<h>Controls</h>

The default controls are:

Move block left - <b>left arrow</b>
Move block right - <b>right arrow</b>
Move block down - <b>down arrow</b>
Rotate block - <b>up arrow</b>

Pause game - <b>caps lock</b>
Abort game - <b>escape</b>

These can be changed in the preferences.

<h>How to Play</h>

The aim of PicTiles is to fill up pictures using the falling blocks. Whilst the game may seem superficially similar to <i>Tetris</i>, it is actually very different. Unlike Tetris, filled rows do not disappear, and so it if you leave a hole at the bottom of the level, it is impossible to get back down to it again to fill it in.

Blocks that fall outside of the silhouetted pattern will disappear, so you needn't worry about finding a perfect fit for each block, but be warned, each level has a limited supply of blocks, and if you waste too many then you won't be able to complete the level.

On maximum difficulty, each level must be 95% completed before you can progress to the next.

You can pause and save your game at any time, and if you quit in the middle of a game then PicTiles will remember where you got to. This facility was not designed to allow you to have multiple attempts at a level however - only one saved game is permitted at a time, and if you die then you will not be able to resume from your previous save.

To unlock each new level you must play sequentially up to that level from the beginning. Once a level is unlocked, you can play it again whenever you like by selecting <b>Choose...</b> from the <b>New Game</b> menu, but you will not be able to advance to the next level except by playing from the beginning. There are 25 levels in total.

<h>Gameplay Tips</h>

1) To avoid running out of blocks, consider moving to the next level as soon as the button highlights, rather than trying to fill up every last gap. Unused blocks get carried through to the next level, so you might be better off saving them for when you get stuck. Note though that there are substantial bonus points for completing 100% of a level.

2) Some levels (level 5 for example) have substantial overhangs. At first it may seem impossible to complete these levels, but in fact they can be solved using a technique called <i>bridging</i> whereby you build across a gap from a neighbouring pile of blocks. You will find that the 4 by 1 block is very handy for this.

3) Although you cannot do anything about holes left at the bottom, holes left in the side of a shape can be filled later by <i>dovetailing</i>. This basically means sliding shapes in from the side. After a shape lands you have a few moments grace time to slide it around before it locks in place and the next shape begins to fall.

4) To move to the next level you can just press Return/Enter when the button highlights, rather than clicking it with the mouse. This assumes that you have not already defined the Return key as another control. 

<h>Performance Tips</h>

On slower machines, gameply may sometimes be affected by jerkiness. To get smooth performance on your machine, try the following tips:

1) Turn down all the graphics options in the PicTiles preferences. This may help performance on systems with older graphics cards.

2) Quit all other running applications. On Mac OS X this can make quite a difference as the system resources are shared between all running apps. You need not literally quit everything, but certain applications, particularly internet apps like <i>Mail</i> and <i>MSN Messenger</i> often consume a lot of processor time. 

3) If the framerate fluctuates a lot during play, consider capping it to a lower value. a steady 30fps will generally play better than a framerate that constantly jumps between 30 and 120. To see what framerate you are getting, you can switch on the <b>Show FPS</b> option in the preferences.

<h>FAQ</h>

<i>The blocks seem to fall through the silhouette, how do I get them to stay in place?</i>

In PicTiles, blocks land on the ground (the bottom of the screen), not on the silhouette. To build up to higher points you must balance blocks on each other. It is possible to fill every shape in the game, but sometimes you need to plan ahead in order to avoid getting yourself in a jam.

<i>The game's too hard, how can I get 95% in every level?</i>

You can adjust the difficulty setting in the preferences. Lower difficulty means you'll get fewer points, but it also means that you do not need as high a percentage to move to the next level. You also get more blocks per level.

<i>I keep running out of blocks, there aren't enough to beat the level!</i>

Rest assured that there <i>are</i> enough blocks to beat each level, including some spares so that you can try to fill up those last few gaps. If you find yourself running out though, you might want to consider saving some blocks after each level, rather than trying to fill up every little gap (see <i>Gameplay Tips</i>).

<i>It's still too hard! Are there any cheats in the game?</i>

Yes, if you type "help" (without the quotes) at any point during a game, the 15 bottom-most unfilled squares will be magically filled in. Be warned, however, that the cheat can only be used once per game, and carries a points penalty.

<i>Are there any other cheats?</i>

Maybe.