Tile-matching video game

A tile-matching video game is a type of puzzle video game where the player manipulates tiles in order to make them disappear according to a matching criterion. In many tile-matching games, that criterion is to place a given number of tiles of the same type so that they adjoin each other. That number is often three, and the corresponding subset of tile-matching games is referred to as match-three games.

The core challenge of tile-matching games is the identification of patterns on a seemingly chaotic board. Their origins lie in late 1980s games such as Tetris, Chain Shot! (SameGame) and Puzznic. Tile-matching games were made popular in the 2000s, in the form of casual games distributed or played over the Internet, notably the Bejeweled series of games. They have remained popular since, with the game Candy Crush Saga becoming the most-played game on Facebook in 2013.

Tile-matching games cover a broad range of design elements, mechanics and gameplay experiences. They include purely turn-based games but may also feature arcade-style action elements such as time pressure, shooting or hand-eye coordination. The tile matching mechanic is also a minor feature in some larger games. Video game researcher Jesper Juul therefore considers tile matching to be a game mechanic, rather than a distinct genre of games.

The mechanism of matching game pieces to make them disappear is a feature of many non-digital games, including Mahjong solitaire and Solitaire card games. Jesper Juul traces the history of tile-matching video games back to Tetris and Chain Shot!, both published in 1985. While both focus on pattern matching, they differ in important design points such as time pressure, tile manipulation and match criteria. A second generation of influential matching games – Puzznic, Columns, Dr. Mario and Plotting – was published in 1989 and 1990.

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