Stellar Race in Gardenscapes: How the New Competitive Event Works

Stellar Race event interface in Gardenscapes showing a space-themed reward path with telescopes, gift boxes, and progression milestones.

Stellar Race is a competitive Gardenscapes event built around collecting Telescopes through regular level progression. Unlike events that use exploration energy, temporary maps, or a separate game mode, Stellar Race is directly connected to what players already do every day: beat levels.

The event rewards both progress and efficiency. Winning a level grants Telescopes, while finishing with moves left over provides additional progress. As a result, how efficiently a player completes a level can matter almost as much as the number of levels won.

Because every unused move adds to the total, many of the habits associated with how experienced players approach Gardenscapes levels become especially useful during Stellar Race.

How Stellar Race Works

The in-game instructions explain the event in three steps:

Beat levels and collect Telescopes.
Earn Telescopes before the other players.
Win placement rewards and advance to the next stage.

The current documented version of Stellar Race consists of 12 stages, identified in the game as Stellar Race I through Stellar Race XII. After completing a stage, the player receives the reward associated with their finishing position and moves on to the next stage.

The game also states that players must complete all rounds to receive the Main Reward. This means that the individual stage rewards and the Main Reward are separate parts of the event.

How Telescopes Are Collected

The Telescope system is clearly explained on the event's introductory screen:

Every level you beat awards 10 Telescopes.
Every move left over after a successful level awards 1 additional Telescope.

For example, completing a level with five moves remaining awards 15 Telescopes: 10 for beating the level and another five for the unused moves.

This means that two players can complete the same number of levels and still make very different amounts of progress. A player who regularly finishes with several moves to spare can reach the stage target much faster than someone who completes every level on the final move.

Placement Rewards in Each Stage

Every stage displays separate rewards for first, second, and third place.

The reward display follows a consistent pattern:

First place receives all three rewards shown.
Second place receives the first and third rewards shown.
Third place receives only the third reward shown.

The rewards include Coins, Energy, Card Packs, Unlimited Lives, Unlimited Rainbow Blast time, boosters, and right-side tools such as the Shovel, Desk Fan, Kettlebell, and Dart.

Stellar Race I

Stellar Race I requires 230 Telescopes.

First Place: 25 Energy, 20 Energy, and 1 Bomb Booster.
Second Place: 25 Energy and 1 Bomb Booster.
Third Place: 1 Bomb Booster.

Stellar Race II

Stellar Race II requires 280 Telescopes.

First Place: 30 Coins, 25 Coins, and 20 Coins.
Second Place: 30 Coins and 25 Coins.
Third Place: 30 Coins.

Stellar Race III

Stellar Race III requires 370 Telescopes.

First Place: 2 Card Packs, 10 minutes of Unlimited Lives, and 5 minutes of Unlimited Lives.
Second Place: 2 Card Packs and 10 minutes of Unlimited Lives.
Third Place: 2 Card Packs.

Stellar Race IV

Stellar Race IV requires 465 Telescopes.

First Place: 30 Energy, 25 Energy, and 1 Shovel.
Second Place: 30 Energy and 1 Shovel.
Third Place: 1 Shovel.

Stellar Race V

Stellar Race V also requires 465 Telescopes.

First Place: 40 Coins, 30 Coins, and 1 Rainbow Blast.
Second Place: 40 Coins and 1 Rainbow Blast.
Third Place: 1 Rainbow Blast.

The First Checkpoint Reward

After the first section of the event, Stellar Race presents a checkpoint screen and asks the player whether they are ready for a bigger challenge.

The documented reward at this checkpoint contains:

1 Card Pack.
200 Coins.

After collecting this reward, the player can press Start and continue into the next section of the event.

Stellar Race VI

Stellar Race VI requires 465 Telescopes.

First Place: 40 Energy, 35 Energy, and 1 Desk Fan.
Second Place: 40 Energy and 1 Desk Fan.
Third Place: 1 Desk Fan.

Stellar Race VII

Stellar Race VII raises the target to 605 Telescopes.

