Gemswap

Select a gem and swap it with an adjacent one to form a line of three or more matching gems. Matched gems clear, the gems above fall in to fill the gaps, and fresh cascades can chain for bonus points. You can also arm a line-blast to fire a whole row or column.

• Only swaps that create a match of three or more are allowed
• Cascading drops can chain into combos for extra score
• Clear a row or column with the targeted line-blast

• Classic, play at a steady pace and build your score
• Timed, race the clock for as many clears as possible
• Difficulty: Relaxed, Normal or Frantic

• Desktop: click or tap to select a gem, then click the neighbour to swap; click a row or column edge (or arm the line-blast) to fire it
• Phone & tablet: tap to select and swap

• Look for swaps that set up a cascade rather than a single isolated match
• Save line-blasts for crowded columns where a chain is likely
• In Timed mode, prioritise quick matches over hunting the perfect combo

Gem Swap revisits Bejeweled, released by PopCap in 2001 — launched on the web as Diamond Mine before it had that name, and the game that largely defined what a casual puzzle game looks like.

The rule is a single sentence: swap two adjacent gems if the swap makes a line of three. What makes it hold is the cascade. Gems above fall into the gap and may line up by accident, and that may happen again, so a modest move can pay out for several seconds without further input. Good players stop hunting the most obvious match and start looking at the columns above it, playing for the collapse rather than the line.

Gemswap is an original free browser puzzle in the gem-swapping match-3 tradition, with cascades, line-blasts and two play modes. No download needed.

A free, original browser game on PlayPendium. No download, no install.