Space Tiles advanced tips: mirror frames and 3 stars
These advanced Space Tiles tips are for players who already know the basics and want 3 stars on the big frames. The key ideas: work out the best move count before you start, use the mirror pattern hidden in most frames, and spend power-ups where they save the most moves. Some numbers here are not shown in the game; they come from how the game builds its boards.
Work out the best count before your first move
Every board is built together with its own solution. The 3-star line is that solution's move count plus 2. So:
- Open the pause menu and choose How to play. It says "For 3 stars: … moves or fewer."
- Take away 2. That is the best count: the fewest moves the game itself needs.
- Count the tiles in the tray. Each tile needs one drop.
- The rest of the best count is the number of quarter turns the tiles need in all.
Example: "For 3 stars: 14 moves or fewer" with 5 tiles. The best count is 12. Five moves are drops, so the tiles need 7 turns between them. If you have already found 7 turns, you know no other tile needs turning. This helps a lot on Big Junk Ships, where most moves are turns.
Use the mirror pattern
This is not shown in the game, but it is how the boards are made: most frames are built in matching halves or quarters, like a picture folded in two. The game makes one part, then copies it to the other side. A tile and its copy usually get the same colour.
What you can expect, by the frame's size:
| Frame | How it is usually built |
|---|---|
| Width 6 or 10 | Mirrored left to right and top to bottom (four matching quarters) |
| Width 4 or 12 | Mirrored left to right |
| Width 8 | No mirror |
| Odd width, even height (like 5 × 4 or 7 × 6) | Mirrored top to bottom |
| Odd width, odd height (like 3 × 3 or 7 × 7) | The other half is the same, turned half way round |
How to use it:
- Find the twins. Look in the tray for two tiles of the same colour and size. They often go in matching spots on opposite sides of the frame.
- Mirror the twin. In a mirrored frame the twin is a flipped copy of the shape, so it is a different tile. In a frame that is "turned half way round", the twin is the same shape, turned twice.
- Stuck blocks too. Stuck blocks are placed the same way, so they come in matching spots as well.
The pattern is not perfect. After copying, the game joins some small pieces together, and those joined tiles can break the pattern. Use it as a clue, not a rule.
Test spots for free
Holding a tile over the frame costs nothing. While you drag, the dashed outline turns green or red. With keys or a controller, a lifted tile shows a red edge where it doesn't fit. A drop that doesn't fit is refused and costs no move. So you can try several spots before you let go, as long as you only let go once.
Never park a tile in the tray
Taking a tile out of the frame is a move, and dropping it again is another. Moving it from one spot in the frame straight to another spot is just one move. If a tile is in the wrong place, drag it directly to where it should be.
Spend power-ups where they save the most
Power-ups cost no moves, but they don't all save the same.
| Power-up | Moves it saves | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Magnet | 1 drop plus every turn that tile needs | The tile that needs the most turns |
| Rescue team | A drop and the turns for each of the 3 biggest tiles left | Early on a big frame, before you place the big tiles yourself |
| Plasma torch | Saves no moves by itself | Cutting a bump off a tile that won't fit anywhere |
Be careful with the torch. The cut square goes to its spot, but the rest of the tile stays where it was. If it is still in the tray, it still needs its own drop. If you cut a square from the middle of a tile, the rest can fall apart into smaller pieces, and each piece needs its own drop: that costs extra moves. Cut a square at the end of a tile to keep the rest in one piece.
Learn a board, then replay it
The planets never change. Planet 12 of galaxy 4 is the same board every time, for every player. So if a big frame takes you many moves, finish it anyway. The next planet opens with any stars. Later, choose the planet on the map and play it again: you already know where the tiles go. Your best stars are kept. Replays give no new rewards, though, so a power-up you use on a replay is simply spent.
Start again is free
Start again in the pause menu sets your moves back to 0 and gives back every power-up you used on that board. If you went far over the 3-star line, there is nothing to lose by starting again. Undo, on the other hand, never lowers your move count.
Only one board waits for you
The game remembers one half-done board at a time. If you leave a board in the middle and then start a different puzzle, the first board starts fresh next time. Finish a board before you try the daily puzzle if you want to keep your place.
Make the tray sit still
The tiles in the tray float gently around. If you find it easier with tiles that stay put, set Moving effects to Calm in Settings. The tiles then rest in fixed spots. Graphics set to Low does the same. See saving and settings.
Next challenge
Like games where you plan many moves ahead? The Three Marks guide is a card strategy game, and the Relay Rivals guide is about planning with robots.
See also
- Puzzle tips: the basics first.
- Moves and stars: every move rule in one table.
- Galaxies and planets: frame sizes per galaxy.
- Play Space Tiles and test the mirror trick.