First Place: 10 minutes of Unlimited Lives, 5 minutes of Unlimited Lives, and 50 Coins.
Second Place: 10 minutes of Unlimited Lives and 50 Coins.
Third Place: 50 Coins.

Stellar Race VIII

Stellar Race VIII requires 605 Telescopes.

First Place: 50 Energy, 30 Coins, and 25 Coins.
Second Place: 50 Energy and 30 Coins.
Third Place: 50 Energy.

The Second Checkpoint Reward

A second checkpoint appears before the final group of stages. The documented reward at this point contains:

1 Card Pack.
1 Shovel.
1 Desk Fan.

The checkpoint message again asks whether the player is ready for a bigger challenge, signaling that the remaining stages have higher Telescope requirements.

Stellar Race IX

Stellar Race IX requires 605 Telescopes.

First Place: 45 Energy, 40 Energy, and 1 Kettlebell.
Second Place: 45 Energy and 1 Kettlebell.
Third Place: 1 Kettlebell.

Stellar Race X

Stellar Race X requires 745 Telescopes.

First Place: 10 minutes of Unlimited Lives, 5 minutes of Unlimited Lives, and 1 Dart.
Second Place: 10 minutes of Unlimited Lives and 1 Dart.
Third Place: 1 Dart.

Stellar Race XI

Stellar Race XI also requires 745 Telescopes.

First Place: 50 Coins, 40 Coins, and 5 minutes of Unlimited Rainbow Blast.
Second Place: 50 Coins and 5 minutes of Unlimited Rainbow Blast.
Third Place: 5 minutes of Unlimited Rainbow Blast.

Stellar Race XII

Stellar Race XII requires 930 Telescopes, making it the largest individual stage in the documented event.

First Place: 50 Energy, 40 Energy, and 1 Dynamite.
Second Place: 50 Energy and 1 Dynamite.
Third Place: 1 Dynamite.

Complete Telescope Requirements

The 12 documented Stellar Race stages require a combined total of 6,510 Telescopes.

Stellar Race I: 230 Telescopes.
Stellar Race II: 280 Telescopes.
Stellar Race III: 370 Telescopes.
Stellar Race IV: 465 Telescopes.
Stellar Race V: 465 Telescopes.
Stellar Race VI: 465 Telescopes.
Stellar Race VII: 605 Telescopes.
Stellar Race VIII: 605 Telescopes.
Stellar Race IX: 605 Telescopes.
Stellar Race X: 745 Telescopes.
Stellar Race XI: 745 Telescopes.
Stellar Race XII: 930 Telescopes.

The event begins with smaller targets, but the requirements rise significantly in the later stages. Stellar Race X, XI, and XII alone require a combined total of 2,420 Telescopes.

How Many Level Wins Are Needed?

If a player earned only the basic 10 Telescopes from each victory and never finished with any moves remaining, collecting 6,510 Telescopes would require 651 level wins.

The number of required victories falls when leftover moves are included:

At an average of 10 Telescopes per victory, 651 wins are required.
At an average of 15 Telescopes per victory, approximately 434 wins are required.
At an average of 20 Telescopes per victory, approximately 326 wins are required.
At an average of 25 Telescopes per victory, approximately 261 wins are required.

These figures are estimates rather than fixed requirements. The exact number of levels depends on how many moves remain after each successful attempt.

Why Leftover Moves Matter So Much

A few extra Telescopes may not seem important after one level, but the difference becomes substantial across an event requiring 6,510 Telescopes.

A player averaging five leftover moves earns 15 Telescopes from each victory. That is 50 percent more progress than a player who regularly wins with no moves remaining.

Large cascades and power-up combinations can help complete objectives before every available move has been used. This is why chain reactions that preserve moves can directly increase Stellar Race progress.

However, saving moves should never become more important than securing the victory. Finishing with one or two fewer moves is still better than losing the level while trying to create a larger combination.

The Stellar Race Main Reward

The introductory screen states that players must complete all rounds to receive the Main Reward.

