Tracking down where Eric spends his free time was simple enough. He is a loner for the most part. Terrible with the ladies, few if any friends, and has a bit of a drinking problem. Which led me to the one bar Eric frequents: Simon's Speakeasy. Apparently, the only one he talks to while there is the bartender, who graciously offered his help, provided I assist him in the battle of wits he is waging against his cousin. The puzzle he showed me was intriguing. I recognized the trick to it at once, of course.

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The numbers indicate how many squares are in a particular group. Groups are made of matching numbers connected to each other by shared sides. So a group having the number 7 would be made up of seven squares, all containing the number 7 and all connected to each other by at least one side. The corners of squares don't count as being connected. It has to be the sides that are connected.