Abandonware DOS title

The best tile-matching games

Tile-matching puzzle video games are a popular genre of games that involve manipulating and matching tiles or blocks to clear them from the game board. These games typically feature a grid-based layout where players must swap, slide, or rotate tiles to create matches of three or more identical tiles. Tile-matching puzzle games can be highly addictive and offer simple, yet challenging gameplay. 
They are often designed with colorful graphics, catchy soundtracks, and progressively difficult levels to keep players engaged and entertained.

The objective of tile-matching puzzle games is to clear the game board by making matches, which causes the matched tiles to disappear. As players progress, the difficulty usually increases, introducing obstacles such as limited moves, time constraints, or special tiles with unique properties. Tile-matching puzzle games can come in various forms and themes including match-3 games, collapse-style games, mahjong games.

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Pipe Dream

DOSWindows 3.x1989 The Assembly Line
Pipe Mania (also known as Pipe Dream is a tile-matching (sort of) puzzle game about flowing liquids developed by The Assembly Line in 1989. You must build a path made of pipe pieces to let a green liquid (sewer goo?) flow. It's si...
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Impossible Mission 2

DOS1988 Novotrade Software
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Puzznic

DOS1990 Taito
Puzznic is a tile-matching puzzle video game originally developed and published by Taito in 1989 for arcade systems. The goal of Puzznic is to clear a series of levels by aligning matching tiles (blocks) to make them disappea...
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Hexxagon

DOS1993 Argo Games
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Sherlock: The Game of Logic

DOS1991protected Everett Kaser Software
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Mah Jongg Solitaire

DOS1987 Arcanum Computing
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Atomix

DOS1990 Softtouch
Atomix is a tile-based puzzle game released in 1990 by Thalion Software for platforms like Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, and Commodore 64. The objective of Atomix is to assemble molecular structures by moving individual atoms arou...
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Hexxagon 2

DOS1993 Argo Games
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Bust-A-Move

DOS1997freeware Taito
Also known as Puzzle Bobble, this bubble-popping classic stars those cute dragons from Bubble Bobble, now in competitive puzzle mode. Match three colors, clear the screen, panic as the ceiling drops—repeat until addicted. Bu...
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Boppin

DOS1994freeware Accursed Toys
Boppin (1994, DOS) is a puzzle game that starts out cute and then sucker-punches you with its sinister undertone—literally. You throw blocks to match symbols, release trapped creatures, and eventually realize the game has a ...
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Bust-A-Move Again

DOSWindows XP/98/95Windows 10/111996 Taito
If you've ever wanted to pop bubbles while being taunted by adorable dinosaurs, Bust-A-Move Again (1996, DOS) is your jam. It’s like Tetris met a bubble tea menu and had a hyperactive child with color coordination issues. Th...
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Penthouse Hot Numbers

DOS1993NSFW reLINE Software
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Sexy Droids

DOS1992NSFW Eleven Software
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Thomas the Tank Engine

DOS1992 Peakstar Software
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Boston Bomb Club

DOS1991 Silmarils
Boston Bomb Club (1991, DOS) is a Rube Goldberg fever dream disguised as a puzzle game. Your mission: guide bombs (yes, bombs) along increasingly elaborate tracks using contraptions like rotating tiles, steam pipes, and sheer chao...
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Atomino

DOS1991 Play Byte
In Atomino (1991), you’re not blowing things up — you’re building atoms. That’s right: this puzzle game puts you in charge of creating molecular structures under pressure, which is exactly as stressful and ...
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M Labyrinth

DOS1993 Gamos
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Snood

DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1996freeware
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Centerfold Squares

DOS1988NSFW Artworx Software
Let’s be honest—Centerfold Squares (1988) is what happened when someone asked, “What if Qix but hornier?” You draw squares to reveal pixelated images of... let’s say, confident women. It’s surpr...
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Logo

DOS1990NSFW Starbyte Software
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Loopz

DOS1990 Audiogenic
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Sarakon

DOS1991 Starbyte Software
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Color Lines

DOS1992 Gamos
In Color Lines (1992, DOS), colors aren’t just pretty—they're plotting your demise. You match five or more balls in a row before your screen becomes a chaotic rainbow prison. Every move feels like a negotiation with a ...
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FlixMix

DOS1993 Celeris
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Swap

DOS1992 Microids
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Ishido: The Way of the Stones

DOSMac OS1990 Publishing International
Ishido (1990, DOS/Mac) is the digital version of sitting in a Zen garden and realizing you’re terrible at strategy. The game’s premise is simple: place stones on a grid according to color and symbol, trying to match th...
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Moraff's Morejongg

Windows XP/98/951992 Moraffware
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Dinosaur Balls

DOS1992 Amwa (HK) Computer Co.
The title Dinosaur Balls might raise eyebrows today, but in 1992 it was just a quirky DOS puzzle game. Think of it as prehistoric Bubble Bobble: you fire colored spheres to match and clear rows, while a dinosaur mascot cheers you ...
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Pick 'n Pile

DOS1990 UBI Soft