01 / THE LITTLE HARBOR
What is Tidepost?
Tidepost is an original, turn-based matching puzzle from Spunky Game. You run a small seaside post office, dropping letters into a six-by-six harbor and sending groups of matching stamps on their way.
The tide changes the board after every three valid drops. Watch the next three letters and the tide arrow to arrange matches, leave room for falling mail, and finish each delivery route within its drop allowance.
02 / THE ART OF SENDING
How to play Tidepost
No clock to race. Just the next letter, a place to put it, and the tide on its way.
Pick a berth
Check the mailbag for the next three stamps. Tap one of six columns to drop the first into the lowest free space.
Send a little happiness
Connect at least three matching stamps by their edges. They leave together, and the letters above fall into place. Diagonals do not count.
Read the tide
After every third drop, rows pack toward the tide arrow, then settle downward. This can create a new match and a chain. The next tide reverses direction.
03 / AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
Game controls
Use a mouse, touch screen or keyboard. For keyboard controls, click the harbor or reach it with Tab first.
- Click / tap
- Choose a numbered berth or tap a column to drop a letter. No dragging is needed.
- ← / →
- Move the selected berth left or right.
- Enter / Space
- Drop a letter into the selected berth.
- 1–6
- Drop directly into the matching numbered column.
- P
- Pause or resume while the harbor is focused.
- On-screen tools
- Undo one drop per active route, request a one-move hint, or toggle optional sound.
04 / A DIFFERENT KIND OF DELIVERY
Key features of Tidepost
A tide you can plan for
Every third valid drop shifts each row sideways before gravity settles the mail. The arrow shows the direction, which alternates after each tide.
Matching with chain reactions
Connect three or more identical stamps by their edges. Falling letters and tidal shifts can form further groups in the same turn.
24 levels, six difficulty stages
Start with a three-letter lesson and unlock each route in order. Later boards become crowded and require longer planning; Nightmare routes leave very little spare room.
Room to think
There is no countdown. Preview three letters, use one undo during a route, and take a hint when you need another idea.
05 / FROM THE POST OFFICE
About Tidepost
Made for Spunky Game, Tidepost pairs a hand-painted coastal setting with a small placement puzzle. Its sideways tide makes the spaces between letters part of the strategy. It runs directly in your browser; no download or account is required.
- Genre
- Matching puzzle · turn-based strategy
- Players
- Single player
- Devices
- Desktop, tablet and phone browsers
- Languages
- All 12 website languages
- Progress
- Completed levels and best postage saved in this browser
- Price
- Free to play
06 / BEFORE YOU SET SAIL
Tidepost FAQs
How do I finish a route?
Send the target number of letters before your drops run out. A full harbor also ends the route. Meeting the target on your last drop still counts as a win.
What makes Tidepost different?
Placement and a predictable sideways tide work together. A gap you leave now may become a matching group after the tide. It is a turn-based puzzle, with no real-time physics.
Can I play on my phone?
Yes. Tap the numbered berths or anywhere in a column. On a keyboard, focus the harbor and use the arrow keys and Enter, or press 1–6.
What gets saved?
Completed routes, your selected level and each level’s best postage score are stored in this browser. An unfinished board is not saved. There is no account or cloud save. If storage is unavailable, you can still play, but progress lasts only for this visit.
Is Tidepost free, and do I need to download it?
It is free to play on this page. You do not need to install an app or create an account. Open the post office to start.
When does the tide move the mail?
After every three valid drops, normal matches and falls resolve first. Then each row packs toward the tide arrow, the mail falls, and new matches resolve. A rejected drop into a full column does not advance the tide.
How is postage scored?
Each letter in the first matching wave earns 10 points. Later waves in that same turn multiply this by their chain number: the second wave earns 20 per letter, the third 30, and so on. Delivery targets count letters, not postage points.
Can I undo a move or get a hint?
You can undo the previous drop once while a route is still in progress. Find a berth highlights a suggested column using a one-move lookahead; it is not a guaranteed solution. You can pause without a time penalty because there is no countdown.
How does the difficulty increase?
There are 24 levels in six stages: Beginner, Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert and Nightmare. Each win unlocks the next route. Fixed starting boards, delivery targets and drop allowances increase the planning pressure. Every level has a verified solution; one-move hints do not solve the harder routes. Open the remaining mailbag to inspect all future letters, and retry the same challenge to test another plan.
07 / NEXT STOP
More games to try
For a change of pace after the harbor, try these two browser football games.
