Tile Connect Puzzle: Rules and Tips for Two-Turn Matching

By Nesim Razon, independent Android developer

In a tile connect puzzle you remove pairs of identical tiles, but only if you can draw a path between them with at most two turns. Players know the idea as Shisen-sho. The rules are short, yet the best moves are not always the obvious ones. This guide explains the path rule, what changes when tiles slide, and how to plan ahead.

The goal and the basic move

The board is a full grid of tiles. Tap one tile, then tap another tile with the same picture. If the two can be connected, the line is drawn for a moment and both tiles disappear. Clear the whole grid to finish the level.

If you tap a tile that does not match, nothing is lost: the new tile simply becomes your selection. Tap the selected tile again to deselect it.

The two-turn path rule

A path is a line made of straight pieces that only crosses empty cells. It may have at most two turns, which means at most three straight pieces. So there are three shapes to look for:

• A straight line: the tiles share a row or a column with nothing between them.
• An L shape: one turn, like walking along a row and then down a column.
• A U, Z or S shape: two turns, going out from one tile, across, and back in to the other.

There is one detail that beginners miss. In Tilelings the board is surrounded by one extra row and column of empty space. A path can run along the outside edge. That is why two matching tiles on opposite sides of the board can often be joined even when the middle is packed with tiles.

What counts as a match

Tiles match when they show the same picture. Flowers match any other flower, and seasons match any other season, even though each of those tiles looks different. They have a golden border so you can spot them easily. A path always needs to be free of other tiles, but it does not matter how long it is.

When tiles slide

The first 20 levels keep the tiles where they are. Later levels add gravity: after each match, the remaining tiles slide down, up, left or right. Some levels use a split board, where the two halves slide toward the middle line. Sliding makes the board change after every move, so a pair that was far apart may suddenly sit next to each other, and a pair that was easy may get cut off.

A useful rule for gravity boards: removing a tile at the far end of a lane moves nothing, while removing a tile near the target side shifts everything behind it. Take pairs from the back first when you can, and save pairs near the front for when you need the shift.

Strategy tips

• Take the edges first. Tiles on the border are easiest to connect and clearing them opens new corridors along the outside.
• Try to empty whole rows or columns. An empty line is a highway that makes many future paths possible.
• When a picture has several copies, think before you choose which two to remove. Pick the pair that opens a lane or frees a lonely tile, not the pair that is just closest.
• Watch the last two copies of a picture. If one of them is buried in the middle, plan a corridor to it early.
• Do not rush. The board never takes a turn without you, so spend a few seconds scanning for the pair that opens the most space.

A worked example

Say one tile sits in row 2, column 3, and its twin in row 5, column 6. First look for the simplest shape. Can you walk along row 2 to column 6 and then down to the twin, with every cell in between empty? If yes, that is an L. If not, try the other L: down column 3 to row 5, then across. Still blocked? Look for a two-turn path. Find a row or column that is completely empty between the two, or that is empty enough to link both tiles, and walk out, across and in. Do not forget the outside edge as a last resort.

Checking shapes in this order, straight, then L, then two turns, quickly becomes automatic. After a few levels your eyes do it for you.

Common mistakes

• Thinking diagonals work. Paths only run horizontally and vertically.
• Forgetting the outer frame. Many pairs on opposite edges can be linked around the outside.
• Always removing the closest pair. A near pair may be the only way to free a buried tile later, so check what each removal opens or closes.
• Leaving a single lonely pair for the end. When only a few tiles remain, there are fewer empty cells to build paths with. Keep the corridors open as long as possible.
• Ignoring gravity. In levels with sliding tiles, imagine where the tiles will land before you commit to a pair.

Read the board in three passes

Pass one: scan the border for pairs you can take at once and take the ones that open a lane. Pass two: look for rows and columns that are nearly empty, because they are your best corridors. Pass three: look at the pictures with few copies left and make sure each of them still has a way out. This quick routine beats staring at the whole board and hoping a pair jumps out at you.

Help when you are stuck

Undo is unlimited in this mode, so you can take back a move you regret. Hint shows a pair that belongs to a real solution. You get a few free hints per day, and you can earn more by watching a short video. Shuffle rearranges the remaining tiles and keeps the board solvable. Because every board starts solvable and a shuffle keeps it that way, a stuck position is always something you can recover from.

Levels give up to three stars. In relaxed mode the stars depend on how much help you used. In timed mode, they depend on your speed against a target of a few seconds per pair.

Where to practice

Tilelings includes this mode with 150 levels. They start with a small 8 by 6 board and grow to larger boards with sliding tiles. It is a calm way to practice spotting paths, and the same skill makes you faster at the other modes too.