Meadow Maker

What you do

Meadow Maker is a calm hex tile-placement game where your stack of tiles is the clock. Turn each tile, set it beside the meadow and match its edges: meadow, forest, flower field, village, river and path. Perfect fits and finished quests win tiles back, so a careful meadow keeps growing long after a hasty one runs out.

• A starting stack of 24 tiles.
• Pan and zoom a meadow that can grow in any direction.

How to play

1. Put the tile in your hand on an open spot (a dashed outline) beside the meadow. Each placement uses one tile from your stack, and the meadow ends when the stack is empty.
2. Turn the tile before placing it. Each touching edge that matches scores 10. River and path edges must touch the same kind, so those spots only take tiles that keep them connected.
3. A perfect fit touches two or more tiles with every edge matching and scores 10 more for each one. If it touches three or more, you win the tile back; filling a gap ringed by six tiles wins one more and 60 points.
4. Some tiles carry a quest. When you place one, it joins an area (for example a forest) and sets a target size. Grow that area to the target to win 3 to 6 tiles and bonus points. If the area closes off with no open edge before then, the quest is lost.
5. Up to three quests run at once, and later ones ask for more. Final scores of 1,000, 2,200 and 3,600 earn one, two and three stars.

Controls

• Touch: tap an open spot to preview the tile there, tap Rotate (or the tile in hand) to turn it, then tap Place or tap the spot again. Drag to pan and pinch to zoom.
• Mouse: point at a spot to preview, click to place, scroll the wheel to turn the tile. Drag to pan; use Ctrl and the wheel (or pinch a trackpad) to zoom.
• Keyboard: arrow keys pick an open spot, R or E turns clockwise, Q turns back, Enter or Space places, plus and minus zoom, F shows the whole meadow.
• Tap a quest at the top (or side) to find its area. Pause, restart, mute and help are in the toolbar.

Tips worth knowing

• Look for gaps between tiles: a perfect fit touching three or more tiles costs nothing from your stack.
• Place a quest tile where its area can still grow on several sides, and steer away from closing it off.
• Joining two areas of the same terrain counts every tile at once, which can finish a quest in one move.
• Leave room for rivers and paths: an open river end only accepts a river tile.
• Glance at the next tile before you commit, so you can save a good spot for it.

Accessibility

• Every action works from the keyboard as well as by touch and mouse.
• Edge markers use a check, a dash and a cross as well as color, and every terrain has its own pattern of trees, flowers, cottages or water.
• Instructions and controls are available as page text outside the game, and reduced-motion settings trim the effects.

Guides and roundups

• Best Cozy Tile Placement Games to Play in 2026