This guide lists strategies for all of the different types of badge challenges for Quinn’s Aquarium. It’s a story-based game, which guides you through the process of restoring an aquarium as you play mahjong puzzles to collect enough currency to upgrade and purchase the needed repairs, parts, and aquatic life. You must complete the storyline in order — there is no way to go back a level or choose what level you want to play until you’ve unlocked Bonus Puzzles after completing all three parts of the Tropical Tank.
If you’re struggling with completing the Tropical Tank, start with our Quinn’s Aquarium Tips and Tricks which might help you get through some of the trickier levels.
Quinn’s Aquarium badge, use this quicklink to tell them where to get help:
badgehungry.com/qa
Below are tips for each type of badge in Quinn’s Aquarium:
Complete a game in under X minutes
This is a fairly straightforward challenge. If you’re having a hard time completing a puzzle fast enough, try a different tile set. Using a tile set you are familiar with, for ease of finding matches as you scan across the puzzle. A lot of players like the Accessible Tile Set, which uses a larger font with numbers and letters on the tiles:
To access this menu, open a puzzle and click on the orange gear in the upper right hand corner of the game. Choose Tile Sets and then choose from the six tile sets available.
Complete X levels / Win X levels / Complete X games
Despite the different wording, these badge challenges are all the same. Match all of the tiles in a puzzle and you’ll earn badge credit.
Collect X Flower Tiles
The nice thing about flower tiles is that they do not need to be an exact match. Any flower tile can be matched with any other flower tile. For example, a cherry blossom tile can match with an orchid tile. The images and names on the tiles may differ from tile set to tile set, but you can still match them interchangeably.
Flower Tiles look a little different depending upon what tile set you are using. Typically these have a picture of a flower or a plant along with its name or an abbreviation of its name on the front of the tile. Starting from the top left in the graphic below, the flower tiles look like this in each of the tile sets:
Upper left: Mahjong Garden Nature Tile Set, Mahjong Garden Animals Tile Set
Upper right: Jolly Bear Games Tile Set
Lower left: Classic Tile Set, Accessible Tile Set
Lower right: Aquarium Tile Set
Collect X tiles
This is a straightforward challenge. You will get credit towards this challenge by matching tiles. There are 144 tiles in normal puzzles and 288 in Challenge round puzzles, if you’re interested in figuring out how many puzzles it might take you to complete this one. Ultimately, this is one of the best challenges to pair up with when you activate multiple Quinn’s Aquarium badges at the same time, especially since some of these “Collect X tiles” badges can be fairly long.
Clear X Lock Tiles
This badge requires you to match a Key Tile with a Lock Tile and then complete the puzzle to get credit. The problem with this is that as you are playing Quinn’s Aquarium in the beginning, you must play the puzzles sequentially and not all puzzles have Lock and Key tiles. That means if you get stuck on a puzzle, you will have to finish it before moving on and hopefully getting Lock and Key Tiles in your next puzzle.
That said, there is a workaround: by using Bonus Puzzles. You get access to the first set of Bonus Puzzles when you complete all three parts of the Tropical Tank. This will require you to do a total of 180 puzzles, but if you can get through those, completing this type of badge challenge and others will be a LOT easier in the future. For more information, check out how to unlock random/bonus play puzzles in Quinn’s Aquarium.
In order to clear a Lock Tile you need to click on a Key Tile first, then click on the Lock Tile to remove it. This puzzle has three Lock Tiles to clear:
If you’re struggling with completing all three parts of the Tropical Tank to unlock Bonus Puzzles, start with these Quinn’s Aquarium Tips which might help you get through some of the trickier levels.
Match X pairs of Shell Tiles
After you match a pair of Shell Tiles, you have to make 10 more matches of regular tiles before new Shell Tiles appear.
Once a set of Shell Tiles appears in the puzzle, work quickly to match them, then make 10 more regular matches and you will get another set of Shell Tiles to match. The tips for badges that require you to match all six sets below will also come in handy for this, because the more you can earn per game the faster you’ll get through challenges like this.
Tip: ranking up in Quinn’s Aquarium is based on Shell Tile pairs made too, so the better you get at matching Shell Tiles quickly and efficiently — at up to six per puzzle — the faster you will rank up. The sixth pair of Shell Tiles you make in a puzzle is worth 5 rank points!
Match all six sets of Shell Tiles in a game
After you match a pair of Shell Tiles, you have to make 10 more matches of regular tiles before new Shell Tiles appear. You will need to unearth and match the Shell Tiles within as few matches as possible in order to pair enough Shell Tiles to fill all 6 slots.
The reason for this is that there are only 144 tiles per normal puzzle. If you make too many non-shell matches after the shell tiles show up you won’t have a chance at getting all six sets to show up before you run out of tiles.
Given this, if you play a Challenge Round you’ll be able to match all six pairs easier because Challenge Rounds contain 288 tiles each puzzle. Challenge Rounds appear in the storyline at every 5th puzzle, however if you unlock Bonus Play (also referred to as random puzzles or bonus puzzles) you will be able to reload until you get a Challenge Round as you work on this badge.
