
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Squares are arranged around a central square in a single-layer arrangement such that each square has one side tangent to it and one side tangent to two other squares. Determine the maximum number of squares that can surround the central square.

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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