Sandwich

What is Sandwich?

Sandwich (挟み込み) is a chaining form in Puyo Puyo. Sandwich gets its name because it vertically surrounds one group of color between another group of colors.

Yellow Sandwiches the Blue

Red Sandwiches the Green

There are many forms of Sandwich, but in competitive play, there are four main forms.

2-1-1 Sandwich and 1-1-2 Sandwich

2-1-1 Sandwich and 1-1-2 Sandwich are the two most common Sandwich forms. They get their names from their structure (count from the bottom up).

2-1-1 Sandwich

2 on the bottom, 1 in the middle, 1 on top

1-1-2 Sandwich

1 on the bottom, 1 in the middle, 2 on top

3-0-1 Sandwich and 1-0-3 Sandwich

3-0-1 Sandwich and 1-0-3 Sandwich are two forms that allow you to switch between 2-1-1 and 1-1-2 Sandwich forms. 3-0-1 and 1-0-3 Sandwich forms can also switch into each other, but not itself.

3-0-1 Sandwich (Red and Green)

1-0-3 Sandwich (Blue and Yellow)

How to Build Sandwich

Place the First Two Puyos

You can start building Sandwich at the transition.

AA AB

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AA BB

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AA BC

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AB BC

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How to Build the Transition

You should focus on building the transition first. This will prevent garbage Puyo from falling into the transition and ruining your chain.

Uh Oh.

Like with the Stairs form, transitions come in two forms. Most players will prefer to build the Sandwich Transition, as it is more flexible.

Variant

You can build the transition by completing the first column. At the very least, complete the first four rows of the first column.

Here are some examples:

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Warning:

Do not let the transition and the Sandwich in column 2 be the same color.

Transition

Sandwich

Color Conflict (oh no)

This happens the most when players get an AA BB BB start. You can get around this by placing the third pair in another column. (I have seen players place their third pair in the last column.)

How to Build the Sandwich Form

Not every Puyo can be used to build the transition. These pairs can be used to build the Sandwich itself.

Two important things that are key to building this form are having good color decisions and having good build order.

Color Decisions With 1-0-3 (and 3-0-1) Sandwich

Lets look at an example of color decisions. Take a look at the Red Puyos below:

Setup

If the next Puyo is a multicolored pair where one of the colors is blue, then the group of Blue Puyos become a 1-1-2 Sandwich. This means that the red Puyos only touch one other color, blue.

(The Prism Ball (?) below will be used to represent any non-blue Puyo.)

Concept

Example

However, what happens if the next pair is just one color?

Concept

Example

Problem

Now the blue Puyos form a 1-0-3 Sandwich. This means the group of red Puyo touches two colors. If that pair is red, then the three red Puyos next to it will pop and ruin your chain. You would want to place that pair somewhere else on the board.

The above example is inverted when 3-0-1 Sandwiches are involved. If a single colored pair is the next color, then everything is fine. The problem this time is if you get a multicolored (blue-red) pair.

Setup

Single Color

Multicolored

This example is sneakier than the last one because a new player will try to complete the blue sandwich as fast as possible. They won't see the problem until they try to complete the red sandwich in columns 4 and 5.

The above are examples of being careful of color decisions. If you place Puyos down without thinking, you could accidentally destroy your chain.

Watch Your Build Order

Now lets take a look at build order. Remember that ify , you would want to be able to follow up the Sandwich form with more Sandwiches. This is sometimes easier said than done, especially if the game likes to give you a lot of one color early on:

I'll put this next pair in the first two columns.

Oh no, where do I put this green pair?

I can't continue sandwich like this.

I can't continue sandwich like this either.

In the scenario above, the player is getting a lot of green Puyo. and doesn't know to continue.

• They can't place the green pair in the first column, because it will pop the transition.
• They can't place the green pair in the second column, because it will block the transition in the first column.
• They can't place the green pair in the third column, because it will pop the Puyo in that column.
• They can't place the green pair in the fourth column (see above), because now they created an L-shape. Going back to the Sandwich form is very difficult from here.
• They can't split the green pair between columns 3 and 4 (see above), because now they created an odd-looking 2-0-3 sandwich. The only way to continue from here would be with 1-3 stairs, which is dangerous, or 2-2 stairs, which would waste Puyo in the process.
• They can't place the green pair in the fifth or sixth columns, because it will pop the Puyo that is already in the sixth column. Keep in mind that if you continuously send one chains at your opponent, they might punish you by sending their entire chain.

However, lets say that the player place the pieces like this:

I'll put this next pair to extend the green Sandwich.

I will use this piece to extend the transition.

No color conflicts here. I can keep building...

By looking ahead at the next queue, the player is able to use their pieces to build onto their chain.

This example is why your build order is important. If you don't keep track of where you place your Puyos, you could end up with a board state that is bad for your next pieces.

More Resources

Sandwich Pattern: Intermediate level: A French wiki article that guides you to make a 10 chain. Note that this guide calls Sandwich "Crosscut". Available in English here.

Efficiency 1: Color Decisions: More in depth example of making good color decisions with the Sandwich form.