The Most Important Thing
Do not use undo! You cannot use undo because it will remove any Shell Tiles in the puzzle and stop all additional Shell Tiles from showing up. When you are working on this badge, slow down and take your time, carefully planning out your match before clicking on the tiles.
If you are activating other badges at the same time, you might want to avoid the “Complete a game in under X minutes” badges because you might need the extra time to make sure you don’t have to use the undo for a move made in haste.
Out of Moves? Don’t Just Quit or Restart!
Download a guide & printable checklist of things to try when you think you’re out of moves on a puzzle. The method is called SNUG and it might open up some more moves for you! Enter your email address here and then check your email to receive your guide:
You’ll also automatically be subscribed to the BadgeHungry Insider newsletter, which is full of tips for Club Pogo that you won’t want to miss!
If you’re still having a hard time with Quinn’s Aquarium, take a look at these Quinn’s Aquarium Tips which might help you get through some of the more difficult levels.
Can you add anything?
Do you have anything else to add to this post? Share your Quinn’s Aquarium badge tips for other players in a comment below.
Other Guides in this Series:
How to Unlock Bonus Puzzles in Quinn’s Aquarium
Quinn’s Aquarium Tips and Tricks
Quinn’s Aquarium badge, use this quicklink to tell them where to get help:
badgehungry.com/qa
bonnablue says
This post was very helpful for Quinn’s. They put lock tiles in some of the Albums, I can’t finish ones with them until I go through most of the levels, I can’t be on Pogo all day. They should leave less lock and key tiles in a badge until all three levels are finished.Pogo does not tell you . I am glad I joined Badge Hungry for all of the information you provide and no Ad’s
beth says
amen bonnablue I have been here since this site opened I think lura had it a month if that long when I found it 🙂 she is the BOMB & BEST!! life saver if you will!! she is my hero!! 🙂 <3 BIG HUGS boops
good luck!!
Cindy4764 says
This will be a great help for BHs, thanks for doing this, Lura. One small thing, I do use the Aquarium tiles and that should read Lower Right not Upper Right. 🙂
This is just me but I avoid the Challenge Rounds, I just don’t like so many tiles. When I’ve done the “match all 6 shell tiles” badges I’ve used the regular puzzles but I’ve gotten pretty good at determining which puzzles are doable for that challenge. I slowed way down in my game playing and really thought out my moves. Probably if I were to do yet another “match all 6 shell tiles” I’d have to start all over with my familiarity of random puzzles, lol, but it is possible to use the regular puzzles. Probably most people would prefer the Challenge puzzles, though, as there are twice as many tiles.
Caren says
I also use the regular puzzles for the “match all 6 shell tiles” badges. I also look for one I think will be easy. The challenge one sometimes bury the shell tiles deep and I end up losing the round.
FADEDWILDROSE says
If a pair of shells early in the game pop in under a deep pile of tiles, I intentionally pick a tile that does not have a match so that I can click restart.
Sugarbarre1 says
avoiding challenge rounds is big mistake
they are the easiest
the key is restart
over and over
restart
dont leave the grid
every time you hit restart
you are closer to winning
and that does not happen in garden or escape
i love quinns
MomsBassetHound says
I’ve never had to restart or use a power up in a challenge round. They are the easiest puzzles of all.
Suz
Kathy says
i got the badge match all six l shell titles.. i look for challenge round that is spread out not a lot of stack titles
i take my time matching titles and try to count 1 2 3 to 10 and then a shell titles come up and i watch where they laid. if i cant get the shell titles i hit new game and look for a challenge round….
the funny part sometimes i match the puzzle before i get all the shell titles . i had done that before lol
no credit.. i hope this helps..
HOCK9952 says
BadgeHungry RAWKS!!! This is so awesome & will help many players. Thank you so much!
Cindy says
It won’t let you have more than one badge activated if its all the same game..
Lura says
*one of each type of badge…
MomsBassetHound says
The last time it was a weekly I had 4 QA badges activated at once on Holly’s account…
1) The weekly
2) A personal, was a prior weekly I hadn’t done
3) A QA M&M badge
4) A QA badge from a PBA
Suz
Sugarbarre1 says
happiness is winning at quinns
come on now people?
lol
Boo13Hiss says
This game kills me. I’m doing the best I can but having unbeatable levels without spending tokens to skip a level is truly unfair. I also am particularly peeved that you don’t get a “no more moves” signal. Instead you spend extra time getting more frustrated and sometimes wasting a hint because you swear you checked but no you missed one and blew that option! I used to really love Mah Jong, my late great aunt and I used to play it and other card games together on Pogo back when it was with Yahoo and I was living back east and she was in Oregon. These new tweaked versions except for the Safari one have all fallen flat along with the stress of the solitaires. Thanks for the hints I will keep trying but unless it is a regular badge I’m done with those multi-numbered series.