Flood

What is Flood?

Flood is a quick colour puzzle. The board is a square of coloured tiles, and the patch in the top-left corner is your flood. Each move you pick a colour: the flood turns that colour and swallows every tile of it that it touches, so it grows a little or a lot. Cover the whole board in one colour before the moves run out.

The move limit is set from a computer's own solution of the very same board, with a few moves to spare. Boards come in three sizes, 10 by 10 in five colours, 14 by 14 and 18 by 18 in six, and a new board, the same for everyone, arrives every day.

How to play

Tap a colour below the board, or tap any tile of the colour you want.

• The flood. It starts as the patch joined to the top-left tile and only ever grows.
• A move. The flood turns the chosen colour and takes in every touching tile of that colour.
• The limit. The counter at the top shows moves used and the limit; it turns orange when three or fewer remain.
• Score. A flooded board scores 1000 points plus 100 for every move to spare. Run out of moves and you score the share you covered, out of 500.

Strategy tips

1. Open the big patches. A colour that joins a large patch to the flood is usually worth more than one that takes a few single tiles.
2. Count the colours left. Once a colour is gone from the rest of the board, every later move is one colour fewer to chase.
3. Head for the far corner. Driving the flood across the middle early leaves fewer long journeys for the end.
4. Mind the islands. A small patch of one colour, cut off by others, can cost a whole move at the end; pick it up on the way.
5. Tap the tile. When colours are hard to tell apart, tap the tile you want to swallow instead of a swatch.

FAQ

Is Flood free to play?

Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account needed.

How is the move limit chosen?

A computer solves the same board first. Its move count is the par, and the limit adds five moves on the small board, four on the medium one and two on the large one.

Can I beat the computer?

Sometimes. Its search is good but not perfect, and flooding in fewer moves than it found earns a secret badge.

What is the daily board?

Every day everyone plays the same medium 14 by 14 board, so scores compare directly on the leaderboard.

How is my score counted?

A flooded board is worth 1000 points plus 100 for every move left. If the moves run out first, the score is the share of the board you covered, out of 500. Higher is better, and equal scores rank by time.