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Homescapes Guide (2023 Update): Tips, Tricks & Strategies to Complete Levels Fast

Tile-matching puzzle games have been around since the 1980s. Games like Tetris, Chain Shot! (SameGame) and Puzznic influenced many of the puzzle titles we have today. While these three games operate differently, they all have one similar mechanic: matching tiles together to make them disappear and earn points.

homescapes intro
The newest addition to your match-3 game addiction, perhaps?

Through the years, many game developers have experimented with their approach to this fun and simple game genre and created a wide array of mechanics that, in turn, affected other game genres as well. From bursting bubbles to revealing images behind cards, the possibilities were endless!

One of the most popularly created versions in the genre is what most people refer to as Match-3 games where the player’s goal is to match 3 tiles to eliminate them and score. In this article, we’ll be diving into one of the most popular titles of the genre today, which plays very similarly to King’s Candy Crush and PopCap Games’ Bejeweled Blitz but with an entertaining story and a house-customizing aspect: Homescapes.

homescapes memories
A home filled with wonderful memories is difficult to lose.

This game is a sequel to one of Playrix’s successful titles, Gardenscapes: New Acres, and follows Austin to his childhood home. What started as a friendly visit and relaxing vacation soon turns into a mission to save his old house. He learns that because the house was falling apart and they couldn’t maintain it anymore, his parents, William and Olivia, planned to sell it and move to a smaller one. Unwilling to part with the home that gave him so many wonderful memories, Austin starts giving the house a long-deserved makeover to convince his folks to change their minds.

homescapes surprise
I’m pretty sure his hairline has changed, Katherine.

Along with this main storyline are interesting subplots that could enrich any player’s experience and keep them entertained. These include a blooming romance between Austin and Katherine, Olivia’s cooking rivalry with Stephanie, and taking care of a stray cat among many others. This game also gives players a break from the main game with the occasional mini-game that earns players extra coins and resources along with events that can get players engaged.

homescapes gameplay
This puzzle can be finished with just 1 more move!

The game is very casual and easy for just about anyone to pick up. However, there may be a few tricks here and there that won’t be immediately apparent to new players and there may even be some tips that they may have skipped out on. Alternatively, there could be players who have been playing the game for a while but are not quite sure what to do in certain instances. Because of that, we have created this handy-dandy guide for Homescapes!

1. Form Power-Ups

Match-3 games are straightforward and simple. As the name suggests, you must match three similar pieces in a row or column to earn points. Diagonal matches are not accepted. However, matches of 4 and 5 pieces are and will result in the creation of special power-ups. All of these power-ups can be activated by swapping them with an adjacent piece or tapping them.

Power-Ups

Rockets

homescapes rocket
Rockets clear columns or rows of pieces.

Rockets are created when you match 4 pieces in a row or column together. Activating it will destroy all pieces above and below them or to the left or right of them. The direction in which the rocket will clear greatly depends on what swiping action you took to create them. If you swipe up or down to form them, they will create a rocket that destroys all pieces above and below them. The same can be said for those swiped left and right, destroying pieces in those directions.

This power-up is best used against obstacles that have to be cleared up in a row or column. They’re also handy for reaching far away pieces to clear them or other power-ups to activate them. Swapping it with adjacent pieces can help you redirect these rockets in position. Tapping it allows you to activate it without affecting other adjacent pieces.

Paper Planes

homescapes paper plane
Paper Planes clear a cross area and 1 random piece.

Paper planes are created when you match 4 pieces in a square together. Activating it will destroy pieces in a 3×3 cross area before flying away to destroy 1 random piece with a priority towards pieces required to be destroyed by the level.

This power-up is best used when there are stray, faraway tiles that need to be cleared. They can travel anywhere on the board but you will not be able to control where they land. Swapping it or tapping it won’t affect which direction they will take and will only affect the cross area it will clear before flying off to the random piece.

Bombs

homescapes bomb
Bombs clear a 2-tile radius around it.

Bombs are created when you match 5 intersecting pieces together and form a T or L shape. Activating it will destroy pieces within a 2-tile radius around it.

This power-up is best used when you want to clear a large area of obstacles. Swapping it with an adjacent tile will help you position it in a better spot. But if it’s already in a good spot as it is, tapping it is the way to go.

