MatchTown

MatchTown is a swap match-3 set in a small town that needs cleaning up. Swap two neighbouring pieces to line up three or more of a colour and they vanish, the pieces above fall and new ones drop in. Four in a row leave a rocket that clears a row or a column, an L or a T leaves a stick of dynamite that blows a patch of the board, a square of four makes a drone that flies off to hit a target, and five in a row leave the VOTE pin, which takes every piece of one colour. Each of the 30 levels sets a goal inside a fixed number of moves: so many pieces of a colour, wooden crates to smash, traffic cones to clear off the board, rocks that only a power or a booster can break, and grass to mow by matching on top of it. Run out of moves and you get five more to finish the job.

Four boosters wait under the board for the tight spots: the Hammer smashes one tile, the Pickaxe clears a row, the Bomb clears a column and the Compass removes every tile of one colour. You start with a few of each and every third level you win for the first time adds one more. Nothing costs coins and there is nothing to buy; the boosters are a stock you spend with care.

The town is the reason to keep playing. MatchTown has 18 districts and 259 dirty lots, grouped in 30 blocks that open one after another from the City Hall outwards. Win a level and its block is swept clean; clean every block of a district and the build bar slides up. Lay roads, place houses, parks and industry and watch the scores: houses love parks and neighbours, parks grow next to other parks and shrink next to industry, and industry likes houses nearby. Every district has three targets, and meeting all three earns it a gold star. Cars drive the roads, citizens stroll the pavements and show you how they feel about your planning. Play with a swipe or a drag of the mouse; your town and your levels are saved in your browser.