How-to-play guides

Short, practical guides to the games in our apps: how they work, how to win more often and where to try them for free.

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  How to Play Mahjong Solitaire: Rules, Free Tiles and TipsLearn the rules of Mahjong Solitaire, what a free tile is, how Connect and Tile Match work, and simple tips to clear every board.
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  How to Play Klondike Solitaire (and Spider, FreeCell, TriPeaks)Learn the rules of Klondike Solitaire step by step, plus quick rules for Spider, FreeCell and TriPeaks and tips for winning more deals.
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  Block Puzzle Tips and Tricks: How to Get a High ScoreHow block puzzles like Cubbles work and the habits that raise your score: keep space open, clear lines in combos and avoid dead corners.
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  How to Play Beamies: Rules, Gates and Tips for 3 StarsHow to play Beamies, the alien gate puzzle: drag colored gates to collect aliens of the same color, avoid blocking other gates and earn 3 stars.
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  How to Play an Arrow Puzzle: Rules and Tips for SliplinesHow arrow escape puzzles work: tap an arrow whose path is clear to slide it off the board, avoid losing hearts and clear every level.
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  How to Solve Crown, Twin and Path Logic PuzzlesRules and solving techniques for three logic puzzles: Crown (one crown per row, column and region), Twin (balanced blue and orange faces) and Path (one line through every cell).
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  Sleepy Faces Strategy: Chase the Lights MethodHow to solve the Sleepy Faces puzzle: the tap rules, why each face needs at most one tap, and the row-by-row “chase the lights” method with a 5x5 cheat sheet.
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  Frog Hops Strategy: Peg Solitaire Tips That WorkHow to play Frog Hops, a peg solitaire puzzle: the jumping rules, how to avoid dead ends, the classic 33-hole board and how Logiclings builds solvable puzzles.
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  How to Play 2048: Rules and a Simple Winning StrategyHow 2048 works and a corner strategy that helps you reach the 2048 tile: keep your biggest tile in a corner, build a snake and avoid the wrong swipe.
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  Tic-Tac-Toe Strategy: How to Never LoseThe rules of Tic-Tac-Toe (noughts and crosses) and a simple strategy that guarantees you never lose: best first moves, blocking and forks.
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  How to Play Grumblings: Rules, Monster Moves and Tips for 3 StarsHow Grumblings works: take one step, then the grumpy monster takes two. Learn how monsters move, how to use walls and waiting, and tips for two-monster levels and 3 stars.
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  How to Play FreeCell: Rules, Free Cells and Winning StrategyLearn FreeCell rules and strategy: how free cells work, how many cards you can move at once, and how to manage empty columns to win more deals.
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  How to Play Spider Solitaire: Rules, Suits and Winning TipsLearn Spider Solitaire rules and strategy: how runs work, what 1, 2 and 4 suits change, when to deal, and how to use empty columns to win.
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  How to Play TriPeaks Solitaire: Rules, Streaks and ScoringLearn TriPeaks Solitaire rules: clearing three peaks, the one-higher-or-lower rule, how streaks and scoring work, and tips to chain bigger runs.
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  Tile Connect Puzzle: Rules and Tips for Two-Turn MatchingHow the tile connect puzzle (Shisen-sho style) works: link identical tiles with a path of at most two turns, plus strategy for sliding boards.
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  Stuck in Mahjong Solitaire? Which Tiles to Remove FirstStuck on a Mahjong Solitaire board? Learn which free tiles to remove first, which pair to take when you have four copies, and how to avoid a dead end.
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  How to Solve Sliding Parking Puzzles: Free the Gold PodLearn how sliding parking puzzles work and how to solve them: read the blockers, plan backwards, clear jams and save moves for three stars.
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  Box-Pushing Puzzle Strategy: Avoid Deadlocks and Plan PushesLearn how box-pushing puzzles work and how to avoid deadlocks: stuck corners, push order, planning from the pads backwards and using undo wisely.
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  After 2048: Reaching 4096 and 8192, and Mistakes to AvoidWhy 2048 boards lock up, which swipe order keeps them open, how to escape a jam and the six mistakes that stop most runs before 4096.
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  Block Puzzle High Score: Combos, Streaks and Planning AheadHow block puzzle scoring really works, why clearing several lines at once pays so much, how to keep a combo alive and how to plan a whole set of pieces.
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  Mahjong Tiles Explained: Suits, Winds, Dragons and FlowersA clear guide to Mahjong tiles: the three suits, winds, dragons, flowers and seasons, which tiles match in Mahjong Solitaire and how to tell them apart.
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  Which Solitaire to Play? Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, TriPeaksKlondike, Spider, FreeCell or TriPeaks? Compare goals, luck vs skill, game length and winnability to pick the solitaire that fits you, with a starter order.
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  How to Solve Pentomino Puzzles: The 12 Pieces and TipsLearn the 12 pentomino pieces (F I L N P T U V W X Y Z) and how to fill a shape with no gaps: where to start, what goes first and how to avoid dead ends.
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  Falling Blocks Color Pop: Rules, Chains and StrategyHow a falling-block color-pop game works: 10 or more connected squares of one color pop, chains multiply points and no row ever clears. Rules and strategy.
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  How to Play Tombala: Rules, Cards and Winning TipsLearn how Tombala (90-ball) works: the card layout, the 1st line, 2nd line and Tombala prizes, and practical tips to mark faster and call first.
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  How to Play 75-Ball Bingo: Cards, Patterns and TipsLearn 75-ball Bingo: the B-I-N-G-O columns, the free centre, the line, 4 corners, X and full-card patterns, plus tips to spot your numbers faster.
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  How to Play Tile Match: Rack Rules and a Simple StrategyLearn how Tile Match works: tap free tiles into a 7-slot rack, collect three of a kind, manage the rack and use Undo, Hint, Shuffle and Set aside well.
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  Virtual Cat Care Guide: Needs, Routine and Growing UpHow to care for a virtual kitten in Nuzzlings: what the four bars mean, a simple daily routine, sleep, growth stages, reminders and common mistakes.
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  How to Play Blackjack, Roulette and Hold'em: Brassline GuideLearn the rules of blackjack, European roulette and Texas Hold'em as they work in Brassline, a play-chip card room with no real money and no prizes.
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  How to Read the AFAD and Kandilli Earthquake ListsHow to read a recent earthquakes list for Turkey: time, place, magnitude, depth, AFAD versus Kandilli, filters, map, statistics and why numbers differ.
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  What the Turkey, Earth and ISS Screens Show in Uzay GunluguWhat am I looking at? A plain guide to the space card, Turkey satellite view, rotating Earth, ISS position and asteroid list in Uzay Gunlugu.