Rainbow Balls

homescapes rainbow ball
Rainbow Balls clears the board of 1 type of piece.

Rainbow Balls are created when you match 5 pieces in a row or column together. Activating it by swiping will destroy all pieces similar to the adjacent piece you just swiped it with. Activating it by tapping will destroy all the pieces with the most number of tiles on the board. You can tell which piece it is by looking at the color at the top of the ball.

This power-up is best used for clearing multiple pieces in one go, especially if those pieces add up to the level’s requirement. Clearing up so many pieces also gives you new ones to work with as the board rearranges itself and adds more pieces. And since one color has been wiped from the board temporarily, it gives you more opportunities to create more power-ups. However, if there is another power-up close by, it’s more advantageous to combine this with it.

Power-Up Combinations

In many cases, you might need a little more firepower than what the power-ups by themselves can provide. For those instances, it’s better to combine them by swiping them with each other. Doing so amplifies and combines their effects to destroy even more pieces.

Rocket + Bomb

homescapes rocket and bomb
Rocket + Bomb = 3 rows and 3 columns of destruction.

This combination will result in 3 rows and then 3 columns of pieces being wiped from your board. This is an effective combination to use when dealing with large groups of obstacles. It may also be able to activate other power-ups since they have a wide reach.

Rocket + Rainbow Ball

homescapes rocket and rainbow ball
Rocket + Rainbow Ball = Rockets spread all over the board and activated.

This combination will result in the rainbow ball choosing a random piece and changing all pieces similar to it into rockets. These rockets will all activate one by one before your next turn, destroying all pieces to the left and right of the destroyed piece (if horizontal) or above and below (if vertical). This combination can wipe out almost every tile of the board along with some tiles that are falling down as it keeps setting off the rockets. This is very effective against obstacles that need to be hit multiple times to break.

Paper Plane + Rocket

homescapes paper plane and rocket
Paper Plane + Rocket = Cross-shaped explosion followed by paper plane bringing a rocket to a location.

This combination will result in a cross-shaped explosion followed by the paper plane flying towards a random piece (or a piece required to be destroyed by the level) and exploding like a rocket, destroying all pieces to the left and right of the destroyed piece (if horizontal) or above and below (if vertical). This is effective against rows or columns of obstacles that need to be cleared.

Paper Plane + Bomb

homescapes paper plane and bomb
Paper Plane + Bomb = Cross-shaped explosion followed by paper plane bringing a bomb to a location.

This combination will result in a cross-shaped explosion followed by the paper plane flying towards a random piece (with a priority towards pieces required to be destroyed by the level) and exploding like a bomb, destroying pieces within a 2-tile radius around it. This is effective against large groups of obstacles bunched together.

Paper Plane + Rainbow Ball

homescapes paper plane and rainbow ball
Paper Plane + Rainbow Ball = Paper planes spread all over the board and activated.

This combination will result in the rainbow ball choosing a random piece and changing all pieces similar to it into paper planes. These paper planes will all activate one by one before your next turn, destroying random pieces (with a priority toward pieces required to be destroyed by the level).

This is arguably the most powerful combination in the game. It not only destroys cross-shaped areas where the paper planes are, but it also flies toward obstacles or tiles that the level requires you to clear. It is very effective in helping you clear levels against most obstacles.

Bomb + Rainbow Ball

homescapes bomb and rainbow ball
Bomb + Rainbow Ball = Bombs spread all over the board and activated.

This combination will result in the rainbow ball choosing a random piece and changing all pieces similar to it into bombs. These bombs will all activate one by one before your next turn, destroying pieces within a 2-tile radius around it.

2 Rockets

homescapes 2 rockets
Rocket + Rocket = 1 column and 1 row destruction.

This combination will result in the destruction of all pieces above, below, to the right and left of one of the cells that one of the rockets occupied. It does not matter if the rockets are both horizontal, vertical, or in different directions. All combinations of 2 rockets will have the same result. This gives you the benefit of clearing an intersecting area of one row and one column.

2 Paper Planes

homescapes 2 paper planes
Paper plane + Paper plane = 3×3 square explosion followed by 3 paper planes moving to different locations.

This combination will result in the destruction of all pieces within a 3×3 square, followed by three paper planes flying towards random pieces (with a priority towards pieces required to be destroyed by the level) and destroying them. This lets you take care of three stray pieces easily.

