Match-3 template
A swap, a line of three, and a cascade you did not fully plan. Bejeweled (PopCap Games, 2001) is the board. Candy Crush Saga (King, 2012) puts a gate on a later move. Puzzle Quest (Infinite Interactive, 2007) spends the match on a fight, which you should not add yet. Tune the cascade first. The AI match-3 game maker is the board. The AI puzzle game maker is the family.
Download Flockbay Free. Windows and Mac.
What makes a match-3
Match-3: swap tiles to make lines of three or more.
The games that set the standard are Candy Crush Saga (King, 2012), Bejeweled (PopCap Games, 2001) and Puzzle Quest (Infinite Interactive, 2007).
What the template starts with
The match-3 template starts with an eight by eight board with five tile colours. That is the smallest version of the loop that defines the genre: swap, match, cascade, score.
What to change first
Make one swap that causes a second match by falling. If that never happens, the board is a sorter. If it always happens, the board is a slot machine. You want the sometimes.
2D or 3D
The match-3 template starts in 2D.
Related templates
Start from this template in the Flockbay app
Describe your version in one sentence. The AI writes a brief from the template, and nothing is built until you approve it. Free for Windows and Mac.