Match-3 Games Analysis
In this article, I will be analyzing four of the industry’s top match-3 games: Royal Match, Toon Blast, Candy Crush, and Gardenscapes. My aim is to uncover the factors that have contributed to their remarkable success and profitability.
These games have triumphed not just by offering entertaining and distinct gameplay but also excelled in customer conversion by applying the right strategies at the correct stages of conversion funnel. Although they share the intrinsically same match-3 loop and have what it takes for a mobile game to be considered successful (e.g., high retention, longer session times, successful monetization etc.), each game distinguishes itself through its recipe for individual triumph. Within this analysis, I will thoroughly examine how each game revolves around the conversion funnel and employs retention tactics to capture and retain user attention and monetizes successfully.
Let’s dive in!
Royal Match
Royal Match presents a recognizable experience for the average Match-3 enthusiasts. The game cleverly integrates a user experience reminiscent of titles like Toon Blast, while incorporating a meta layer that shares similarities with Gardenscapes. Moreover, it has managed to elevate the match-3 gameplay previously pioneered by King’s Candy Crush Saga.
Although the decoration elements are not as intricate as Gardenscapes’ the game successfully integrates the decoration feature while keeping it simple without sacrificing on the smoothness and fluidity.
Royal Match essentially combines all the best practices of match-3 market play, making it stand out as the ultimate match-3 engine on the market today.
What Royal Match does well?
· Classic Match-3 Gameplay with a Twist: Offering a familiar, smooth, diverse match-3 puzzle and introducing unique and innovative twist of decoration.
· Balancing horizontal and vertical progression: Offering a sense of achievement and progression.
· Events and Limited-Time Challenges: Encouraging players to play regularly, create some kind of “fear of missing out”, fierce competition and creating a coin sink by encouraging use of boosters in these events.
· Engaging Storyline and Characters: Integrating the narrative into the gameplay experience, connecting players emotionally to the game world and extensively using characters in the marketing.
· Social Interaction and Competition: Facilitating player interaction through social features. Allowing players to compete with friends or other players.
· Fair Monetization and Optional Purchases: Implementing a fair and balanced monetization model without sacrificing the blasting capabilities of boosters.
· Offline Play and Accessibility: “It works without the Wi-Fi!”
· Presenting stunning and elegant graphics: Creating a royal and enchanting game atmosphere with vivid colors.
Toon Blast
Toon Blast, launched in 2017 amidst a sea of saga puzzle games dominated by the iconic Candy Crush Saga, took a bold step by departing from the conventional saga map design used in its predecessor, Toy Blast Saga. This courageous move involved ditching the map, which allowed the game to focus more intensely on its core experience.
One of the game’s notable strengths lies in its effective utilization of social features, encouraging users to team up and compete collaboratively. By fostering a sense of camaraderie and peer pressure among players, the game successfully enhances user engagement and creates the sink needed for monetization. This team-oriented approach set Toon Blast apart from its competitors and has proven to be a winning formula.
Instead of overwhelming players with unnecessary frills and complexities, the game provides exactly what casual puzzlers desire — a straightforward and uncomplicated interface. The games simplicity has also made it marketable for different international markets and enabled Toon Blast to join one of the few Western games to succeed in the Japanese Market.
Toon Blast leverages its social aspects to keep players connected and invested in the game, offering a sense of community and friendly competition that adds depth and excitement to the overall experience.
Toon Blast’s ability to strike the right balance between simplicity, social engagement, and dynamic gameplay has contributed to its continued success in the competitive mobile gaming market.
What Toon Blast does well?
· Enhanced Social Engagement: Creating peer pressure, motivating players to play more and stay connected with their friends in the game.
· Simple and Satisfying Gameplay: Providing a straightforward and enjoyable loop mechanic experience without frills.
· Engaging Competition and Time-Limited Events: Urgency and excitement, active participation. Increased session, increased booster uses to beat others.
· Innovation and Variety: Keeping gameplay fresh and exciting by introducing novel puzzle dynamics (e.g., ducks, shelves) and challenges through events.
· Effective Time-Limited Offers: The game utilizes time-limited offers strategically, creating a sense of urgency and scarcity.
