Coordinate-checked board
Cross at a glance
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Stack
- 1 layer
- Opening access
- 16 of 48 tiles free
Opening priority
Scan the left and right ends of every occupied row. The two long center rows and six shorter rows each contribute two free ends, for 16 initially free tiles; choose among matching ends without assuming every visible tile is selectable.
The matching and free-tile rules are shared across layouts. See How to Play for the general rules.
Flat does not mean every tile is free
Cross combines a 12×2 horizontal bar with a 4×8 vertical stem. Their 4×2 intersection overlaps by 8 positions, producing 48 unique tiles in one layer. Nothing can be covered from above, so the entire blocking pattern comes from neighbors within each row.
The two center rows stretch across all 12 columns. The six rows above and below them are four tiles wide. Each of those eight rows exposes only its left and right end at the start, which accounts for all 16 initially free tiles.
Side-access mistakes
- Selecting an intersection tile while it still has neighbors on both sides.
- Equating an uncovered face with a free tile instead of checking row position.
- Scanning only the two long rows and overlooking matching ends on the six short rows.