

Shikaku (四角に切れ) is a Japanese logic puzzle that has been published by Nikoli — the same Tokyo company behind Sudoku — since the early 2000s. The name roughly translates to "divide by box." In some countries it's simply called the Rectangles game or Divide by Squares.

The rules are elegant: divide the entire grid into non-overlapping rectangles so that each rectangle contains exactly one number, and that number equals the area of the rectangle. Unlike Patches, Shikaku does not tell you the shape — a clue of 6 could be a 1×6, 2×3, or 3×2 rectangle, and figuring out which one fits is part of the puzzle.

This extra degree of freedom makes Shikaku both harder and more satisfying. There are no training wheels — just pure logical deduction from the numbers alone.

How are they similar?

Patches and Shikaku share the same core mechanic and are clearly from the same puzzle family:

• Both are played on a grid that must be completely divided into rectangles.
• Both use number clues — each rectangle contains exactly one number that equals its area.
• Both use a drag-to-draw interaction in the browser.
• Both are logic puzzles with a single, provably unique solution.
• Both offer a daily challenge format.

If you enjoy one, you will almost certainly enjoy the other. The core satisfaction of fitting rectangles together like a spatial jigsaw is identical.

What's different?

Shape constraints

The biggest difference is that Patches tells you the shape of each rectangle (square, wide, or tall), while Shikaku does not. In Shikaku, a clue only tells you the area — you have to figure out the dimensions yourself. This makes Shikaku more challenging and more satisfying to solve, because every deduction comes purely from logic rather than shape recognition.

Grid sizes

LinkedIn Patches uses a small 5×5 grid, designed to be solved in a minute or two during a work break. Shikaku.ch offers four grid sizes: 5×5 (Starter), 10×10 (Classic), 20×20 (Hard), and 25×25 (Expert). The daily puzzle uses a 10×10 grid — a proper challenge that takes most players 2–5 minutes.

Unlimited play

LinkedIn only gives you one Patches puzzle per day. On Shikaku.ch you can play unlimited puzzles in any grid size, replay past daily puzzles from the archive, and practice as much as you like — all for free, with no account required.

Origin

Shikaku is decades older than Patches. It was invented in Japan and has been a staple of logic puzzle magazines since the early 2000s. Patches is LinkedIn's modern adaptation of the same concept, simplified slightly for a mass casual audience. If Patches is the pop song, Shikaku is the original album.

Side-by-side comparison

	Shikaku.ch	LinkedIn Patches
Core mechanic	Divide grid into rectangles	Divide grid into rectangles
Number clues	Area only — you find the shape	Area + shape specified
Grid sizes	5×5, 10×10, 20×20, 25×25	5×5 only
Daily puzzle	Yes — 10×10	Yes — 5×5
Unlimited play	Yes — infinite puzzles	No — one per day
Puzzle archive	Yes — replay past days	No
Leaderboard	Yes — daily rankings	No
Account required	No	LinkedIn account
Difficulty	Beginner to Expert	Casual / beginner
Origin	Japan, early 2000s	LinkedIn, 2026
Free to play	Yes	Yes (with LinkedIn account)

Is Shikaku the same as the Rectangles game?

Yes — "Rectangles game" is simply another name for Shikaku. The same puzzle goes by several names depending on the country and publisher: Shikaku, Shikaku ni Kire, Rectangles, Divide by Squares, and Box Up are all the same game with the same rules.

The name "Rectangles game" is commonly used in English-language puzzle books and apps that want to avoid the Japanese terminology. If you've played a "Rectangles game" anywhere — in a puzzle book, on an app, or on another website — you were playing Shikaku.

LinkedIn's Patches is a close cousin of the Rectangles game / Shikaku, with one extra rule layered on top (the shape constraint). Think of Patches as a guided version of Shikaku designed for players who want a bit more help, and Shikaku as the classic, purer form of the puzzle.

Which should you play?

Play both — they complement each other perfectly. Use LinkedIn Patches for your quick daily work break, and use Shikaku.ch when you want a real challenge, unlimited practice, or something to fill the rest of the day after Patches is done.

If you're specifically looking for a Patches alternative that you can play more than once a day, Shikaku.ch is the closest thing that exists. The 5×5 Starter puzzles are a familiar entry point, and the daily leaderboard adds a competitive edge that Patches doesn't have.

And if you're new to rectangle puzzles entirely — whether you found this page through Patches, the Rectangles game, or just searching for logic puzzles — the Shikaku strategy guide is a good place to start before diving into the harder grid sizes.