Instructions
Sparkstone Swap
Swap neighbouring stones to line up three or more. Four make a line bomb, five make a colour bomb, and every match buys a second on a clock that burns faster as your score climbs.
- Year
- 1996
- Era
- 16-Bit
- Genre
- Puzzle / Match-3
Free, no sign-up. Keyboard, touch or gamepad.
How to play
- Click a stone then a neighbour, or drag a stone.
- Keyboard: arrows move the cursor, Space picks a stone, arrows then swap it.
- P to pause.
On touch
- Tap a stone then a neighbour, or drag a stone toward the one you want to swap with.
Every run starts on the title screen. Pause any time with P or the pause button; calm mode removes flashes and screen shake.
Maker’s note
Match-three is the genre that taught a billion thumbs what a cascade feels like. The twist here is the clock: matches feed it, but the faster you score the faster it burns, so the best run is never the safest one. Stones are different shapes as well as colours, and the board is seeded so the daily run is the same board for everyone.
The Eracade workshop
Target scores
- 11,500
- 24,000
- 37,000
- 410,500
- 515,000
- 620,000
- 727,000
- 835,000
Each target is a step up. Beat them all and you have outplayed the workshop.
The 16-Bit era, 1990–1996
Dithered sunsets, parallax hills and more colours than anyone knew what to do with.
High scores
The top ten runs are saved in this browser with your three initials. Nothing is uploaded unless you submit a ranked run, so clearing site data clears the table.
