Tile placement is a mechanism where players place tiles to build or extend a shared or personal game area. Tiles typically need to follow placement rules (matching edges, connecting roads, etc.). The mechanism creates an emerging spatial puzzle that develops differently every game, ensuring high replayability.

Tile placement focuses on where you put tiles on a board or tableau, often with adjacency or connection rules. Pattern building is about creating specific arrangements or sets of components for scoring. Azul combines both — you draft tiles (pattern building) and place them on your player board (tile placement).

Popular tile placement games include Carcassonne (the classic — place tiles to build a medieval landscape), Azul (mosaic tile patterns), Cascadia (nature-themed tile and token placement), Patchwork (two-player Tetris-like quilting), and Isle of Cats (polyomino tile placement with cat rescue theme).