Match 3 games are an oft-overlooked but highly influential genre in the gaming market. They draw a huge audience of casual and veteran gamers. And many are free-to-play! But unfortunately, the genre can get stale with so many copycats on the market.
So, what are the most enjoyable Match 3 games you can play on iOS, Android, PC, and consoles right now? We've gathered some of our favorite and most influential titles in this genre's history. So jump in, and discover the best Match 3 games!
Updated July 5th, 2023, by Chris Sanfilippo: 2023 continues to deliver marvelous Match 3 games! Puzzle Quest 3 launched on modern consoles, including PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Royal Match continues to draw fans with its straightforward yet challenging gameplay. And Match Masters ramps up the matching mayhem to 11 with fantastic Match 3 battles. We address all these titles in our update while making some quality-of-life adjustments.
20 Star Salvager
Free To Play?: Yes (Demo)
PC
Are you fond of old classics like Space Invaders or Asteroids? Then we're sure you'll adore this upcoming Bullet Hell Match 3 game, Star Salvager, whose early access demo is free to play on Steam.
In Star Salvager, the match-threes that players harvest contribute to their ship's weapons. And the further the player progresses in a run, the more weapons, upgrades, and abilities they can earn.
19 Zookeeper World
Free To Play?: Requires Apple Arcade Subscription
iOS
Zookeeper World is much more than a typical Match 3 game. On the contrary, it's the Best Match 3 Game for business tycoons and animal lovers alike. During Match 3 rounds, you'll collect coins for new exhibits, animals, facilities, and more!
You'll never run out of things to do while playing Zookeeper World. For instance, you can spend coins gained from Match 3 rounds to unlock various fun minigames. Plus, special seasonal events will give you chances to win exclusive rewards, including costumes for your animals!
18 Spirit Swap - Low-Fi Beats To Match 3 To
Free To Play?: Yes (Demo)
PC
Spirit Swap: Lo-Fi Beats To Match 3 To is a new entry to Steam's vast Match 3 game catalog. Unfortunately, it's so new that it's still in development. However, the free Match 3 game demo displays how much innovation this title plans to deliver!
The game's developer, Soft Not Weak, describes Spirit Swap: Lo-fi Beats To Match 3 To as an opportunity for gamers to "Cast spells, be queer, and crash the biggest concert of the year!"
Spirit Swap's latest demo (launched June 10th, 2023) introduces several new playable characters and offers a story mode preview! Check it out here!
17 Disco Match
Free To Play?: Yes
Android, iOS
Studio 54 wasn't the first locale on our Match 3 shortlist. But Disco Match proves that platform shoes and tile-swapping puzzles go together like the vocal duo Peaches and Herb. You will "Shake Your Groove Thing" while playing this charming Match 3 game!
Disco Match follows the hustling protagonists, Wendy and Brandon, as they restore disco venues for the 21st century. In between regular stages, players compete in Match 3 dance contests. This experience makes Disco Match one of the grooviest Match 3 games you'll play this year.
16 Hexic
Free To Play?: No (Unofficial Versions: Yes)
Xbox 360 (Unofficial Versions on iOS and Android)
It's hard to find a port of the best hexagonal Match 3 game, Hexic, on any current consoles. Furthermore, while this Match 3 game has plenty of copycats, Microsoft launched the last mainline entry in 2014.
Still, Hexic deserves mention for its innovative gameplay and role as one of the inaugural Match 3 games on Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service (Hexic HD, 2005).
Out of all the best Match 3 games on this list, Hexic's gameplay is one of the more unique. Rather than switching two tiles vertically or horizontally, players would turn clusters of hexagons in a wheel until three or more hexagons matched.
15 Chuzzle
Free To Play?: Yes (Chuzzle Deluxe on Steam: No)
iOS, Android, PC
Aesthetically, Chuzzle looks quite different from its gem-stoned Match 3 game peer, PopCap Games' Bejeweled. This fluffy Match 3 game features big-eyed fuzzballs called Chuzzles that pop when three or more of the same color get aligned.
