Three Tigers brings Aadu Puli Attam to iPhone with a board drawn as a temple at night. This guide walks through every part of the app, from your first offline game to online rooms, so you know what each screen does and what is free.
What is free
Versus AI, pass and play and the tutorial are completely free. No coins are required or spent in these offline modes, there are no ads and no subscriptions, and you do not need an account. Coins, purchases and online play come into it only if you choose to sign in and play other people.
Play: Versus AI
The Play tab is where most games start.
- Choose your side. Goats or tigers. New players usually start with the goats, whose placement phase is the best way to learn the board; the tigers are easier to play and harder to win with against a careful opponent.
- Choose an opponent. Easy, Medium or Hard. Easy will leave you gaps to find; Hard will not.
- Undo and hints are available while you learn: take back a move, or ask for a suggestion when you are stuck.
- Save a game and continue later. A game in progress is kept until you finish or start a new one.
- Variants. In Settings you can switch offline games to fifteen captures, allow multiple jumps in one turn, or place the tigers one at a time. The rules screen in the app explains each one.
Play: pass and play
Two players, one iPhone. Hand the phone back and forth; the app shows whose turn it is and applies the same rules as Versus AI. It is the fastest way to teach the game to someone sitting next to you.
Play: the tutorial
Six interactive lessons, from placing a goat to trapping a tiger, each played on the board itself with one idea to try. Finishing the tutorial is the best preparation for the strategy guides on this blog.
Rules and variants
The Rules screen in the app is a short reference: how pieces move, how tigers capture, how each side wins, and the draw rules. It matches the complete rules published here.
Online 1v1
Online play uses Sign in with Apple. Once signed in you can:
- Find an opponent. Join the queue and the app pairs you with another player.
- Share a private room code. Create a room, send the code to a friend, and they join directly.
- Choose your side and play for virtual coins. Some rooms use a coin stake that both players agree to before the match starts.
- Friendly rooms have no coin stakes and no rating changes. Receiving an invitation never spends your coins; you decide whether to accept its room and stake.
Leaving or disconnecting from a staked match may count as a loss, so finish the games you start.
Coins
Coins are the app's virtual currency. They are used for online room stakes and can be earned in the app, through daily rewards and rewards for finishing the tutorial and AI games, or bought through Apple's In-App Purchase.
Two things to know:
- Coins have no cash value. They cannot be transferred, gifted, exchanged for money or cashed out.
- Restore purchases lives at Store > Coins > Restore purchases. Coins you have already been credited stay in your account's wallet on our server, and appearance bundles you own are restored through the same account.
Friends
Open Online > Friends. Every player has an 8-character player code. Share yours, or enter a friend's, and send a request. Once you are friends you can invite each other to a room; the invited player always sees the room and its stake and chooses whether to accept. You can also add an opponent as a friend during or after a match with them.
Opponent voice
During a match with another person you can opt in to voice. Tap Voice > Join voice; the app asks for microphone permission the first time. You can mute yourself or your opponent and leave voice at any time. Voice runs only while the match is on screen, and stops when you leave the match or put the app in the background. It is not available against the computer.
Report or block a player
If someone behaves badly, use Report or block player from the active match menu or from the result screen when the match ends. Reports are reviewed and may lead to warnings, suspensions or removed accounts.
Store: make the board your own
The Store has two tabs, Coins and Skins. Under Skins you can browse:
- Boards: Maple, Walnut and Teak.
- Pieces: Brass and cowrie, Tamarind and river stone, Terracotta.
- Capture effects: Temple bell, Thavil beat.
- Frames for your profile: Plain, Kolam, Brass, Temple pillar, Oil lamp, Tiger.
Every appearance can be previewed on the real board before you buy or equip it, and none of them changes the rules or the geometry of the board. Appearances are tied to your account.
Settings
- Language: English and Tamil.
- Sound and haptics on or off.
- Reduced motion, for a calmer board.
- Board contrast, for a clearer view of lines and points.
- Variants for offline games, as described above.
Your account
- Profile is where you edit your display name and choose a frame. Your player code is under Online > Friends.
- Delete account: Profile > Delete account > type DELETE > confirm with Apple. Deleting your account removes your friendships and account identifiers. Details of what is kept and why are in our privacy policy.
Requirements
Three Tigers runs on iPhone with iOS 17 or later. Online play and purchases need an internet connection and Sign in with Apple. Everything else works offline.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an account to play? No. Versus AI, pass and play and the tutorial need no account. Sign in only if you want to play online or buy appearances.
Can I play against a friend without coins? Yes. Create a friendly room and share the code. Friendly rooms have no stakes and no rating changes.
Why does the app ask for microphone access? Only when you tap Join voice during a match with another person, and only for that purpose. You can play every game without ever enabling it.
I bought coins on another phone. How do I get them back? Sign in with the same Apple ID and go to Store > Coins > Restore purchases.
Where do I get help? The Support page covers the common questions, and the Contact page is the way to reach us about a specific account or purchase.