Tiles: today's board, free

How to play Tiles

Tap a tile, then tap another that has something in common with it: the same shape, the same ring, the same glyph (or colour, silhouette, direction, depending on the day's set). The shared layers vanish from both tiles and the second tile stays selected. Every match in a row grows your combo; a tile with nothing in common resets it. When the selected tile empties, the next pick is free. Clear all thirty tiles. Full rules, the four tile sets layer by layer, and three practice boards on the how to play page.

Want another one? Unlimited Tiles has endless boards in every set and difficulty, with undo and a zen mode. Missed a day? Every past day is in the archive.

The week's boards

Build a longer Tiles combo

A 5×6 board starts with 90 layers: three on each of 30 tiles. Each match removes at least two layers, so 45 matches is the maximum. To reach a 45 combo, match exactly one layer at a time without a miss. Puzzlune checks that a perfect chain exists on each starting board; your choices determine whether it remains possible.

Check all three layers before a match

Two tiles can share more than one layer, and a tap removes all their shared layers. Matching two layers at once is valid if your goal is simply to clear the board, but it lowers the maximum possible combo. For a 45-combo attempt, check that the other two layers differ before you tap.

Look one move ahead

The tile you tap becomes the selected tile. Before choosing it, look for a partner for one of its remaining layers. If it has no match and is not empty, you cannot continue the chain from there. Comparing a few possible next moves is useful, but no single local rule guarantees a perfect route.

Use a free pick to move across the board

When the tile you tap loses its last layer, your next pick can be any remaining tile without breaking the combo. Use that opportunity to reach a pair elsewhere on the board. If you miss, keep playing: the score records your longest combo. Unlimited mode also lets you undo a move or practise without the combo counter in zen mode.

Read each tile set differently

Lantern: compare the large shape, ring and small glyph separately. Terrazzo: compare the colour at each layer. Ink: compare silhouettes, cut-outs and the small mark. Compass: compare the direction of each symbol. The interactive tutorial breaks the sets into layers and provides small practice boards.

Compare the daily boards

These are solver measurements over 365 generated Puzzlune daily boards, not player results. “Two-layer pairs” counts starting tile pairs that share at least two layers, out of 435 possible pairs. “Free picks” is the average along the perfect route our solver found; other routes may differ.

For a worked route, open a board in the Puzzlune Tiles archive: each day's page shows our original board and a perfect chain, tap by tap.

Tiles FAQ

What is the Tiles game?

Tiles is a matching game on a 5×6 board of 30 patterned tiles. Each tile is three layers stacked: a shape, a ring, a glyph, or three colours, or three silhouettes, depending on the set. Tap a tile, then tap another that shares at least one layer; the shared layers disappear from both. Keep matching until the board is empty. The score is your longest combo: the most matches in a row without tapping a tile that shares nothing.

Is this the NYT Tiles game?

No. Tiles is a New York Times game (2019) that now needs a Games subscription. Puzzlune's Tiles follows the same rules with our own hand-drawn tile sets and our own boards: a free daily that rotates through four sets over the week, unlimited mode with a zen option, an archive of every past day, hints that show you a match, and dark mode. We are not affiliated with The New York Times.

What is the highest possible combo?

45 on a 5×6 board. Thirty tiles with three layers each is 90 layers, and every match removes at least two. A 45-combo means clearing the whole board in one unbroken chain, one layer per match. Every Puzzlune board is checked before it's served: a 45-chain always exists. Matching two or three layers in one tap is legal, it just uses fewer moves and caps the combo lower.

What happens when I tap a tile that doesn't match?

Your combo resets to zero, the two tiles shake, and the tile you just tapped becomes the selected one, so you can carry on from there. Nothing is removed and the board stays solvable. In zen mode (unlimited) misses aren't counted at all.

What is a free pick?

When the selected tile loses its last layer it empties, and your next tap can be any tile. The combo keeps going. Free picks are your chance to jump to a different corner of the board.

How do the four tile sets differ?

Each one tests a different kind of looking. Lantern is the classic: a big shape, a ring and a small glyph, read the layers apart. Terrazzo keeps one shape per layer and changes only the colours. Ink is drawn in one ink with a cut-out and a small gold mark, so you read silhouettes. Compass repeats the same arrow, pin and tick and only rotates them. Weekends get the harder sets.

Can I play more than one board a day?

Yes. Choose Unlimited to pick a tile set and difficulty, play another board, undo a move or use zen mode. These are Puzzlune's own boards, separate from the daily puzzle and its streak. No account is required.

Does Puzzlune Tiles work on school or work networks (is it “unblocked”)?

It is an ordinary website with no login, no download and no app store, so it works anywhere this site can be opened. Whether a particular network blocks games sites is up to that network, not us.

Do I need an account?

No. Progress, streak and stats are stored in your browser.