Color Flood tips
Color Flood tips: clear the board in fewer moves
In Color Flood, choose colors that join patches touching your current area. A color that appears often elsewhere may add nothing if it is not next to you. Look one move ahead, and compare routes on the same board using Undo or Retry board.
Look at your boundary before counting colors
Your area starts at the top-left square. When you choose a color, the whole connected area changes to that color. Matching patches join it through shared edges. A diagonal touch alone does not connect them.
Count the squares you can reach now, not every square of that color on the board. A popular color behind a different patch will remain out of reach until you cross that boundary.
A small example: two moves instead of three
Use this three-by-three practice position to compare routes. Read each row from left to right: 1 2 3 / 2 2 3 / 3 3 3. Your starting square is the 1 at the top left. Numbers use the same colors as the game: 1 is rose, 2 is gold, and 3 is mint.
Choose 2 first. Your corner joins the three neighbouring gold cells. Then choose 3, which joins every remaining mint cell and clears the board. The larger nine-by-nine game follows the same connection rule.
| Color choices | What happens | Total moves |
|---|---|---|
| 2, then 3 | Gold opens a route to all the mint squares. | 2 |
| 3, then 2, then 3 | The first mint choice changes only the corner; no mint square touches it yet. | 3 |
A smaller patch can lead to a better next move
Taking the largest adjacent patch is a reasonable first choice, but it is not always the shortest route. A small patch may connect your area to several larger patches of the same next color.
Before choosing, ask what the new boundary would touch. If a move opens two separate patches that can be collected together afterward, it may save a step later. This is a way to compare options, not a rule that always finds the minimum.
Use Undo and Retry board to test a route
Undo removes the latest move and restores the earlier board. Try another color and compare how much of the board you can reach after the next move. It is more informative than judging a choice by the first patch alone.
Retry board returns to the same starting puzzle and resets the move count. New board creates a different random puzzle. Use Retry board when comparing two plans, because scores from different boards are not a fair comparison.
This PCder adaptation has no timer and no move limit. You can finish a board even after a slow start. Progress is not saved after reloading, so finish your comparison before closing the page.
- Check which colors actually border your area.
- Look for a move that connects several patches on the following turn.
- Compare two routes on the same starting board.
Common questions
Should I always choose the most common color?
No. A common color may not touch your current area. Check which patches the move would actually connect.
Do diagonally touching squares connect in Color Flood?
No. Squares connect through horizontal or vertical edges, not corners.
Do these tips guarantee the fewest possible moves?
No. They help compare routes, but a short-looking route is not a proof that no better route exists.
Rules and sources
Examples checked against the game logic used on PCder. These tips explain decisions, not guaranteed outcomes.