2 Bombs

homescapes 2 bombs
Bomb + Bomb = explosion of 3-tile radius around it.

This combination will result in the destruction of all pieces within a 3-tile radius around it. This gives you a larger reach of 1 tile radius than a regular bomb, making it more effective at clearing large clumps of obstacles.

2 Rainbow Balls

homescapes 2 rainbow balls
Rainbow ball + Rainbow ball = Complete board wipeout.

This combination will result in all pieces on the screen getting wiped out. While it is a powerful combination, it is also the hardest to form. However, this does not necessarily make it the best power-up combo. Combining a rainbow ball with the other three power-ups is oftentimes a better alternative depending on the situation. Take note that obstacles will only take one hit from this and not be completely destroyed if they have multiple layers.

But power-ups aren’t the only tools you can use in your arsenal. Boosters can also get you far if you know how to use them.

2. Don’t Be Afraid to Use Your Boosters

Boosters serve as a helping hand for those particularly tricky and difficult levels. To some players, it may feel like a cheat, and would purposely avoid using it. However, there are quite a few levels with a very limited number of moves or very difficult obstacles. Tiles that show up in each level vary every time, with some exceptions to certain ones where the level is designed to have specific pieces in a specific area. That said, luck often plays a big part in what pieces you deal with each time you play a level. And sometimes, no matter how much you try, luck just isn’t on your side.

Instead of seeing boosters as a handicap, it’s better to look at them as necessary tools to advance. We’re not saying you should use boosters for every level. They’re like healing potions in an RPG game. You’ll want to hold onto them as much as you can and then use them in dire situations. Boosters aren’t infinite after all and you’ll have to either earn some as a reward or buy them with coins if you run out.

There are 6 boosters you can use all in all and we’ve categorized them into two types: Pre-Game Boosters and In-Game Boosters.

Pre-Game Boosters

Pre-Game Boosters are boosters you can activate before the start of the game. You can active 1-3 of them at a time. These boosters are frequently given as rewards.

Rocket and Bomb

homescapes rocket and bomb pre-game booster
Explosives are pretty handy in tight spaces!

This booster lets you start the level with a Rocket and a Bomb replacing 2 of the tiles in the level. This is a very helpful booster to have if the level starts with many breakable obstacles and very little amount of pieces to move with. These can easily clear those up, giving you more space to maneuver.

This booster first appears at level 15 and costs 1,900 coins.

Rainbow Ball

homescapes rainbow ball pre-game booster
This colorful ball is helpful in levels with many pieces!

This booster lets you start the level with a rainbow ball replacing one of the pieces in the level. While it could give you an initial advantage of clearing one type of piece, giving you more chances to form more power-ups, we usually prefer to save them for later. Rainbow Balls are best used when combined with other power-ups after all.

However, we do not recommend using this on levels with only a few pieces available at the start. It will not be helpful if you use it immediately since there won’t be too many pieces to clear, and it may take a long time before you get to use it with other power-ups since forming them would be more difficult. In many cases, you might end up using the Rainbow Ball before they’re useful. This booster shines the most in levels with many pieces at the start.

This booster first appears at level 17 and costs 900 coins.

Double Planes

homescapes double planes pre-game booster
These planes are good for hard to reach areas!

This booster doubles all the paper planes on the field when you activate a paper plane. Activating one will make 2 paper planes fly off to remove 2 pieces. Swiping one with another will make 5 paper planes fly off to remove 5 pieces. If combined with a Rocket or a Bomb, only the first plane will be affected.

Double Planes is especially useful when the level you’re dealing with has many hard-to-reach areas that must be cleared. It can also help with obstacles like Carpets where every tile must be covered. However, this power-up may not be as helpful against levels with many obstacles bunched together that need to be demolished.

This booster first appears at level 21 and costs 1,900 coins.

In-Game Boosters

In-Game Boosters are always available inside the game and can be used at any time. They don’t need to be activated before each level and can be used as many times as you can. However, these boosters tend to be more expensive than Pre-Game Boosters and are rarely received as rewards.

Hammer

homescapes hammer
Great for one-piece elimination!

