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Stairs is the odd one out. Instead of rising to a peak in the middle, its three layers climb to the right in broad steps, so the board is lopsided and you start with very few moves.
It's the board where you'll feel most short of options. On average you start with fewer free matches here than on any other full-size layout, and the top step has to come off before the lower ones can move.
144 tiles over 3 layers, 12 tiles wide and 6 rows high. These percentages show how often a bot choosing pairs at random won, across 2,000 games at each level:
A thinking player will do far better than a random one. See how we measured this.
144 tiles · 4 layers
A stepped pyramid, and the main board on this site.
144 tiles · 5 layers
The traditional shape: a domed shell, side wings and one tile on the peak.
136 tiles · 4 layers
Four corner towers, four tiles high, around a walled courtyard.
144 tiles · 4 layers
Two big towers joined by a narrow two-row span.
144 tiles · 3 layers
Tapered wings either side of a tall, narrow body.
144 tiles · 3 layers
Four arms meeting at a raised center block.
72 tiles · 3 layers
Half the tiles of a full board. Quick games with larger tiles on phones.
96 tiles · 3 layers
A flat bed with three raised mounds. A shorter game at 96 tiles.
136 tiles · 4 layers
Tapered rows forming a diamond. The most forgiving full-size board.
The rules, from your first pair to clearing the board.
How traps work, and how to avoid getting stuck.
Every tile, what it means and what it matches.
Every board compared by size, shape and difficulty.
Our data from 80,000 simulated games.
One new board a day, the same for everyone.
Its rows are all long and full, and the upper layers are the only ones free at the start. So fewer tiles are free than on boards with lots of short rows.
In our simulations, yes at Medium. A random player wins noticeably less often on Stairs than on the Turtle.