Dewdrop Dell

What is Dewdrop Dell?

It's a classic match 3. You swap two pieces that sit side by side, and if the swap lines up three or more of the same kind in a row or a column, they clear and new pieces drop in from above.

Each level gives you a few goals and a set number of moves. Clear the goals before the moves run out and the level is yours. We made every piece a different shape as well as a different color (a spotted toadstool, a capped acorn, a five-petal buttercup, a pointed leaf, a teardrop and a bumpy berry), so the board reads clearly even if some colors look alike to you. It's free, runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and there's nothing to download.

How to play

• Drag a piece onto the piece next to it to swap them. You can also tap one piece and then its neighbor.
• A swap only counts if it makes a match. If it doesn't, the pieces slide back and you keep your move.
• Match three or more of a kind in a straight line. A square of four counts too, and it makes a Bee.
• Watch the goals at the top: the count beside each one goes down as you work on it, and a check mark appears when it's done.
• If you stop for a few seconds, two pieces wiggle to show a move. You can turn that off in Settings.
• If the board ever has no moves left, we stir it for you at no cost.

On a computer you can play with the keyboard. Arrow keys move the cursor, Enter or Space picks a piece, and an arrow key then swaps it that way. H shows a hint and Esc pauses.

Special pieces

Bigger matches leave a special piece behind. It keeps its color and shape, so you can still match it, and it goes off when it's matched, swapped into another special, or caught in a blast.

Combos

Swap two specials into each other for something bigger. Two Breezes sweep a row and a column at once. A Breeze and a Seedpod sweep three rows and three columns. Two Seedpods make one huge burst. A Bee picks up the other special and carries it to its target, and two Bees send three Bees flying. A Moonflower turns every piece of the other kind into that special and sets them all off, and two Moonflowers clear the whole board.

Goals and blockers

• Collect: clear a number of one kind of piece, by matches or by blasts.
• Points: reach a score. Longer chains are worth more, since each step of a chain raises the points per piece.
• Moss: grows under the pieces. Match on top of it, or blast it, to peel a layer. Dark moss has two layers.
• Brambles: fill a cell so nothing can sit there. A match right beside a bramble chips it, and blasts hit it too. The little dots show how many hits are left, up to three.
• Webs: hold a piece in place so it can't be swapped or fall. Match the webbed piece to free it, or hit it with a blast.
• Eggs: speckled eggs drop through the board. Clear the pieces under them until they reach the nest along the bottom edge.
• Make specials: some levels ask for a number of Breezes, Seedpods or Bees.

Pieces fall straight down, and a gap under a bramble or a web fills by sliding in from the side.

Stars and Dewfall

Finishing a level's goals earns the first star. The second and third come from points, and the meter under the goals shows how close you are. When you finish with moves to spare, each one turns into a Breeze somewhere on the board and goes off, which we call Dewfall. Any specials still on the board go off too. That's why finishing early is the surest way to three stars.

The trail and Wild Paths

The trail runs through 15 glades of ten levels each, from Morning Meadow to The Grand Oak. Each glade brings in one new idea and mixes it with what you already know, and the last level of each glade is a tricky one, marked on the map with a red dot. After level 150 the Wild Paths open: fresh levels grown from a seed, so they never run out.

We test every level with a computer player before you see it. The hand-made levels were tuned that way, and each Wild Paths level is played many times by a casual test player when it's grown, with the move count set from how it did. If a grown level comes out too long or unfair, we grow a new one in its place. So no level needs lucky drops to beat.

Helpers, earned and never needed

After level 9 you get four helpers, one of each: Twig pokes any one piece or blocker, Hop swaps two neighbors even without a match, Stir mixes up the board, and Spare moves gives five more moves when you run out. None of them cost a move.

You earn more by playing: a gift of two for every 12 stars, a Twig, a Hop and a Stir for each glade you finish, one for each Daily Glade you post, and up to three a day in Wander. There's nothing to buy, no lives to wait for and no timers. Every level can be won without a single helper.

Daily Glade and leaderboards

The Daily Glade is one level that's the same for everyone on the same day, down to the starting board. It changes at midnight UTC. Your first run of the day is the one that counts: your points, plus 5,000 if you finish the goals, go on the daily leaderboard and keep your day streak going. You can replay it as often as you like for practice, but only that first run is posted.

There's also an all-time board for total stars across the trail. Sign in to see your name on the boards and keep your progress on every device.

Wander mode

Wander is an open board with no move limit and no goals. Match at your own pace. Your board is saved when you leave, and we keep your best score.

Tips and strategy

• Make specials before you need them. A Breeze waiting next to a Seedpod is worth far more than either alone.
• Save a Moonflower for a combo. Swapped with a plain piece it clears one kind; swapped with a Breeze or Seedpod it can clear most of the board.
• Bees are smart. They fly to brambles, webs, moss or the pieces your goal needs, so on blocker levels a square of four is often better than a line of four.
• On egg levels, clear the column right under each egg. Breezes that run up and down are perfect for this.
• Brambles only crack from a match right beside them, not from a match two cells away, so line your matches up along their edge.

Questions