Clear the Deck

About Clear the Deck

Clear the Deck is one of the free daily puzzles on PuzzleLab, a site of short browser games that needs no sign-up. The board is five columns wide and six rows tall, filled with the four card suits: hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs.

You may only tap tiles in the bottom row. A tap removes that tile together with every tile of the same suit connected to it, and the tiles above fall down to fill the gaps. The aim is to empty the board in no more than the goal number of moves shown at the top. Since what falls into place depends on the order of your taps, the puzzle is about planning: clearing one suit at the right moment can bring two separate groups of another suit together.

The daily board is the same for everyone and changes at midnight Pacific Time. If a plan fails, the Restart button sets the board back and the attempt counter goes up, so you can try as many orders as you like. There is a stats panel and an I'm done button if you want to stop, and a practice mode serves random boards.

It suits players who enjoy short planning puzzles in the style of same-colour tile games, with a single clear target each day.

How to play Clear the Deck

1. Open Clear the Deck and note the goal: the most moves you may use.
2. Tap a tile in the bottom row to remove it and every connected tile of its suit.
3. Watch the tiles above fall into the gaps and plan the next tap.
4. Clear the board within the goal, or press Restart and try another order.

Tips

• Before tapping, look for suits that would join into one large group once something below them is cleared.
• Leave a suit that is already well connected until late; it can be cleared in one tap.
• Count moves ahead: the goal leaves little room for wasted taps.
• Restarting costs nothing but the attempt count, so experiment with the first move.

Questions