Lantern Alley: Match 3

The pitch

Match lines, charge your heroine, unlock the whole cast. A lantern-lit night board with heroines on the tiles. Swap two neighbours, match three in a line, and the board collapses in a chain reaction. Four or five in a line leave a power-up that clears a row, a column or a square; double-tap it to set it off on its own — that costs a move, and there lies the choice. Pick a heroine before each level. She charges only from her own tiles, so her colour decides how you play. Each has two abilities, the second unlocking with tenure. 160 levels, each with its own goal: score, colour, break crates or boulders, sometimes two at once. Five kinds of blockers: a boulder yields only to a direct hit, vine spreads while you ignore it, honey candies the board. Stars earn sparks, sparks light the twelve lanterns along the path. One run will not light them all — come back and replay for the third star.

Controls & how it runs

Mouse or keyboard on desktop, tap on mobile. Arrows move the cursor, Enter or Space selects, Esc goes back. 1. Tap a tile, then a neighbour — they swap. Swaps work up, down, left and right, and only if they make a line of three. 2. A swap that matches nothing costs nothing. 3. Four in a line clears a row or column. Five gives a rainbow; an L or T gives a bomb. 4. Watch the ring around her portrait. Closed and green means your heroine is ready. 5. Tap the ability button. If it needs a target, the label turns into "Where to?" — then tap a cell on the board. 6. Abilities cost no move, but only her own tiles feed the charge. 7. Double-tap a power-up to detonate it. That costs a move — decide which is worth more. 8. Goals sit in the right-hand column, or on top on a phone: a picture and a counter. 9. On the map, tap the lanterns: sparks light them and mark how far you came. Out of moves with the goal unmet? Restart the level, or take five more moves for a short ad.

Getting a run going takes exactly one press: Press start, up top, and the game boots inside this page — nothing downloads in the background and no form wants your details before the first jump. The cabinet is drawn for a flexible screen and listens to mouse, keyboard or touch, whichever the game prefers. It reshapes itself for tall and wide screens alike, so phone, tablet and desktop all get the full picture. Given a fullscreen button, use it — scores look better at full size, that's just science.

Lantern Alley: Match 3 — quick-fire questions

Does Lantern Alley: Match 3 cost anything to play?

Not a token. The cabinet is free from the first run to the five-hundredth — no wallet, no sign-up, no toll booth hiding three levels in. The adverts around the page are what keep the floor's lights on.

What sort of game is Lantern Alley: Match 3?

It stands on our Matching row — that's the family it plays most like. The pitch above is the publisher's own rundown of what it throws at you and what it hands back.

Can I play Lantern Alley: Match 3 on my phone?

Happily, yes. It runs inside the browser on phones and tablets the same way it does on a computer. It reshapes itself for tall and wide screens alike, so phone, tablet and desktop all get the full picture.

Do I need to install anything first?

Nothing whatsoever. Lantern Alley: Match 3 is an HTML5 game: hit the start button and it boots on this page, and shutting the tab sweeps the cabinet clean behind you.

Before you wander off

Personal best banked, or still chasing it? Either way the full Matching row is powered on and waiting — Forty-seven matching cabinets — line it up, swap it out, watch the chain reaction argue your case. Small moves, cascading consequences.