The Hint button is a safety net, but like any safety net it changes how you play if you lean on it too much. Used well, a Hint gets you unstuck without costing you the learning. Used badly, it becomes a crutch that prevents you from ever getting faster. This guide explains what Hint actually does, how many hints are normal, and how to use it well. See our strategy guide for the broader context.
What Hint Actually Shows
A Hint highlights one valid playable pair on the board. It does not tell you whether that pair is a good move strategically; it only confirms that at least one match exists. If you click Hint again, it cycles to a different valid pair. The button never suggests a match that would lock the board, but it also never warns you when the suggested match is wasteful.
The Cost of Overusing Hints
Two costs. First, on most versions of the game each Hint lowers your score slightly, so a hint-heavy game scores worse than a clean one. Second, and more importantly, leaning on Hints prevents you from developing the pattern recognition that makes players fast. If the button always finds your matches for you, your eyes never learn to find them yourself.
How Many Hints Is Normal
It depends on the layout, and our measured clear times give a rough guide. On the easy tier (Classic, Turtle, Butterfly—3 to 4 minute averages), experienced players use zero. On the medium 5-minute tier, one or two on a bad day. On the hard layouts, where buried tiles hide four layers deep, even strong players take a few:
| Tier | Example layouts | Typical hint use |
|---|---|---|
| Easy (3–4 min) | Classic, Turtle | 0–1; anything more means the free-tile rule is not automatic yet |
| Medium (5–6 min) | Fish, Snake, Cross | 1–2 on crowded midgames |
| Hard (6–8 min) | Tower, Blade, Great Wall | 3–5 is normal; the board is built to hide pairs |
The diagnostic is not the count but the trend. If your hint use on the same layout drops week over week, you are improving. If it stays flat, the button is doing the seeing for you.
A Better Use for Hints
- Use a Hint only after you have scanned the board yourself for at least 5 seconds—the 5-second rule from our speed guide.
- When a Hint shows a pair, ask why you missed it. Was the tile hidden? Were you looking at the wrong area?
- After three Hints in one game, consider Shuffling instead; the position may be unwinnable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Hints end my game?
No. You can use as many as you want. The game continues until the board is clear or you abandon it.
Is it cheating to use Hints?
No. They are a built-in feature. But overusing them slows your improvement, so use them as a last resort, not a default.
Want to break the hint habit? Open the Turtle layout and allow yourself only one Hint per game.