This booster clears any individual piece you choose without spending a move or swiping with a piece. This is very handy for lining up pieces to create power-ups, combining power-ups together, or hitting that one stray piece you need to complete the level. If used on obstacles with multiple layers, it weakens them.

This booster first appears at level 9 and costs 1,900 coins.

Sledgehammer

homescapes sledgehammer
A solid booster that works like two-rocket combos!

This booster removes one row and one column of pieces without using a move or swiping with a piece. It has the same effect as two Rockets swiped with each other and is useful for clearing large amounts of tiles and obstacles and destroying hard-to-reach pieces.

This booster first appears at level 27 and costs 3,800 coins.

Glove

homescapes glove
An extra hand for an extra move!

This booster lets you swap any two adjacent pieces without using a move. However, Gloves don’t work on boxes and other immovable obstacles and will not combine power-ups. They’re helpful for when you need more moves to complete a level, but you must use them before your final move to do so.

This booster first appears at level 36 and costs 2,900 coins.

In order to fully utilize these boosters to their true potential, it is important to know what kind of obstacles and challenges you would be up against.

3. Consider Alternative Moves

Homescapes make it easy for players to learn the game while still making it challenging as you advance level after level. As we played, we picked up a few moves along the way which we are happy to impart to fellow players:

Think Twice Before Using Suggested Moves

homescapes suggested moves
Oh! I didn’t see that!

You might have noticed that if you do not make a move for a few seconds, the game will give you suggestions. These hints tend to be very helpful and can sometimes be just what you need to turn things around. However, we recommend not depending on them all the time as they can sometimes be misleading. They might tell you to match three pieces on the right corner when the last piece that you need to break is on the left. Or they could tell you about a match in one area while completely ignoring an obvious match that can merge to form a power-up. Choose which suggestions to take and which to ignore carefully. Since there is no time limit, there is no need to rush!

Swipe Your Piece to Empty Spaces

homescapes empty spaces
It’s not a glitch!

This is one move that most players may not even realize was possible. There are instances where obstacles will prevent pieces from filling up the board completely and you will be left with a few empty spaces. While you won’t have a piece to exchange it with, moving your piece to the empty space to make a match is completely valid. However, if there are no matches to be made, your piece won’t be able to move to that space.

Move While Pieces are Falling

homescapes falling pieces
All the pieces are falling down, falling down, falling down!

Every time you make a match, pieces will fall down (or move in a different direction depending on the level). Some players will instinctively wait until all pieces are set in their places before making a move, and in many cases, this is the best choice.

However, there are also a few instances where you may not want to wait. Players can keep swiping pieces even while other pieces are still moving. When you see two power-ups conveniently lined together, you may want to swipe them before they end up being taken to different positions.

Be warned that doing so may not always give you the best result as the power-up could be spent without hitting all the pieces it could have hit. Nevertheless, it is an option that is good to use every now and then.

Focus on Clearing One or Two Pieces to Form Power-Ups

homescapes clear one
Take one out and it’ll be easy-peasy!

There will be some levels where the boards have very few tiles and forming power-ups can be very challenging. In cases like these where the only thing you can do for the first few moves is to match 3 pieces at a time to clear out one or two types of pieces. If you clear out all the blue pieces, for example, you’d have a higher chance of forming power-ups with the red, green, and yellow pieces.

You Don’t Always Need to Combine Power-ups

not combining power-ups in homescapes
So close yet so far.

Sometimes, using power-ups as they are can be just as effective if not more than their combos. Maybe you have two rockets side by side but a piece you need to clear is on the side away from the other rocket.

Or maybe you can’t combine certain power-ups together because they’re a tile or two apart. In those cases, you can just aim to activate them within their area of effect. This way, when they explode, it will activate the power-ups close to them, setting off a domino effect. Rockets and Bombs are very effective for this technique.

Of course, all these tips won’t work for every level, especially if those levels have tricky obstacles.

4. Navigate through Obstacles

In Homescapes, there is no score that you need to reach nor is there a point system. While forming power-ups will certainly speed things along, they are not the main goal. For every level, there is a set move limit and pieces to clear in order to finish the level. You can see how many moves you have left and the required pieces you need by looking at the right side of the screen.

Unused moves will turn into power-ups and will go off at the end of the game. The pieces that get destroyed will add up to your final total of coins. You can also earn special resources or currencies if there are events ongoing.

