About this game
Meteor Match is a space-rock puzzle game played on an eight by eight field. Six kinds of rocks fill the board, and each one has its own shape as well as its own color: jagged asteroids, round ice balls, red crystals, green jade hexagons, purple geodes and orange lava stars. Swap two neighboring rocks to line up three or more of a kind. They burst apart, and new rocks tumble in from above, which can set off chain reactions that multiply your score. Every level gives you a limited number of moves and a target score, so each swap counts. Make four in a line to forge a Pulsar that sweeps away a whole row or column. Build an L or T shape for a Nova that blasts a small area, or line up five for a Supernova that removes every rock of one kind. Moves you have left at the end of a level turn into bonus points. If you run out of moves before reaching the target, the game ends and your total goes to the leaderboard.
How to play
- Swap: click or tap a rock, then click or tap a neighboring rock to swap them. You can also drag or swipe a rock toward a neighbor.
- Keyboard: the arrow keys move a cursor, and Space or Enter selects a rock. Select a neighbor next to it to swap.
- Match: a swap only works if it makes a line of three or more matching rocks in a row or column. A swap that makes no match slides back and does not use a move.
- Specials: a match of four makes a Pulsar (clears its row or column), an L or T of five makes a Nova (blasts a 3 by 3 area), and five in a line makes a Supernova (swap it with any rock to clear every rock of that kind).
- Goal: reach the target score for the level before your moves run out. Spare moves become bonus points, and then the next level begins.
- If you stop for a few seconds, the game gently pulses one possible swap. If no swaps are left, the field is reshuffled for free.
Tips and strategy
- Work from the bottom of the board. Matches low down make everything above them fall, which often sets off free chain reactions, while matches at the top rarely disturb anything.
- Set up specials on purpose. When you spot four in a row, or an L or T shape, look for the swap that builds a Pulsar or a Nova instead of taking the quick match of three.
- Save Supernovas for a crowded field. Swap one with the kind of rock that appears most often to clear the most rocks in a single move.
- Look one step ahead. After a swap, everything above the match shifts, so check whether the falling rocks will line up into a chain.
- Do not waste early moves. Each level has a fixed budget, so prefer swaps that clear four or more rocks or set off a special over plain matches of three.
- Use your last few moves on the biggest scoring swap you can find, and keep an eye on the target bar to see how much you still need.