Pop 8 is easy to learn and hard to master. The rules fit in a sentence, but good scores come from planning several moves ahead. Here is how the game works and how to think about it.
The rules in brief
- Every tile shows a number.
- Swipe a tile to slide it across the board.
- A tile pops when its number matches the number of tiles touching it. Diagonal neighbours count, so a tile can have anywhere from none to eight neighbours.
- You score a point for each tile you pop, plus bonus points for chain reactions and for popping several tiles at once.
- Grey tiles crack when tiles next to them pop.
- The game ends when the board fills up.
Why chains happen
When a tile pops it leaves the board, so every tile that was touching it now has one fewer neighbour. If one of those tiles was showing a number exactly one lower than its old neighbour count, it now matches and pops too. That is a chain reaction, and each link scores a bonus. Setting up a chain is the heart of the game.
Six tips
- Look for the tile that is one neighbour away. A tile showing a 3 with four tiles around it is a chain waiting to happen: pop any one of those neighbours and the 3 goes with it.
- Pop low numbers early. Tiles showing 1 or 2 need few neighbours, so they are the easiest points and they keep the board open.
- Do not make idle moves. Because the board fills up, a swipe that neither pops a tile nor sets up a pop is usually a wasted turn.
- Keep room to manoeuvre. A crowded board leaves fewer places to slide a tile, so clear space before it is needed.
- Crack the grey tiles. Popping tiles beside a grey tile cracks it, so plan pops that clear them rather than leaving them to block the board.
- Look for multi-pops. One move that pops several tiles at once scores a bonus, so wait for the moment when one slide completes more than one number.
Play Pop 8
Pop 8 is free on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Download it from the App Store and see how long a chain you can build.
Download Pop 8 on the App Store
Last updated 4 November 2026 ยท More about Pop 8.