The documented Main Reward contains:

1 Card Pack.
500 Coins.
1 Rainbow Blast.
1 Dart.
1 Kettlebell.

This package is separate from the placement prizes earned during the individual stages and from the rewards collected at the two checkpoints.

What the Final Results Screen Shows

When the event ends, Stellar Race displays a summary of the player's finishing position in every stage.

Each small chest represents the result from one stage:

A gold chest marked with 1 represents first place.
A silver chest marked with 2 represents second place.
A bronze chest marked with 3 represents third place.

This screen allows the player to review their performance across all 12 documented stages instead of showing only the result of Stellar Race XII.

Who Has the Biggest Advantage?

Stellar Race favors active players who can complete many levels while the event is running. Someone progressing through manageable levels can continue collecting Telescopes without long interruptions.

Players who become stuck on difficult or Super Hard levels may fall behind because unsuccessful attempts do not provide the 10-Telescope victory reward or any leftover-move bonus.

Efficiency also creates a clear advantage. Two players may win the same number of levels, but the player who consistently finishes with more moves remaining can reach the target significantly sooner.

Should You Spend Coins and Boosters?

The competitive structure can create pressure to keep playing, especially when another player is close to reaching the Telescope target. However, winning a placement reward does not automatically make heavy spending worthwhile.

Before purchasing extra moves or using several valuable tools, compare the cost with the reward offered for your current position. Spending hundreds or thousands of Coins to win a small amount of Energy, a limited number of Coins, or one tool can leave you with fewer resources than you had before entering the race.

Using a free booster streak or an already active timed reward can be a good opportunity to push ahead. Repeatedly purchasing extra moves simply to protect a temporary position is much harder to justify.

The same judgment applies when deciding when to keep pushing and when to conserve resources during Stellar Race.

Is Stellar Race Easy or Difficult?

The rules are easy to understand, but completing the entire event is demanding. A total requirement of 6,510 Telescopes represents a substantial amount of normal level progression.

The opening stages may feel manageable because their targets range from 230 to 370 Telescopes. From Stellar Race IV onward, the requirements become noticeably larger, and the final stage alone requires 930 Telescopes.

For highly active players, Stellar Race may feel like a natural extension of normal gameplay. For casual players or anyone stuck on difficult levels, completing every stage may require more time and resources than the rewards are worth.

What Stellar Race Adds to Gardenscapes

Stellar Race adds competition without taking players away from the main match-3 game. There is no separate board to learn and no exploration map to complete. Progress comes directly from ordinary level victories.

Its most distinctive feature is the connection between unused moves and event progress. The event does not reward level completion alone. It also gives players a reason to finish levels as efficiently as possible.

At the same time, this structure adds more pressure to regular progression. Becoming stuck on a difficult level does not only delay progress through the main game; it can also cause the player to fall behind in the current Stellar Race stage.

Stellar Race Strategy Tips

Play longer sessions while useful timed boosters are active.
Use large power-up combinations when they can finish a level early.
Preserve moves when possible, but do not put a likely victory at risk.
Check the Telescope target and placement rewards before spending Coins.
Take advantage of booster streaks that are already active.
Avoid repeatedly purchasing extra moves for a prize worth less than the resources spent.
Expect the later stages to take much longer than the opening rounds.
Collect checkpoint rewards before starting the next section of the event.

Conclusion

Stellar Race is a multi-stage Gardenscapes competition centered on level victories, Telescopes, and leftover moves. Every completed level awards 10 Telescopes, while each unused move adds one more.

The current documented version contains 12 stages, from Stellar Race I through Stellar Race XII. Their targets begin at 230 Telescopes and rise to 930, requiring a combined total of 6,510 Telescopes.

Each stage offers separate rewards for first, second, and third place. The event also includes two checkpoint rewards and a separate Main Reward for completing all rounds.

Players who consistently win with moves to spare can progress considerably faster. Even so, the later stages require a large number of victories, so players should compare the value of the available rewards with the Coins, boosters, tools, time, and effort needed to earn them.

Sources

Stellar Race: Stages 1-5 + first "checkpoint"

Stellar Race: Stages 6-12 + 2nd "checkpoint" & final prize

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