Candy Crush Saga
Despite its deceptively simple gameplay and lack of a complex storyline, Candy Crush Saga achieved monumental success and became a cultural phenomenon. One of the key secrets to Candy Crush’s enduring popularity lies in its clever use of psychology to keep players hooked. Each level is meticulously designed with special effects and mini rewards, skillfully triggering the release of dopamine in players’ brains, creating a sense of positive reinforcement and addiction.
Cand Crush Saga’s constant stream of new content keeps the player base engaged and invested, fostering a loyal and enthusiastic community of players.
While some games rely heavily on intricate storylines and state-of-the-art graphics, Candy Crush proved that a straightforward and easy-to-understand gameplay concept can still attract and retain a massive audience. Its accessibility has allowed players of all ages and backgrounds to dive in and enjoy the game, making it a truly universal gaming experience.
As the years have passed, the initial frenzy around Candy Crush may have subdued somewhat, but it remains one of the highest-grossing games in the history of mobile gaming.
What Candy Crush does well?
· Intuitive Onboarding: The game’s easy-to-understand mechanics and tutorial provide a seamless onboarding experience for new players and result in high retention
· Seamless Shopping Experience: Candy Crush implements in-app purchases without being overly pushy or intrusive. It offers a wide range of attractive power-ups and boosters, tempting players to make purchases to enhance their progress.
· Addictive Visual Elements: The game’s vibrant graphics, appealing candy designs are similar to slot machines and trigger the same feelings of food (sugar) association and positivity followed by additivity.
· Low Paywalls: Candy Crush employs a gradual difficulty curve, ensuring players encounter challenges at a manageable pace. This approach reduces frustration while subtly encouraging optional in-app purchases to overcome obstacles.
· Early Market Entry: As one of the pioneers in the match-3 puzzle genre on mobile platforms, Candy Crush gained a competitive advantage by establishing a large and loyal user base.
Gardenscapes
Originally released in 2016, Gardenscapes set itself apart from other match-3 competitors through its captivating storyline, intricate meta layer and recently employing different game mechanics within one game.
The game integrates its engaging narrative within the casual genre, appealing to a diverse audience, particularly those with a passion for decoration. Gardenscapes’ inclusion of a meta layer proved to be a game-changer, providing extended longevity and higher retention rates. This horizontal expansion was the first major successful innovation in the puzzle genre after 2012.
A standout feature of Gardenscapes is its seamless integration of the core gameplay with unlocking more story content and renovating the hometown. This clever combination creates a perfect core loop: enthralling decorations and narrative elements entice players to remain committed for the long term, while the core gameplay effectively maintains a balanced pace and successfully monetizes its player base.
Gardenscapes originally began as a hidden object game on desktop and later underwent a transformation into a match-3 puzzle mobile game as Gardenscapes: New Acres, incorporating the popular dynamic in 2016. Since then, its developers have ventured into uncharted territory, constantly experimenting with new elements, such as the recent Merge-2 Generator introduced in the Beach Party event.
The game’s rich and engaging storyline serves as a foundation that allows the developers to seamlessly test diverse game mechanics and features. This commitment to innovation indicates that Gardenscapes will continue to evolve and surprise its players with fresh and exciting updates.
What Gardenscapes does well?
· Innovative Distinction: The game’s ability to continually introduced novelty set it apart from the crowded market of Bejeweled lookalikes. By offering unique gameplay elements and distinctive features, the game keeps users engaged.
· Diverse Puzzle Options: The inclusion of multiple puzzle options, including captivating mini games, adds depth to the gaming experience. This variety not only attracts players but also keeps them entertained and invested in exploring different aspects of the game.
· Captivating Narrative: The game’s compelling narrative plays a pivotal role in increasing player retention. By providing an engaging story, players are motivated to return to the game to witness their progress and discover more about the captivating world within the game.
· Engaging Monetization through Match-3 Gameplay: Despite incorporating a sophisticated storyline, the game remains focused on its core Match-3 gameplay for monetization purposes. This balance ensures that players can enjoy the game without feeling overwhelmed by excessive monetization efforts.
· Balanced Simplicity with Rich Meta Layer: The game skillfully strikes a balance between simplicity in its basic gameplay and a rich meta layer that adorns the overall experience. This approach enhances the game’s depth and complexity without sacrificing its accessibility to players of all levels.
