Tidewell

The pitch

Tidewell is a cozy match-3 puzzle about rebuilding a storm-battered harbor. Swap sea treasures to make matches, craft flares, buoys, gulls and tide pearls, and combine them for huge chain reactions. Clear crates, sand, nets and message bottles across 100 handcrafted levels, then spend your stars to restore the pier, lighthouse, market, boatyard and café. Bring a Harbor Pal into every level: the crab, puffin, octopus and turtle each have a special power that charges as you play.

Controls & how it runs

Swipe a tile, or tap one tile and then a neighbour (mouse or touch). Tap a power-up to fire it, and swap two power-ups to combine them. Boosters: tap the button, then the board. Keys: M mutes, Esc opens pause or closes a panel, Enter plays from the harbor.

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.

Tidewell — quick-fire questions

Does Tidewell 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 Tidewell?

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 Tidewell 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. Tidewell 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.