Triple Tiles

Triple Tiles is a matching puzzle with a small tray at the bottom of the screen. You pick tiles off a pile one at a time, and any three alike in your tray disappear.

How to play

The goal is to clear the whole pile before your tray fills up.

• Picking a tile: tap a tile that nothing is lying on. It flies down into the tray. A covered tile cannot be tapped until the ones on top of it are gone.
• Making a triple: when three tiles with the same picture are in the tray together, they vanish and leave room again.
• The tray holds seven tiles. If it is full and there is no triple to clear, the level is over.
• Winning: when the pile and the tray are both empty, you clear the level and can go on to the next one.

Tiles with the same picture are placed side by side in the tray, so you can see what you are building. On a phone, tap a tile with your finger. On a computer, click it with the mouse.

There are two helpers in each level. Undo takes back the last tile you picked, and you have three of those. Shuffle gives the tiles still on the pile new pictures, and you have two of those. The shuffle is made so that the pile can still be cleared. Restart sets up the same pile again, and Levels lets you pick a level from a list.

The levels

Triple Tiles does not use Easy and Hard. It has numbered levels, and each one is a little bigger than the one before.

• Level 1 is a small pile of 18 tiles in two layers.
• Level 4 has 45 tiles in three layers.
• Level 9 has 81 tiles in five layers.
• Level 12 has 108 tiles in six layers.

Past level 12, the game cycles through the three hardest piles. More layers mean more tiles are hidden under others, and some levels leave only a little room in the tray.

The project measured how a plain player does, one that looks only at the open tiles and uses no undo and no shuffle. That player cleared level 1 every time, about two games in three at level 4, about three games in ten at level 9, and about one in six at level 12. Because you have Undo and Shuffle, you can do better than that.

Tips

1. Before you tap, look at the whole pile. Find pictures that appear on several open tiles and aim for those triples first.
2. Keep the tray tidy. Try not to fill it with single tiles that have no partner yet.
3. Each time you pick a tile, think about what it uncovers. Freeing a new picture is as useful as making a triple.
4. A pair in the tray is a good sign. Look for the third tile before you take anything else.
5. When two pictures both need the last space, decide which triple is nearer to done.
6. Save your undo. Use it when you realize you have taken a tile that leaves you stuck, not as a habit.
7. Use Shuffle when none of the open tiles matches anything in the tray and many tiles are still left.

Questions

Can every level be cleared? Yes. Each pile is built backwards from an empty table, so there is always at least one way to clear it without overflowing the tray.

What happens if the tray fills up? The level ends. You can undo the last tile if you have an undo left, or start the level again with the same pile.

Why can't I tap some tiles? They have another tile lying on them. Take the top tile first.

Does the pile stay the same after Restart? Yes. Restart uses the same pile, so you can try a different order.