Tiles of the Unexpected is a tile-matching puzzle game similar to Halloween Monster Puzzle, Melodic Tiles and Tiles of the Simpsons. Against a black-edged backdrop, it presents two layers of stacked tiles in columns across an art image. The player attempts to remove all tiles to reveal the picture and earn the highest number of points possible.
The game doesn't restrict the player to only selecting identical matching pairs or three tiles at a time. Instead, the player can remove two or more tiles, as long as the tiles have identical images and rest in adjacent positions.
When the player makes their selections, the matching tiles disappear and gaps form in the columns. Any upper tiles in a column that have gaps then drop down into new positions. A drop can sometimes prompt the game to remove additional tiles that match automatically.
Tiles of the Unexpected rewards the player with points and bombs. The player can review their total score in the lower-left corner and the number of points per move in the lower-right corner. Their total all-time best score appears in the upper-left corner. Bombs appear stacked vertically along the lower-left edge of the screen.
If the player runs out of moves, they use the bombs to open gaps and create new matches. Before this happens, the game shows them existing matches by making the surfaces of matching tiles shine. When no more moves remain, the white glove selection tool transforms into a bomb.