Tile Towers

velvetenor · 10-02-2008, 11:37 AM

Hi folks!

I was reading through some of the threads in this section and decided to start my own thread with some tips and tricks for this AWESOME game!!

Please note that these pointers are only for the CLASSIC version of the game. Tile Towers is actually a version of Mah Jongg Solitaire, a game originally developed and played in East Asia, and so the basics of this game have been around for a LONG time! It is a tried and true game - and very addictive!

The board is randomly set up each time you start a new game, so you never know what tiles will be where, and this adds an element of luck to the game - though you need to have skill, too!
There are always 4 matching tiles of each character on the board at the start of the game - this is important to know, since it helps if you can keep track in your head when you have eliminated a pair, and you only have two tiles of that character left. A tile is considered "open" and able to be eliminated if the left and/or right side of the tile is clear (i.e. there is no other tile touching it on that side)
I generally leave the "hints" option ON while I play - though I don't always do what the hint tells me.
At the start of the game I wait and survey the board for the first few seconds. I look at the tiles on the 6 "ends" (the three outermost tiles on each side of the board), and the one in the very center, and see if there are any open matching tiles that I can use to begin eliminating these pairs. By the time I am done surveying the board, the game usually gives me a hint - and I generally start by taking the hint and going from there!
I also look and note if I can see two (or more) of the same tile in the same row. These are tricky to deal with if you have already eliminated the other pair, so I try and work out strategies beforehand to make sure I can get at these tiles before they cause problems!
In the beginning, it helps to work on reducing the tiles on the "ends" AS WELL AS reducing the stacks in the center of the board. The "hints" will often direct you to keep eliminating tiles on one of the "ends" until you become stuck, but this is where I generally avoid the hints and work all the ends and the center at the same time, as much as possible.
If you can open up all 4 tiles of the same character and eliminate them all at once, do it!
Always work one step ahead! This means that you should not eliminate a tile pair unless it will open up something else for you to eliminate. Eventually this stops working, but it is always a good strategy if you can keep it going!
As you get closer to clearing the board, focus on reducing any long rows and tall stacks. If you eventually need to shuffle (or the AutoShuffle kicks in), these long rows and tall stacks will most likely keep you from clearing the board because they will block in critical tiles that you will need to finish.
Also, as you near the end, start keeping track of the tile colors. Even if you can't see what the characters are, if you know what color the tile is that you need, and you can see that there is a stack with the color tile you are looking for at the bottom, you can judge if there is a chance that the tile may be down there, and decide whether you should shuffle.
Don't be afraid to shuffle early! If you wait until you are really stuck then there may be so few tiles left that they end up stacking on top of each other and this will cost you the game. If you keep thinking several moves ahead of yourself then you will begin to know if you are in trouble early and you may be able to save the game if you shuffle it up and work from there!

That is all I can think of right now, but if I think of anything else then I'll add it here. Thank you for making it thorugh this long post

and I wish you all good luck as you try to beat the Tile Towers!!!! Woooo!

Happy Gaming!
velvetenor

Vickie · 10-04-2008, 03:23 PM

Thanks so much for the tips! I love this game and I have only gotten to level 5 a few times so I can use all the help tips I can get! Again thanks for taking your time to post your useful tips!