Every once in a while, you’ll encounter special levels with increased difficulty. To give you an idea of how different they are in design compared to regular levels, we made a table below:

Level DifficultyColor ThemePlay Button
RegularRedGreen with a simple white outline
HardPurpleGreen with a striped purple outline
Super HardHot PinkGreen with a striped hot pink outline
One-Shot (only played once)OrangeOrange with a striped orange outline

Aside from these, the game likes to spice things up as you advance from level to level and will occasionally throw in some new obstacles. Since this is a beginner’s guide, we will only include obstacles that were introduced in the first 100 levels. 

Carpets

homescapes carpets
Carpets make everything a lot fancier!

Carpets can cover up empty tiles. The goal of levels with carpets is to cover all cells with them. Matching pieces that are both on the carpet and on the empty tile will cause the carpet to spread to those empty tiles. Activating power-ups on a carpet will spread it to the other empty tiles it destroys.

All pieces with matches made by those carpets must be prioritized. Making Power-up combos are the key to finishing these levels quickly. Rainbow Balls are especially effective, especially if they are combined with other power-ups.

Locked Pieces

homescapes locked pieces
Break them free!

Locked pieces cannot be moved and can only be unlocked by matching them with other free pieces. These locked pieces must be prioritized in order to pass through the rest of the board. Locked pieces are usually there as obstacles to make the level harder but it is not always essential to unlock them so do not waste moves trying to clear all of them if unnecessary.

Only clear the ones that can open up a path for the rest of the pieces. The more chains a piece has, the more times you will need to match pieces with them to unlock them. Rockets, Bombs, and Rainbow Balls are the most efficient power-ups to use against these obstacles.

Cherries and Jellies

cherries and jellies in homescapes
Free the cherries from their jellies!

Jellies contain cherries. The goal of levels with cherries is to collect the cherries by making matches next to the jellies to release them. You don’t need to clear all of the jellies to pass the level, just the ones with cherries. Some jellies which are thicker and have flower patterns need to be matched several times before they are cleared and a few cherries underneath these won’t be visible right away.

An easy way to determine if a jelly has a cherry is to see if they have a darker tint than other jellies. If vertical or horizontal matches are possible near cherries that are close together, prioritize those. Power-up combos work very well in clearing these, especially rockets and bombs. Rainbow balls can work well if they are mixed with other power-ups while paper planes will be useful for clearing the last couple of pieces.

Donuts

homescapes donuts
Donut stop me!

Donuts don’t really do anything special, but they do serve as an obstacle. The goal of levels with donuts is to bring the donuts down to the bottom of the board to beat the level. If a vertical match is possible for the pieces underneath the donuts, prioritize those. Vertical rockets and rocket-bomb combinations would work very well in these levels.

Boxes

homescapes boxes
You can’t box me in forever!

Boxes work like jellies and locked pieces— you have to match pieces next to them to remove them. Just like the previously mentioned obstacles, they may have layers that will require them to be matched next to or hit several times. Rockets and Bombs will work well against them along with their power-up combos.

Cookies

homescapes cookies
The type of cookies you’ll hate.

Cookies are the same as boxes but are movable. They can be swiped with other pieces but will not be destroyed if they are lined up with other cookies. Some cookies also have layers that will require you to match next to them or hit them more than once. Unlike boxes, jellies, and locked pieces, cookies can prevent explosions from rockets from passing through them. Because of this, they are best eliminated by combining any power-up combo with a rainbow ball or a bomb.

Portals

homescapes portals
Portals are magical.

Portals connect separate parts of the field. When pieces or other elements go through a portal they immediately pop out in a different part of the field. Depending on the positions of these fields, different strategies may be applied.

If these fields can all be viewed in one place, you may be able to teach a few tiles from the other fields through rockets or rainbow ball power-up combos. Make sure to pay attention to the positions of these portals so you won’t get caught off-guard on where the pieces are going.

Apples

homescapes apples
An apple a day keeps the doctor away! But what about the butler?

Apples are usually placed on one corner or area of the field on a square glass platter. The goal of levels with apples is to collect them by making matches or exploding power-ups next to the platter. After collecting all the apples, the platter disappears, letting other tiles occupy the space.

