Free match-3 games to play in your browser
Every game on this page uses one move. Swap two neighbouring pieces so that three or more of the same kind line up, and they leave the board. That is the entire rule set of match-3 games, and developers have bolted a great deal onto it. Some here chase a high score. Others set a goal for each level and ration your moves or your time.
Match-3 games
CANDY DREAM
Swap neighbouring candies into rows or columns of three, and meet each level's score, collection or obstacle goal.
Candy Match Pop
Swap candies through 80 levels in four chapters, chasing score, collection and key goals under move or time limits.
Candy World Saga
Help Mark and Julie win their grandfather's candy challenge by matching candy tiles quickly, without a careless move.
Cats and Candies
A swap match-3 with 60 levels spread over Wooden, Stone and Fire boxes. Note that the whole interface is in Russian.
Christmas Gift Match
Swap wrapped presents, candy canes and ornaments into rows of three or more through a run of Christmas levels.
Crystal Diamond
Press, drag and release to swap diamonds into lines of three or more, through levels that the developer says grow harder.
Dwarf Treasures
Dig through dwarven mines by moving crystals into lines of three, smashing ice blocks and collecting treasure on the way.
Gem Dojo
Train in a ninja dojo by matching gems, charging up ninja abilities to beat rival ninjas and climb the ranks.
Gem Legends
Swap gems into lines of three to clear them, and make lines of four or five to create special power gems.
Indian Delights Match 3
Match laddoos, barfis and jalebis across more than 30 levels, with a Golden Sweet and a Laddoo Bomb as power-ups.
Jewel Blaster
Clear jewels in groups of three or more, build combos and chain reactions, and meet a new objective on each level.
Jewel Christmas
Line up gingerbread men, stockings, baubles and other festive pieces, and build Xmas Explosion decorations from longer lines.
Jewel Monsters
Fight forest monsters by matching gems in their colour. Be quick, or they attack, and use four-gem matches to make healing hearts.
Neon Crush
A neon-styled match-3 with three kinds of power-up: one bursts a single piece type, one clears the screen and one is a bomb.
Pirates the match 3
Sail with pirates, swap gems into rows and columns, and forge stronger gems from longer matches to dig treasure and open chests.
Treat Tumble
Swap gummy bears, chocolate bites and jelly cubes across 100-plus levels, through candy kingdoms, soda swamps and cookie cliffs.
Tribal Twist
A classic swap match-3 with pieces called tribals, several game modes and no limit on lives, first released on Android.
Wizardry Match 3
Help the witch Gueraula defend magic portals by matching potions, turning each match into a spell against dark creatures and bosses.
Design Diary Match 3 & Home
Swipe colours to beat match-3 levels while Claire and Alice renovate houses, with new episodes and hidden areas to decorate.
Fruit Goals Match
Collect the fruits each mission asks for by swapping them into lines of three, all within a fixed number of moves.
GemMine Match 3
Swap gems for a miner in caverns and old mines, where each level has its own movement pattern and scores go on a leaderboard.
Hearts Match 3
Swap blocks into rows of three until every block on the board has changed colour, using drag-and-drop spells to help.
Kittens Match3
Drag round-eyed jelly creatures into rows of three. Good moves refill the time reserve, and there are no hints.
Match 3 RPG
Help a hero clear each level of monsters by matching three of five item types, with four boosts to buy using in-game coins.
Metal Match
Clear tiles marked with metal symbols such as Na, Mg and Cu by matching three or more, with combos that set off explosive reactions.
PushPlush
Slide entire rows and columns of fluffy creatures to match colours, across 50 levels, a picture puzzle mode and endless Zen mode.
Sea Match
Swap fish into rows of three or more against a timer, earning more stars the faster you finish each level.
Sweet Beasts
Match candies to feed a crowd of sweet-toothed monsters through gumdrop forests, marshmallow mountains and jelly lagoons.
Swipe and Clear
Drag blocks into groups of three or more of a colour and empty the grid in 20 levels. Leave one block behind and you start again.
Underwater Blast
Swap seashells, gems and sea creatures into matches, working around seaweed traps, drifting bubbles and hidden treasures.
About match-3 puzzles
The basics are shared. When a line clears, the pieces above drop down to fill the gap, which can set up a second match you did not plan (Candy Match Pop calls these cascades). A line longer than three usually earns something extra. In Gem Legends a match of four or five makes a special power gem. Candy Match Pop has line blasts, bombs and rainbow candies, and elsewhere in the section longer matches forge stronger gems or explosive decorations.
Where the games part company is in what a level asks of you. Cats and Candies splits 60 levels into three boxes named Wooden, Stone and Fire, and each box brings new goals, obstacles and bonuses. Be warned that its interface is entirely in Russian. Candy Match Pop has 80 levels in four chapters, with targets such as collecting keys or clearing obstacles, and some levels are capped by moves while others run on a clock. Neon Crush leans on score rather than set objectives, which suits anyone who would rather not be told what to collect.
A smaller group puts a fight on top of the grid. In Jewel Monsters each monster has a colour, and only lines in that colour damage it. Take too long and it hits back, so there is health to look after as well as a board to read, and matches of four or more produce hearts that heal you. Other games here put a battle on every level, with bosses among the enemies, or use gem matches to charge abilities against rival ninjas.
One practical detail decides a lot of sessions: lives. Tribal Twist says it has no life limit, so a failed level can simply be tried again without waiting. Mouse play is the norm across the section and many games accept touch as well. Portrait and landscape frames are both well represented. Match-3 is a good fit for short sittings, because each level has a clear end. It rewards spotting what the board offers right now more than long planning, and if you want the second kind of puzzle, a sudoku will serve you better.