Porchlight › How to play › Gem Match
How to play Gem Match
Swap gems to line up three or more of a color. Matched gems shatter, the gems above fall into the gaps, and new gems drop in from the top. Score as much as you can before your moves run out.
The aim
Get the highest score you can in a set number of moves: 20 or 40.
Playing
- Swap two gems side by side, across or up and down, to make a line of three or more of the same color. A swap that doesn't make a line isn't allowed, and doesn't use a move.
- Every gem in the line shatters. The gems above fall, and new ones fill the board from the top.
- If the falling gems make new lines, those clear too. That's a cascade, and every round of it is worth more than the last.
- If no swap on the board could make a line, the gems are shuffled for free.
Special gems
Bigger matches leave a special gem behind, where you moved the gem (or in the middle of the match, if it came from a cascade).
| Match | Leaves | When it goes off |
|---|---|---|
| 4 in a line | An arrow, pointing along the line | Clears its whole row (a sideways arrow) or column (an upright one) |
| An L, T or + shape of 5 | A bomb | Clears the 3 × 3 square around it |
| An L, T or + shape of 6 or more | Lightning | Clears its whole row and its whole column |
| 5 in a line | A rainbow orb | Clears every gem of one color |
Special gems have no color, so they never match. To set one off:
- Swap it with any gem next to it. A rainbow orb swapped with a gem clears every gem of that gem's color.
- Pick it twice (click or tap it, then again).
Either way it uses a move. Swap two special gems together and both go off; two rainbow orbs together clear the whole board. A special caught in another blast goes off too, and a rainbow orb set off that way clears the color there's most of.
Scoring
| Points | |
|---|---|
| Each gem cleared | 10 × the cascade round (10 in the first round, 20 in the second, and so on) |
| Making an arrow | 50 |
| Making a bomb | 100 |
| Making lightning | 150 |
| Making a rainbow orb | 250 |
Gems cleared by a special gem score the same as matched ones. When your last move is played, every special gem still on the board goes off, one at a time, for a final bonus.
Today's board
New game deals a free board, open to everyone. Today's deal gives every player the same starting board and changes at midnight UTC. It's for members only, and you get one go at each length. Your go counts from the moment it's dealt; only a game cut short on our side can be dealt again. New gems fall at random as you play, so two people's games soon go different ways.
Today's best ranks everyone who played the day's board to the end by score, highest first; a tie goes to whoever was faster. Members also see their own record: games played, best score, and their daily run (days in a row they've played the daily board). Making no move for 15 minutes, or leaving or losing your connection for about a minute, ends the game. Giving up means your score doesn't count.
On Porchlight
| To | Mouse | Touch | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pick a gem | Click | Tap | Enter or Space |
| Swap it with a neighbor | Click the neighbor, or drag toward it | Tap the neighbor, or swipe toward it | An arrow key, after picking |
| Set off a special gem | Click it twice | Tap it twice | Enter or Space twice |
| Move around | Arrow keys |
- The picked gem spins. Pick it again to put it down (a special gem goes off instead).
- If you're stuck for a while, a possible move gently pulses.
Tips
- Look low on the board first. Matches near the bottom move more gems, so they set up more cascades.
- Save special gems for a good moment: a row arrow is worth more on a row full of gems you'd like gone, and specials left over at the end still go off for points.
- Two specials swapped together go off together. A rainbow orb with any special is big; two rainbow orbs clear everything.