How to play Quarterfill
Quarterfill is a sequence-planning puzzle. Every level shows you every piece you will get, in order, on a board built from four 4×4 quarters. Here is how to read the sequence, plan the marked quarter, and what the levels, the Daily and Gauntlet ask of you.
The rules
The whole sequence
Every level opens with its full, fixed sequence: "Place these 28 pieces." The strip above the board lists every piece still to come, in the order it will arrive. Nothing is random.
Three in hand
You hold three pieces at a time. Drag one onto the board, or switch to tap-to-place. When a piece lands, the next one in the sequence takes its slot.
Four quarters
The 8×8 board is four separate 4×4 quarters. A quarter clears when all sixteen of its squares are full, and full rows and columns clear too. Everything that fills on one placement clears together.
The gold quarter
On marked levels one quarter wears a gold frame and starts part-filled with stones, its holes cut to fit pieces in your sequence. It counts only when it fills and clears as one, taking its stones with it. A row or column through it does not count.
Pieces don't rotate
Each piece arrives in a fixed orientation; turned or mirrored versions of a shape are separate pieces. No piece holds more than nine squares, so a quarter always takes two or more placements.
Winning and losing
Meeting the level's goal wins. Running out of pieces first, or holding no piece that fits anywhere, loses. When the solver proves the goal is no longer reachable, the game tells you instead of letting you play on.
Planning tips
- 01Match the holes to the sequence first.The gold quarter's holes are cut for pieces that are in your sequence. Before placing anything, find those pieces in the strip and note how far away each one is.
- 02Don't patch the gold quarter with the wrong piece.A piece that half-fills a hole can leave a gap no later piece fits. Keep the holes for the pieces they were cut for, and put everything else somewhere else.
- 03Don't clear a line through the marked quarter.A row or column that runs through the gold quarter empties its squares too, and the quarter has to be refilled from scratch. Clear lines in the other quarters until it is full.
- 04Spend the hand in the right order.You can place any of the three pieces you hold, and the slot refills from the sequence. Place a piece early to bring the next one into reach, or hold it to keep a difficult shape out of the way.
- 05Keep room for the long pieces you can see coming.The strip tells you when a five-square bar or a 3×3 is due. Leave a lane or a square open for it before it arrives.
- 06Build crossings.One placement that completes a row, a column and a quarter clears all three at once, and multi-region clears pay far more than single ones.
- 07Use the landing preview.Holding a piece over the board shows where it will land and what it will clear, including the whole gold quarter when that placement would finish it.
Scoring and combos
Every placement scores 2 points per square. Clears add a bonus that grows faster than the number of regions cleared:
| Regions cleared at once | Clear bonus |
|---|---|
| 1 | 100 |
| 2 | 300 |
| 3 | 600 |
| 4 | 1,000 |
| Each quarter in the clear | +250 on top |
| Board left completely empty | +2,000 |
Placements that clear in a row build a streak. From the second clear on, each step adds 0.25× to the clear bonus, up to 4×. A placement that clears nothing drops the streak by one step rather than wiping it, so one setup move costs you very little.
The 200 levels
Four difficulty tiers. Every level is re-solved by the game's solver before release, and its winning line is replayed through the same engine you play. Each tier mixes two goals: clear the gold quarter plus a number of regions, or clear a set number of regions.
| Tier | Levels | Pieces | Gold-quarter levels | Region goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gentle | 1–44 | 28 | 24 | 3–6 |
| Steady | 45–88 | 28 | 24 | 4–7 |
| Tricky | 89–138 | 28–30 | 20 | 4–9 |
| Severe | 139–200 | 30 | 22 | 6–10 |
Level 1 is a gold-quarter level, and marked quarters return all the way up the ladder. The first 20 levels are free.
The hint (Pro): it shows one placement from a real solution to your current position. It never places the piece for you, and it is off on the ranked Daily for everyone.
The Daily and Gauntlet
Daily
One fixed board a day, identical for every player, with a new one at 00:00 UTC. It is a long board — a 52-piece sequence with a regions goal — and you get one ranked attempt, one undo, no hint and no restart, whether you're on the free tier or Pro. Your placements are replayed on our server before the score is ranked, and no account is needed. From 31 October the Daily also adds two marked quarters to clear on top of its goal. Offline, the Daily still plays and is clearly marked unranked.
Gauntlet
A chain of proved rounds, each with its sequence shown. Clear a round and your score carries into the next; lose a round and the run is over. Free players get three Gauntlet runs a day.
Free vs Pro
No ads, lives, energy or paid retries on either tier. Today's Daily is identical for everyone.
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Today's ranked Daily | Included | Included |
| Tutorial | Included | Included |
| Levels | 1–20 | All 200 |
| Gauntlet runs | 3 a day | No daily cap |
| Undo | 1 per level | Unlimited off the ranked Daily |
| Solver-backed hint | Not included | Included, off the ranked Daily |
| Daily archive | Today only | Every past day |
| Advanced records | Not included | Included |
The free Gauntlet count resets on the UTC day. Pro comes with the one-time Quarterfill Full Game Unlock or with StackForge Play Pass, monthly or annual, which also covers Pro in other StackForge games.
FAQ
Can I see which pieces are coming?
Yes, all of them. Every level lists its whole sequence before you start, and the strip above the board shows what is still to come.
Can you rotate pieces?
No. Every piece is placed as shown. Turned and mirrored shapes are separate pieces.
Why didn't my row clear count for the gold quarter?
The marked quarter has to fill and clear as a whole. A row or column passing through it empties those squares without clearing the quarter.
Is every level solvable?
Yes. The solver proves every level, every Daily and every Gauntlet round can be finished from the start.
Is any mode random?
No. Every mode deals a known, proved sequence: the levels, the Daily and Gauntlet.
What happened to Stackward?
Quarterfill is Stackward, redesigned: the whole sequence is shown, the board is four quarters, and the random mode is gone.