Homescapes (iOS) Guide: 6 Tips, Cheats & Tricks Every Player Should Know

After the resounding success of Gardenscapes, Playrix Games is back with a promising sequel! Homescapes, like its predecessor, is a match three puzzle game for iOS and Android devices. This time around, you will be helping your butler, Austin, in his quest to save his childhood home. His parents are thinking of selling the house but if you can bring it back to its former glory, they might reconsider. Much like the previous game from Playrix, you will need to complete puzzles in order to renovate each part of the house. The game now offers even more options for customization so you will be able to let your inner interior decorator shine through! Meet all the interesting characters in Austin’s life, including his pet cat. There are also a few new tweaks on how you play the game so make sure you read our Homescapes strategy guide to learn everything you need to know!

1. You Can Skip The Renovations

If you are playing the game just for the puzzles, you can feel free to just skip the whole renovating part. If you don’t do any of the things Austin asks, it will not trigger events but you can still continue progressing through the stages. Keep in mind that you will not be able to go back to earlier puzzles to replay them. You could also just collect as many stars as you can and renovate the entire house in one go. It is entirely up to you but you would be missing out on a lot of fun if you decide to skip renovations altogether.

2. Know Your Power Ups

As with any match three puzzle game, combining four or more tiles will create a power up. The type of power up you create depends on the number of tiles you combined. You need to know what each type does so that you can use them strategically in completing a puzzle. We have listed them all below so you can have an idea on when to use them.

Rocket

This is created by combining four tiles. It clears out an entire line of tiles when used. Whether it clears horizontally or vertically depends on how it was created. If it is created using a column of tiles, it will clear horizontally. If it is created using a row of tiles, it will clear vertically. Keep this in mind when creating rockets.

Bomb

You need to match five tiles in an L shape in order to create a bomb. Using a bomb will clear all the tiles within a two-square radius. Be careful when using it near the edge of the board because you won’t be able to maximize its clearing power.

Paper Plane

The paper plane is a unique type of power up that is rarely seen in other match three games. It is created by matching four tiles in a square. Upon using it, it will clear four tiles in a cross pattern. After that, it will fly to a single tile and clear that as well. It may seem inefficient but it can be a lifesaver when used correctly. A lot of times you will encounter puzzles that require you to clear specific tiles. At first it would be easy to clear the tiles but as you come closer to completing the puzzle, you will have stray tiles that are difficult to match. That is where the paper plane will come in handy. Make sure you use it in later parts of the puzzle in order to maximize its unique potential.

Rainbow Ball

This is created by combining five tiles in a row or column. When swapped with a tile, it will clear all instances of that tile on the board. This may be the most difficult to create but it is also the most useful when it comes clearing a lot of tiles. Not only will you be able to remove all instances of a specific tile, doing so has the potential to trigger a lot of subsequent matches due to the number of tiles that will disappear from the board.
Aside from using these power ups individually, you should also try to use them together as much as you can for even better effects. Combining a paper plane with a rocket or a bomb will have the plane carry the explosive to its final destination. This allows you to set off the explosive at a different location. Combining any power up with the rainbow ball will transform numerous tiles on the board then set them all off. This is a powerful combination that can potentially clear the entire board in a single move.

3. Focus On Your Goals

Every level you play has a set of conditions for completion. When completing a puzzle, make sure you don’t stray too far because you might run out of moves before you are able to meet the goals. The combos you create won’t matter if you end up failing the level anyway. Most of the time it will involve clearing certain tiles from the board. Other conditions include collecting certain items. Sometimes, you may need to do something in order to achieve a goal. For example, you may need to clear jelly from the board before you can gain access to cherries.

In later stages, the conditions for victory may be combined. For example, you may be asked to collect cherries and remove boxes from the board. Focus on removing the boxes because doing so will most likely help you snag a few cherries along the way. Think about the conditions and see which ones need to be prioritized. As a general rule, any condition that requires clearing certain tiles from the board is a good place to start.

4. Learn How Special Tiles Work

As you progress in Homescapes, you will encounter several special tiles that behave differently. You need to know how they work because the goal of the level will most likely be tied to them. Listed below are some of the common types of special tiles that you will encounter in the game.

Carpet

Stages that has this tile will most likely require you to spread the carpet across the board. You can do this by matching tiles with ones that already have a carpet underneath. Keep in mind that when you make a match, there has to be at least one tile that has a carpet in order for it to spread. Otherwise you will just waste a move because nothing will happen.

Box

Boxes are cleared by matching tiles beside them. They cannot be swapped with other tiles but they will allow power ups to pass through them. Using a power up beside a box, however, will not clear the box.

Cookie

Cookies, like boxes, are cleared when you match tiles beside them. Unlike boxes, cookies can be swapped with other tiles in order to create a match. Power ups can also be used to clear cookies. Unfortunately, they do not let power ups pass through them. That means when you use a rocket beside a cookie, it will destroy the cookie but will not continue on to clear the rest of the row or column.

5. How To Renovate The House

Once you have enough stars, you can start working on renovating Austin’s house. You won’t be able to choose just any room in the house for renovation. You will have to follow the quests Austin gives you. Just tap on the checkmark menu to open your list of tasks. The tasks require different numbers of stars in order to accomplish. Pick the one you want to do and you will be able to watch a scene unfold involving the characters of the game. After the story elements are done, you will be asked to choose the designs you want for specific parts of the home.

Renovations are divided into days. Once you complete a set of renovations for the house, you can end that day and receive bonus coins or power ups. Keep in mind that, unlike in Gardenscapes, completing a day in this game will not recover your stamina so you can just keep progressing with the renovations. Don’t worry because you can always go back to previous renovations if you want to change their designs again.

6. Use Your Boosters

Aside from the power ups that you create in Homescapes, you can also take boosters with you. Boosters are normally earned as rewards but they are difficult to acquire so it is best if you use them only when you are really stuck in a specific stage. Using these strategically will allow you to keep progressing through the levels.

The first booster that you will unlock is the Hammer. It can be unlocked at level 8 and it removes a single block from the board. The bomb and rocket booster, which is unlocked at level 14, places a random bomb and rocket on the board at the beginning of a stage. At level 16, you will be able to unlock the rainbow ball booster which places a rainbow ball randomly on the board. Lastly, you can unlock the paper plane booster at Level 20 and it places a random paper plane on the board in the beginning of the stage.

Saving Austin’s childhood house can be a daunting task, but with the help of our Homescapes strategy guide, you’ll be transforming his home in no time!