Rockets and rainbow ball power-up combos are very effective when the platter is very far away. If they are close by, bombs can clear those out quickly. However, if they are far away and there are only a few left, paper planes can get the job done.

Walls

homescapes walls
Break down those walls!

Walls are obstacles that may be placed on all four sides of a piece or just partially. These walls cannot prevent you from making matches but they will prevent you from swapping pieces across them. Using power-ups is the only way to get rid of them. However, the only walls that will be cleared depend on the direction of the power-up.

Bombs and rainbow ball power-up combos are very effective against walls, clearing many sides at once. Paper planes and rockets on the other hand may only be able to clear one side of the wall. Not all walls need to be broken for each level with them to be finished. As long as you clear enough for pieces to be able to flow, you can leave the rest alone.

Suds

homescapes suds
Clean up those suds, you hear?

Suds are obstacles that can spread and eat up one piece for every move you make where you did not clear any of them up. They are also capable of eating obstacles. Clearing suds can be done by hitting them with power-ups or making matches next to them.

When dealing with suds, regardless of whether or not you’re required to clear all of them up, it is ideal to get rid of them as soon as possible. Rockets and Bombs and any power-up combos for them are your best bet.

5. Get More Lives, Moves and Boosters

getting more lives in homescapes
Oh no! I have to wait?!

Ending a level in defeat is frustrating, but what’s even more so is when you have no more lives left. Each life takes 24 minutes to regain which means you have to wait 2 hours to fully refill all 5 lives.

Of course, not everyone is willing to wait that long, especially when you’ve stumbled upon an especially challenging level. When that happens, you have two options: get 5 more lives or buy 5 more moves. Both cost 900 gold which is very costly, but what is the better option? It depends on the situation.

Buying Lives vs Buying Moves

homescapes lives vs moves
Which is better?

Buying moves is recommended only if you are a few moves away from completing the level or if you’re trying to beat a challenge like collecting a certain amount of paper planes. Never choose this option if there are still a lot of requirements you haven’t fulfilled because it will only give you 5 moves to complete it.

After failing to do so again, the game will offer you another 5 moves plus a power-up, but this time the cost will be 1,200 gold. The cost and power-ups may continue to rack up over time, so instead of spending so much on one level, you’re better off buying lives instead.

What’s better about buying lives over buying moves is the fact that you are more likely to finish the game in 5 tries than in 5 moves. If you complete it without using up all of your lives, you will also be able to continue playing on to the next level. If you’re on a particularly good streak, you might even have enough stars to tick off your tasks and finish the day which will grant you a special reward.

Finish a Day

finishing a day in homescapes
The best reward after a hard day’s work: more game time!

Finishing an in-game day typically grants you a booster and a special reward that gives you infinite lives for a limited amount of time. This usually lasts for 30 minutes, letting you play as often as you want or need to in order to beat the levels that are giving you a hard time. Since the reward is automatically applied once you end the day, we recommend holding onto the last task until you need it. You might even want to save it for the next time you play if you’re about to log off.

Collect Your Rewards

Aside from finishing tasks and ending a full game day, you could also check out other places to get infinite life rewards along with boosters for a better chance at finishing your levels.

homescapes season rewards
Get those season rewards while they’re here!

Season rewards, while limited, are usually very generous when it comes to granting infinite life rewards since theirs can last from 30 minutes up to 3 hours. Rewards found here do not need to be collected consecutively or immediately so you can hold onto them for a while until you need them. They also reward you with many Pre-Game and In-Game boosters which are sure to come in handy. Just remember that these rewards are also time-limited so be sure to collect them before the time runs out!

You can only claim the rewards at the bottom row for free. If you want the rewards in the top row, you will have to purchase a golden ticket with real money. We do not recommend purchasing it if you do not play often because you still need to earn season points to get all of these rewards.

homescapes adventure rewards
Don’t forget to claim your adventure rewards!

Unlike season rewards, any rewards you get from your adventure with Lao, infinite life rewards are a lot harder to get and are mostly unlocked later in the game once you’ve explored most of the map. It requires you to find collectibles and the time limit for these infinite life rewards ranges from 15 minutes to 1 hour which is a lot shorter than season awards. Other rewards include Pre-Game and In-Game boosters along with a special profile picture and exclusive decorations.

homescapes daily bonus
Get a gift everyday!

