Rules & Mechanics

1. The Primary Objective

Your goal in every stage of The Last Tile is to extinguish all illuminated tiles, leaving a completely cleared board. Each level defines a target move threshold: clearing the grid at or below this count grants a maximum 3-star rating.

2. The Orthogonal Cross Ripple

Whenever you tap an individual tile, an inversion wave ripples outwards in four cardinal directions (Up, Down, Left, Right). Every tile within the cross inverts its binary state:

• Active Tiles (Luminous White): Turn off and become dormant dark tiles.
• Dormant Tiles (Deep Charcoal): Illuminate and switch to active white tiles.

3. Boundary Conditions & Topography

The shape of the cross changes depending on where the tapped tile is situated on the matrix:

• Center Tiles: Inverts 5 tiles in total (the selected tile plus all 4 direct neighbors).
• Edge Tiles: Inverts 4 tiles in total (the selected tile plus 3 neighbors bounded by the wall).
• Corner Tiles: Inverts 3 tiles in total (the selected tile plus 2 adjacent boundary neighbors).

4. Strategic Axioms

A. Commutative Property

The sequence of moves does not affect the final board state. Tapping Tile A followed by Tile B produces the identical outcome as tapping Tile B followed by Tile A.

B. Parity Invariance (Modulo 2)

Tapping the exact same tile twice cancels out both actions completely. A tile should never be pressed more than once in an optimal solution.

C. Edge-First Chase Strategy

Begin from the top row and systematically invert tiles beneath illuminated nodes to force active tiles toward the bottom perimeter. This classic chasing technique isolates residual parity into solvable permutations.