How to play Fold: origami puzzle tips and strategy
Fold gives you a square of paper and a dashed silhouette. Fold the paper until it covers the silhouette exactly, in as few folds as possible. Here is how to think about it.
The rules in 30 seconds
Drag any part of the paper across the board. The crease sits halfway between where you grabbed and where your finger is, and snaps to the nearest guide line. When you let go, the part you grabbed flips over. Every layer under your finger folds with it, like real paper. You win when the paper covers the dashed shape exactly. Par is the fewest folds a solver found; matching it with no hints earns three stars.
Read the shape before you touch the paper
Every straight edge of the dashed shape is either a fold or one of the paper’s original edges. So look at each edge of the target and ask: is this edge on the border of the square? If not, a fold must have made it. Counting the edges that are not on the border gives you a quick estimate of how many folds you need.
Diagonal edges (from Medium up) can only come from a diagonal fold. If the target has one diagonal edge and par is two, one of those two folds is that diagonal.
Order matters: fold the big things first
Because every fold carries all the layers beneath it, a late fold moves earlier folds too. As a rule of thumb, make the folds that remove the largest areas first, and save the small corner tucks for the end. If a corner ends up underneath several layers, undo and try the folds in a different order rather than adding extra folds.
Use the match meter
The match meter shows how much of your paper lines up with the target. A fold that makes it go down is usually folding the wrong side. Try dragging from the opposite side of the same crease: the crease is identical, but the other half moves.
When to take a hint
A hint shows the next fold line and costs one star, and going over par costs one too. If you have already used two folds more than par, a hint is often cheaper than more experiments. Undo back to a clean state first, then take the hint.
Questions people ask
Is Fold the same for everyone?
Yes. Each day’s four puzzles come from that day’s seed, so everyone in the world gets the same boards. They change at your local midnight.
What does par mean in Fold?
Par is the smallest number of folds a solver found for that shape. Fold at par with no hints for three stars.
Can I fold the paper back the other way?
Yes. Drag from the other side of the crease you want, or use Undo. Folds always move the part you grabbed.
Which tiers keep my streak?
Easy, Medium and Hard keep your streak. Master is an optional six-fold bonus on finer paper.
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