Daily Bonuses are unlocked at your 10th level. These can be collected once a day when you open the game. If you were unable to claim it, you can always click on the calendar in Austin’s bedroom to open up that window. There is no way to know what kind of reward you can get so be sure to check each day to find out!

Socialize!

There are many players of Homescapes all over the world and most of them, just like you, will encounter days where they desperately need lives to continue playing. Fortunately, the game lets you help each other out in two ways: signing in with Facebook and joining a team.

Having both friends on Facebook and a team separate from it can double the amount of help you can get. Even if your lives have reached their maximum limit, you can still collect lives from friends and teammates since they do not count towards your life count. They go to the “Use Free Lives” button that you can see when you lose a level and have no lives left.

Sign in with Facebook

homescapes facebook
Let your friends help you!

Connecting your game to a Facebook account will earn you 1000 coins. It also lets you have an easy way to give and request lives from Facebook friends who also play the game. However, this is not required if you just want a backup of your game.

Homescapes can be accessed from multiple devices through your Google Play or Apple Game Center accounts. Take note that you cannot play the game on more than one device at a time. Doing so will give you a prompt from the game asking you to exit on your other devices.

Join a Team

homescapes team
Join a team and help each other!

If you don’t use Facebook or have friends there who play the game, you can always just join a team. Once the option to join teams gets unlocked, there would be a list of open teams to choose from. Some teams may have level requirements so while they may have empty slots, they may not accept you.

Once you’ve gotten yourself into a team, you can send them messages or simply click the “Request” button to ask for lives in Chat. You can also respond to their requests by clicking on the Help button on their requests. We highly recommend choosing a team with many members as they are more likely to be active and help out when you request for lives.

Once you have a team, you’ll be able to participate in Team Events which may sometimes have infinite life rewards which can last for up to two hours. If you aren’t ready to use it yet, make sure not to claim it immediately but don’t take too long to get it!

If you would like to leave your current team, you can do so by clicking on the “My Team” tab > About > Leave.

If you decided to wait it out instead, why not check out side quest events?

6. Take a Break and Play Side Quests

homescapes atlantis
What treasures await us in our adventure?

The Atlantis Adventure side quest brings Austin and his friend Uncle Lao to a mysterious island in search of the treasures and secrets of Atlantis. Even though this is a time-limited event and may not be available to some players as it was launched as a test, we decided to include this as it is possible that the developers would make this or a similar event available again in the future.

The main objective of this side quest is to clear up obstacles on the island using the energy you earn from finishing levels. Regular levels reward you with 8 energy points, Hard levels with 9 energy points, and super hard levels with 12 energy points. Energy is also passively regained as time passes by. Each obstacle you clear and the treasures you collect require varying amounts of energy.

Clear Obstructions

homescapes clear obstructions
No obstacle is too big for our heroes!

In a few locations, you may find dynamite that you can blow up to easily clear away a bunch of objects that are in your way. However, these come with a cost of 1,500 coins. If you have the funds for it, it’s a good way to save on energy and get to the treasures quickly.

If not, you will have to play a lot of levels and clear them one by one with your energy. One practical way to go about it is to just clear the items that are directly in your way. Some items do not need to be cleared at all and can be ignored.

Search for Treasure

searching for treasure in homescapes
There’s something over there!

At the start of the game, the whole island is covered in thick white fog. You must clear foliage and debris to make a path for yourself, and as you do, parts of that fog will disperse. In order to speed up the progress in your quest, you can look up your list of tasks and click on the item to get the game to point to its location.

While the main objective of your quest usually asks you to find items to move forward, you should also spend some time to look around and see what treasures and resources you can collect:

Coins

homescapes coins
Money, money, money!

Bags and pots of coins can be found around the island. An easy way to spot them among the fog is to find areas that sparkle. These do not need energy to be harvested.

Energy

homescapes energy
Time to fill up that energy bar!

Energy can be collected from blueberry bushes around the island. Keep your eyes peeled as they may seem to blend in the background in certain areas!

Chests

homescapes chests
What’s inside the chest?

Chests in different colors can be found all over the island, with some having better rewards than others. These chests can easily be spotted among the fog as they have a bright light surrounding them. However, they also have many obstacles in their path which will cost you lots of gold for dynamite or lots of energy to clear one by one. These also need energy to be collected.