However, what makes Chuzzle feel distinct from Bejeweled is its gameplay mechanics. Instead of swapping individual tiles, Chuzzle has players move whole rows and columns of chuzzles simultaneously. In turn, players must consider how moving one chuzzle affects the rest of the board.
14 Candy Crush Saga
Free To Play?: Yes
iOS, Android, PC
No Match 3 game list is complete without Candy Crush Saga. King's confectionary Match 3 game has left an indelible mark on pop culture. Did you know this Match 3 game is the only one on our list with a canceled TV game show hosted by Mario Lopez?!
Candy Crush Saga is a splendid Match 3 gaming experience, with its frilly art style and a narrator that sounds adjacent to Sam Elliot.
Unfortunately, this Match 3 game is among the first significant pioneers in freemium mobile Match 3 gaming. The UK Office Of Fair Trading investigated the game's compulsion loop structure. You might say some people love to hate this Match 3 Game or hate to love it.
13 Homescapes
Free To Play?: Yes
iOS, Android, PC
Homescapes combines the fulfillment of home improvement with the grinding of Candy Crush Saga to create a unique Match 3 sub-genre of interior-decorating-match-three puzzle game.
Homescapes' story follows Austin, a butler remodeling his childhood home to convince his parents to keep it rather than sell it. You'll spend much of the game adorning a mansion's shambles with chic furniture matching your taste.
12 Riddleside - Fading Legacy
Free To Play?: Yes
Android, iOS
Riddleside: Fading Legacy is the best Match 3 game for amateur sleuths! This 80s detective adventure begins with a kidnapping and delves into an extraterrestrial journey. You'll undoubtedly see influences from Stranger Things in this title.
In Riddleside, you'll complete Match 3 stages to unlock story sections. Then, the real fun begins when you examine crime scenes and pursue criminals. These investigations are escape-room-like puzzles full of secret codes and riddles.
11 Garden Tails
Free To Play?: Requires Apple Arcade Subscription
iOS
So, we've covered homes, but what about gardens? Garden Tails is a Match 3 game that takes you inside a charming garden filled with adorable animals. You'll use seeds to plant stunning flora that will attract more cute fauna to your garden!
The character designs ooze with charm, and the surrounding garden is vast and colorful. One of the most satisfying aspects of Garden Tails is the photography mode that allows you to take snapshots and interact with the game's cast.
10 Fishdom
Free To Play?: Yes
PC, macOS, iOS, Android
Remember Feeding Frenzy, the game where you controlled a little goldfish and devoured everything in sight until you became a massive aquatic monster? Fishdom borrows this Feeding Frenzy formula and adds a Match 3 twist.
In Fishdom, you'll earn coins and develop a prized aquarium. You can curate your exhibit with various fish, including clownfish, blue tangs, and swordfish. Tank accessories include merpeople, ancient ruins, and crossover characters like Austin from the Scapes series.
9 Puzzle And Dragons
Free To Play?: Yes (Switch Version: No)
iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch
Puzzle And Dragons is not the first RPG/Match 3 game hybrid. Still, it sets itself apart from its peers with challenging dungeon battles and strategic party-building mechanics.
Puzzle And Dragons' roots are in mobile Match 3 gaming. It was the highest-grossing app globally on iOS and Android in 2013. But critics believe it hides pay-to-win elements while marketing itself as a skill-based Match 3 game.
8 Puzzles And Survival
Free To Play?: Yes
PC, iOS, Android
If you enjoy Puzzle And Dragons' turn-based combat, then Puzzles And Survival is worth your time. The game's Match 3 combat mechanics are similar, with each party member's attacks and skills assigned to a different gem color.
However, outside of the Match 3 campaign, Puzzles And Survival has an extensive city-sim system and strategic troop battle mode. Oh, and it all takes place in a rugged, action-packed, campy Zombie Dystopia. What more could you want?!
