The genre of match-3 games is usually one that’s referred to as the casual genre. It’s a common belief that there isn’t really a lot of strategy involved in playing these games but in really it’s quite the opposite so in this article we’ll be breaking down some of the strategies that you can utilize to progress further quickly in match-3 games.

While not technically a real strategy, the main thing that all players should always keep in mind when playing a match-3 game is to not rush things. Whenever you play a match-3 game, you shouldn’t just execute every single match that appears in front of you. Even if you’re racing against a clock, always take time to reflect on your decision, think about how the next match will change the playing field and whether or not you can make some other match that might be better off.

The key strategy that will often help you greatly in most match-3 games is to always try and focus on matching at least four or more objects of the same kind in one go. While the minimum requirement in every match is of three objects, you should always try to make a match of at least four happen since doing so will spawn special objects that have various kinds of helpful effects upon matching such as exploding in a radius or exploding in a vertical/horizontal line.

Speaking of special objects, proper utilization of these can often times make or break a level for you. To explain this in a bit more detail let’s consider two special objects from the popular match-3 game Candy Crush Saga, the striped candy and the packet candy. The packet candy basically explodes in a small radius whereas the striped candy explodes in a vertical/horizontal line. Something that most people often overlook is the fact that these two special candies can actually be combined with each other. If you manage to match together a striped and a packaged candy then you’ll create a massive explosion that’ll clear more than half of the playing area in a single go which is incredible especially during the difficult levels where it’s rather difficult to create matches in certain areas of the playing field.

Alongside the special objects, power-ups are also things that can turn the tides of a level if utilized efficiently. The thing to note about power-ups is that even though they’re really helpful, their availability is rather limited so you’re usually able to utilize a power-up only once per level. Before using a power-up you should always set things up in a way that will allow you to either get a combo going or form a special object. Often times it’s actually good to not use a power-up at all and save it for a more difficult level that might come in the near future.

The strategies mentioned above are those that have helped us a great deal in progressing through most match-3 games and we certainly hope that they help you as well. Needless to say, match-3 games are great fun to play so you should definitely try a few of them out.