Collectibles

homescapes collectibles
Collect them all and win a prize!

Collectibles, like chests, are also surrounded by many obstructions. But, unlike chests, they do not glow and are a lot tougher to find. However, the rewards are great once you’ve completed a collection. Collect enough collectibles (even if they aren’t all in the same collection) and you will reach milestones that can earn you chests with great rewards! These require energy to be obtained.

homescapes leftover energy
A bonus for all your hard work!

At the end of the event, your leftover energy will be converted into bonuses so your efforts to collect them will not go to waste if you weren’t able to use them. If you missed these types of events, you could always try out Austin’s mini-games!

7. Always Play the Mini-Games

Austin will occasionally invite you to play a mini-game with him. There is always an option to skip it but we highly recommend that you play them since they only take a couple of minutes to finish and you will get rewarded a few coins and a star for it.

If you don’t get them right the first time (or at least get enough points right to succeed), they will let you redo them. These mini-games change every time and are random, but here are a few we have encountered to give you an idea of how they play:

Fix the Room

fixing the room in homescapes
Girl, what did you do to your bathroom?!

In this mini-game, you are tasked with fixing a room. You have to click on the parts that need fixing which will lead to options that you need to correctly choose from to complete the task. The game is pretty straightforward and as long as you pick choices that go together (ex: a wrench for the pipes), you’ll clear the game with flying colors.

Pull the Key

pulling the key in homescapes
Austin, why do you have gasoline in your kitchen?!

In this mini-game, you have to pull the keys in the correct order to avoid endangering the person and help them with their problem. You should always stop and assess the situation first before pulling those keys. One wrong move could make you fail the game.

Rotate the Maze

rotating the maze in homescapes
Katherine, I have many questions.

In this mini-game, you have to rotate the circular maze until the contents inside fall out and into the jar, the woman is holding. It’s okay if a few of those contents end up not reaching the jar as long as most of them do.

Dress her up

homescapes dress up
I didn’t realize Austin was also a fashion expert!

In this mini-game, you have to help a girl get a makeover. While some may think that black and white hair would definitely look amazing, to get the best results, choose options that seem safe or normal looking. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get a perfect score. As long as you get a high enough score, you will be granted your reward.

We’ve also encountered mini-games other than these but they mostly had the same theme. Speaking of themes, while you wait for your life to fill up, you might also want to change the themes of your designs!

8. Change Your Design Choices

homescapes choices
I’m not too sure about those choices, Austin.

One of the most notable aspects of Homescapes is its house-designing mechanic. As you go through the story, you’ll be asked to choose a design among three options. Since you don’t know what kind of design or furniture choices you will be given in the future, you might end up picking out options that don’t go well together.

Alternatively, you might also realize that you want to go with a different theme for a certain room. By pressing and holding a piece of furniture, wall, or floor that you’ve already replaced, you will be able to change it. Take note that the choices offered to you will still be the three options from the first time.

homescapes outro
Thanks for reading!

And this marks the end of our guide to Homescapes! We hope that our discoveries upon playing the game aids you in your quest to restore Austin’s childhood home and save it from being sold! The game has a lot to offer and our guide has barely scratched the surface of what it has in store in later levels! Have you learned any tips and tricks that we were not able to cover in this article? We’d love to hear about it! Let us, and other fellow Homescapes fanatics, know by writing them in the comments below!

Nicole

Sunday 31st of December 2023

My house went into a dark view and I can't figure out out to get the lights back on. Please help

Jon

Saturday 20th of May 2023

One hint I can provide: If you start the level with a bomb and a rainbow ball (or rainbow ball and paper plane) being placed randomly on the board away from each other, without moving, you can quit the level and restart it to see if it will place the two items side by side. If not, repeat the process until it does. Yes, this might get frustrating doing this multiple times, but for difficult and very hard levels, this is one way to beat it without having to spend coins to get extra moves.

Leonie

Thursday 11th of August 2022

Having TROUBLE getting out of game 1426. Not enough time to get the donuts down.

abigail mukunga

Saturday 2nd of April 2022

I love the game so much it will keep me glued when am free from work

Arit Samuel

Tuesday 25th of January 2022

I love this game, it's help to build your brain capacity.