7 Columns
Free To Play?: No (Unofficial Versions: Yes)
PC, Xbox One, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Nintendo Switch (Unofficial Versions On iOS and Android)
Sega's Match 3 puzzle game series, Columns, had stiff competition back in the nineties, like Puzzle Bobble and Tetris. Therefore, you may not be as familiar with this Match 3 series unless you grew up with a Sega Mega Drive (Genesis in North America).
Still, in retrospect, this Match 3 game uniquely combined tile-dropping and match-three gameplay. The object of Columns is to match three jewels vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. But you could only change the order of gems in the dropping three-gem column.
6 Panel de Pon
Free To Play?: No
Nintendo Switch (Panel de Pon: Super NES, Pokémon Puzzle League: N64 via Nintendo Online)
Panel de Pon is a Match 3 game that gained notoriety through various spin-offs. For instance, many millennials played Pokémon Puzzle League for N64. And an Animal Crossing version of the game launched in 2016.
There are a lot of familiar elements from other Match 3 games in Panel de Pon, including tile-swapping and chain combos. However, Panel de Pon adds urgency by gradually raising blocks to the top of the screen. If these blocks reach the top, it's game over.
5 Pokemon Shuffle Mobile
Free To Play?: Yes
Android, iOS
If you assumed Pokemon Puzzle League was the only Pocket Monster Match 3 puzzle game you could play, you're missing out on Pokemon Shuffle Mobile. This long-running mobile title is a port of the popular Nintendo 3DS title of the same name.
Pokemon Shuffle places the Pokemon front and center. Matching specific Pokemon activates unique attacks. Plus, players can evolve Pokemon mid-battle to perform special abilities. Finally, each battle ends with a chance to catch and add the opponent Pokemon to your roster.
4 Royal Match
If you've ever played a mobile game with ads, you've likely seen a spot for Royal Match. But what's the to-do besides reality-star kameo ads? Our takeaway is that Royal Match offers standard Match 3 gameplay with unique twists!
Our favorite part of Royal Match is the King's Nightmare rounds, in which you'll rescue the King from life-threatening situations by meeting specific goals. But you'll have a short time limit to do so! It's a nice change of pace from the game's otherwise methodical move-limit stages.
3 Puzzle Quest
Free To Play?: Yes (Marvel Puzzle Quest and Puzzle Quest 3 only)
PC, iOS, Android, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Regarding Match 3 games, no series re-invigorated the genre like Puzzle Quest. This match-three spin-off to the long-running Warlords series was the first RPG Match 3 game.
In Puzzle Quest's combat system, players match colorful orbs called mana to cast spells against their opponent. Additionally, the player can directly damage the opponent if they match three or more skulls.
The Puzzle Quest Match 3 game series continues to thrive. Puzzle Quest 3, the latest free-to-play installment, introduces gorgeous 3D graphics, a new heroes system, and customizable characters!
2 Match Masters
Match Masters isn't the first Match 3 game to include PvP. However, this Match 3 game executes it incredibly well! 1v1 turn-based battles play like a game of Horse, in which players attempt the most matches. Rumbles let rivals play simultaneously, dropping contenders round by round.
Vanilla Match 3 games are fine, but Match Masters keeps its gameplay fresh with various new rules and boosters! Each new ranking tier offers exciting game-changers, from laser beam tiles to funky disco panels. It's an exhilarating climb to the top!
1 Bejeweled
Free To Play?: Yes (Mobile only)
iOS, Android, PC
PopCap Games developed Bejeweled (originally "Diamond Mine") as a more appealing web-based version of the Russian Match 3 game Shariki. Besides being more color-blind accessible with its distinct shapes, the rhinestoned Match 3 game also added a time limit.
Microsoft was so impressed with Diamond Mine that it partnered with PopCap Games. They created a Match 3 game that Microsoft hosted on its various websites, like MSN Games. You could argue that Bejeweled's distribution through Microsoft spread the Match 3 game genre to the masses.