Gem Match: how to play, the special gems, and how to clear every level
Gem Match is a match-3 puzzle game, free to play in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer. Swap two gems to make a line of three of a colour, set off striped gems, bombs and rainbows, and meet each level's goal before its moves run out. This guide covers the rules, the special gems and their combos, the goals and stars, the daily level and tips for the harder levels.
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The rules
The board is a grid of gems, up to 8 across, in some levels with gaps in it. Swap two gems that sit side by side (not corner to corner) so that one of them completes a line of three or more of the same colour, across or down. The line is cleared, the gems above fall into the gap and new gems drop in from the top. If the falling gems make new lines, they clear too: a cascade, worth more with every wave.
A swap that makes no line is not made, and costs nothing. Every swap that is made costs one move. If there is no swap left anywhere on the board, the gems are shuffled for you, for free.
There are six colours, and each has its own shape, so you can tell them apart without seeing colour: a red circle, a yellow star, a green hexagon, a blue diamond, a purple triangle and an orange square. The first six levels use four of them, on small boards; the fifth colour comes at level 7 and the sixth at level 12, which makes lines harder to find.
Special gems
Lines longer than three, or two lines that meet, leave a special gem behind where you made the swap:
Striped gem
Four in a line
Clears its whole row when it goes off, or its whole column: a line made across gives a gem striped across, which clears its row; a line made down clears its column.
Bomb
An L or a T
Two lines of the same colour that meet, in an L, T or cross shape. It blows up the gems round it, three by three.
Rainbow gem
Five in a line
Swap it with any gem and every gem of that colour on the board is cleared. Caught in another blast, it clears the colour there is most of.
A special gem goes off when it is part of a line, or when a blast reaches it, and it can set off other special gems in turn.
Combos
Swap two special gems with each other and they go off together, much bigger than either alone:
- Stripe + stripe
- A cross: the whole row and the whole column where they meet.
- Stripe + bomb
- Three whole rows and three whole columns.
- Bomb + bomb
- A blast five by five.
- Rainbow + stripe or bomb
- Every gem of that colour turns into a striped gem (or a bomb), and they all go off.
- Rainbow + rainbow
- The whole board.
Goals and moves
Each level has a number of moves and a goal, shown before it starts and at the top of the screen while you play:
- Score: reach a number of points. These levels are played to the last move, so you can go on scoring for more stars.
- Collect: clear a number of gems of the colours shown.
- Jelly: some cells lie under pink jelly. Clear a gem on a jelly cell to clear the jelly; darker jelly has two layers and needs two clears. Clear it all to win.
- Stones: grey stones fill some cells. A match beside a stone, or a blast that reaches it, breaks it; a banded stone takes two hits. Break them all to win. Gems fall past stones, and the cell fills once the stone is gone.
- Some levels ask for two things at once: jelly and gems, or jelly and stones.
A collect or jelly level is won as soon as its goal is met; each move you have left is then worth bonus points. Run out of moves first and you can try again as often as you like. There are 45 levels, from small square boards to diamonds, crosses, rings and hourglasses; win a level to open the next.
From level 32 some gems are chained. A chained gem cannot be moved, and gems fall past it, but a line made through it (or a blast) breaks the chains and leaves the gem free.
Points and stars
10 a gem
for each gem cleared, times the wave of the cascade: 10 in the first wave, 20 in the second, 30 in the third…
60 · 100 · 200
for making a striped gem, a bomb or a rainbow gem.
50 a layer
for each layer of jelly cleared.
40 a hit
for each hit on a stone, and for each chain broken.
150 a move
for each move left when a collect or jelly level is won.
Meeting the goal earns one star; a high score earns two or three. The bar under the score shows where the stars are. The level map keeps the most stars and the best score you have made on each level.
The daily level
Every day there is one daily level, the same for everyone in the world: the same level and the same gems, and as the gems that drop in come in the same order too, the same swaps give everyone the same game. It changes at midnight UTC. The home screen ticks it once you have won it, and you can play it again to beat your score.
"Share ↗" in the box that comes up when you win a level sends your stars and score to friends, with a link to the game; a daily level's link opens the daily level, so on the same day they get the same board.
Achievements
There are 14 achievements, from your first win to every star of every level, a daily level won seven times, five waves of a cascade from one swap, 1,000 points from one swap, and a level won with ten moves to spare. The home screen counts them, and each is named when you earn it.
Tips for winning
- Look low. A swap near the bottom of the board moves more gems, and so starts more cascades, than one near the top.
- Make specials before you need them. A line of four is worth more than two lines of three: a striped gem clears a whole row of jelly at once.
- Save combos. Two specials side by side are worth far more swapped together than set off one by one. A rainbow next to a striped gem can clear half the board.
- Go for the last jelly early. Jelly in corners and at the edges is the hardest to reach; aim stripes and bombs at it while you still have moves.
- Collect with rainbows. A rainbow swapped with a gem of a colour you need clears every gem of that colour.
- Stuck? Wait a few seconds and two gems wobble: a good swap to make.
Controls
Drag a gem onto the gem beside it, with the mouse or your finger. Or tap a gem, then tap one next to it. On a computer, Esc pauses the game (the level is kept: "Continue" on the home screen picks it up again).
Questions and answers
Is Gem Match free?
Yes. It is free to play, with ads in the browser version. There is nothing to buy, and no lives to wait for: try a level as often as you like.
Do I need to download anything?
No. It plays in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer.
Is my progress saved?
Yes. Your stars, best scores and the level in hand are kept on your device, without an account.
Which languages does it speak?
41, from English, Chinese, Hindi and Spanish to Turkish, Swahili and Vietnamese. It starts in your browser's language when it has it, and you can change it on the home screen.
Something is wrong, or I have an idea
Write to support@flexygames.com.
Ready? The gems are waiting.
Play Gem Match