How to play
Kindred Piles is a word sort played like a game of cards. Every word belongs to a hidden theme of four. Dig through the columns and sort each theme into a pile before your moves run out. The themes are never told to you until a pile is complete.
The table
- Columns: four columns of cards. You can read every card, but only the last card in a column can move.
- Piles: two piles, each collecting one theme at a time. There are always only two, however many themes the board has.
- Spare: one slot that holds any single card.
Moving cards
Tap a free card and then tap where it should go, or drag it there. Tap the selected card again to cancel. While a card is selected, tapping anything in another column sends the card to that column, so cancel first if you change your mind.
A free card is the last card in a column, the card in the spare slot, or the top card of an unfinished pile.
| Move | What happens | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| To another column | The card moves | 1 move |
| To the empty spare | The card moves | 1 move |
| To an empty pile | It starts the pile | 1 move |
| To a pile of its theme | It joins the pile | 1 move |
| To a pile of another theme | A miss: the card stays put | 1 move, 1 miss |
| Pile's top card back out | The card moves | 1 move |
| Onto a full spare or its own spot | Nothing | Free |
When a pile holds all four cards of a theme, the theme name appears, the cards leave the table and the pile is empty again.
Winning, losing and levels
You win when every theme is sorted, even on your very last move. You lose when your moves reach the limit with themes still unsorted, and the remaining themes are then shown. The limit is the shortest route the game's solver can find, plus some spare moves for your guesses. Misses have no separate penalty beyond the move they cost, but they are shown in your result.
| Level | Themes | Cards | Spare moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 3 | 12 | 8 |
| Medium | 4 | 16 | 9 |
| Hard | 5 | 20 | 12 |
Harder levels also draw on trickier themes.
Daily and practice
Each level has one daily board per calendar date, changing at midnight where you are, and each can be finished once. Practice gives you endless numbered boards at any level, and New practice board deals another. Practice counts toward games played and won but not your streak.
Your streak counts days in a row with at least one daily win at any level. A lost daily does not end it by itself, since you can still win another level that day.
Tips
- Read the whole board first. Blocked cards are still readable, and reading costs nothing. Look for theme candidates before your first move.
- Choose themes you can reach. With two piles, you cannot work on everything. Start with a theme whose cards sit near the ends of the columns.
- The first card proves nothing. An empty pile accepts anything. The second card is the real test, and if it is accepted the two definitely share a theme.
- Treat misses as paid information. A miss costs the same single move as any other, and it tells you two words are not together.
- Keep the spare open when you can. Use it to lift one card off something you need, then clear it soon. A full spare leaves you nowhere quick to put the next blocker.
- Watch for words with two meanings. A word that seems to fit two themes is a warning to wait for more evidence.
Questions
Is there an undo or hint?
No. You can take the top card back out of an unfinished pile, but that costs a move like any other.
Can a board be unwinnable?
A board is only used if the solver finds a complete route within the move limit. Your own choices can still use up your moves first.
A word seemed to fit two themes. Is that a bug?
Each card belongs to exactly one theme. Boards are checked so that themes come from different topics and cards do not clash with listed overlaps, but those checks cannot catch every word that might seem to fit somewhere else.
Do my friends get the same board?
Anyone playing the same level on the same date gets the same daily. The Share result text has your moves, misses and streak but never a word or theme, so it is safe to share.