How to play Tile Match: rules and strategy

Tile Match is a game of patience and planning. Anyone can find a pair; the skill is choosing which pair to take so you don’t trap tiles you need later.

The rules

72 picture tiles are stacked in layers. Each picture appears four times. Remove tiles in matching pairs until the table is clear. You can only take free tiles: a tile is free when nothing is on top of it, even partly, and it has an open space on its left or its right. On BoardGameSite, free tiles are lit and blocked tiles are dimmed.

Strategy 1: unblock as much as you can

Every pair you take should open up new tiles. Tiles on the top layers cover several tiles each, so taking them early often frees the most.

Strategy 2: open long rows from the ends

A long row only gives up its end tiles, one from each side. Rows like these are where games get stuck, so start chipping at them early.

Strategy 3: when three are free

If three tiles of the same picture are free, don’t grab any two. Take the pair that frees the most other tiles, or that leaves the third tile somewhere it won’t block anything.

Strategy 4: watch for stacked twins

If two matching tiles sit on top of each other, the lower one can only come out with a tile from elsewhere. Make sure you don’t use up its other partners first.

Strategy 5: all four at once

When all four tiles of a picture are free, take both pairs straight away. They can never cause a problem.

If you get stuck

Every deal on BoardGameSite can be cleared, but the order you take pairs in matters. If no pairs are left, Undo back a few moves and try a different choice, or use Shuffle to mix the remaining tiles into a layout that can still be cleared.