Octaves

Octaves: a free slide-and-merge music puzzle

Octaves is a free puzzle in your browser, with nothing to download: you slide all the tiles to one side and two equal notes that collide merge into the same note an octave higher. Two C1s make a C2, two C2s a C3, and so on up to C8, the highest key on the piano.

Every time you merge two notes, the new note sounds in its real octave, from the deepest lows to the brightest highs, and its key lights up on an 88-key piano below the board. Play with the arrow keys, by swiping or with the buttons, on a 4 × 4 or 5 × 5 board.

It’s one of the 51 games in the Arcadópolis Games folder.

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Free, no ads, nothing to install.

Install Octaves on its own on your home screen

What it has

Tiles that go from deep wood to bright crystal: each octave has its own color.
The note you form sounds in its real octave, from C1 (33 Hz) to C8 (4,186 Hz).
An 88-key piano that lights up the Cs you have reached.
A 4 × 4 or 5 × 5 board, and undo one move.
After C8 you can keep climbing, beyond the piano.
Saved games, records per board and six achievements.

How to play

Open the Games folder and tap Octaves.
Slide all the tiles to one side with the arrows, W A S D, your finger or the buttons.
When two equal notes collide, they merge into one, an octave higher. After each move a C1 (or a C2) appears.
Keep merging until you reach C8. The game ends when the board fills up and no two equal notes are next to each other.

Why octaves?

An octave is the distance between a note and the same note at double the frequency: C4, the piano’s middle C, vibrates at 262 Hz and C5 at 523 Hz. That’s why two equal notes “add up” to an octave: every time you merge two tiles the frequency doubles, just like the points. An 88-key piano goes from A0 to C8, so from C1 to C8 there are seven octaves: doubling seven times.

Tips for reaching C8

Pick a corner and keep your highest note there; try never to move it from its spot. Use two or three directions most of the time (for example, down, left and right) and save the fourth for when there’s no other way out. Keep the notes in order along the edge, from highest to lowest, so they merge in a chain. And if you make a mistake, Undo takes back one move.

Common questions

How do the notes merge?

Only two equal notes merge: two C3s make a C4. A note next to a different one doesn’t merge; they just sit side by side.

What happens when I reach C8?

You win the game, with its achievement, and you can choose to start another or keep climbing beyond the piano, with C9, C10 and more.

Can I play on my phone?

Yes. Swipe your finger across the board in the direction you want, or use the arrows below. On a phone the 4 × 4 board works best.

Also in Arcadópolis

Arcadópolis has 66 more apps on the same desktop: games, music, a 3D museum and a 3D library.

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