A calm game of Tile Pairs in Games by Zaweba

One hundred and forty four hand-drawn tiles are stacked in a heap, and you take them away two at a time. Tile Pairs is a stacked-tile patience on the Puzzles shelf of Games by Zaweba, and it is probably the calmest game in the collection. There is no clock and no opponent. Just a pile of tiles and the quiet pleasure of clearing it.

The rules

Take away tiles in matching pairs until the board is empty. Click two matching tiles and they are removed.

The one rule that matters is that you can only take a free tile. A tile is free when there is nothing on top of it and nothing touching its left or its right side. Tiles above or below it on the flat board do not count, only left and right, and anything stacked on top.

Most tiles match only an identical tile. Two groups are special: any two flowers match each other, and any two leaves match each other, even though their pictures differ.

Every deal can be cleared

Every deal in Tile Pairs can be cleared. If you get stuck, it is because of the order you took tiles in, not because the deal was impossible. That changes how it feels to play. A stuck board is a puzzle to think about rather than bad luck.

When you are stuck

Three helpers are there for when you get stuck. Press H for a hint, which points out a pair you can take. Press Z to undo, which steps back through your moves so you can try a different order. And you have three Shuffles, which mix the remaining tiles into new places.

Use undo before shuffling. Often the problem is a single earlier choice, such as taking the wrong one of three or four matching tiles, and undo lets you put that right without changing the board.

Choosing which pair to take

The key decision in Tile Pairs comes when more than two matching tiles are free, or when a tile you want is matched by one buried elsewhere. A few habits help.

Free the tall stacks first. Tiles on top of high piles block more tiles below them, so clearing them opens the board up.

Work on the long rows from the ends. A long row has only two free tiles at a time, its ends, so leaving it until late can trap you. Unblocking a long row early gives you more choices later on.

When more than two matching tiles are free at once, think about which pair to take. The one left behind may be sitting on a tile you need, or blocking the end of a row.

And look before you click. Spotting a pair is satisfying, but taking the one that unlocks a hidden tile is better than taking the one sitting harmlessly at the edge.

Tile Pairs and the rest of the shelf

Tile Pairs is on the Puzzles shelf of Games by Zaweba, alongside Block Clear and Gem Swap, the other clearing games, and it is the most relaxed of the three. If you enjoy the patience style, the card shelf has Classic Patience and Spinner Patience too. Games by Zaweba keeps your plays and wins, and it runs entirely offline with no adverts, which makes it a pleasant way to spend a quiet ten minutes. Press Esc to pause and F1 for the rules.