Edge-Locking

Level: Intermediate

Fill an entire row or column to stabilize your chain.

Filling the row (or column) that holds your chain, leaving no empty cells, keeps that row's layout from shifting even when you slide in other directions. This is called edge-locking.

For example, if the bottom row is completely full, sliding left or right leaves that row untouched while only the cells above get rearranged. This protects your chain while you handle the other tiles.

Once a tile in the locked row is ready to merge with a matching value above it, a single move can bump the whole chain up a level.

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