Barrel with the Firecracker - New Element in Gardenscapes: How It Works

Five characters pose on blue Barrel with the Firecracker elements at a construction site: one gives a thumbs-up, one points upward, one jumps, one covers her eyes, and one covers his ears.

Learn how the Barrel with the Firecracker works in Gardenscapes, how many hits it takes, its 3×3 blast range, and the best way to clear it.

The Barrel with the Firecracker is a new Gardenscapes element that works as both an obstacle and a built-in explosive. It takes five hits to clear, and the fifth hit releases a Firecracker that detonates immediately, clearing the area around it.

The element was first spotted by endgame players in August 2026. It had not yet been rolled out to everyone, although Playrix had already published an official explanation of how it works. The video below shows the Barrel with the Firecracker in an actual level, making it possible to examine its stages, final explosion, and exact area of effect.

The final blast can also trigger nearby power-ups and set off a larger chain reaction. To understand the numbers that appear during these activations, it helps to know how Gardenscapes actually counts combos.

What Is the Barrel with the Firecracker?

The Barrel with the Firecracker is a stationary Match-3 element that occupies one tile and blocks that space until all five of its stages have been cleared.

In the video, the barrels also appear in the level’s objective counter. They are not simply obstacles that take up valuable space on the board. The player must clear the required number of barrels to complete the level.

What sets this element apart is what happens after the final hit. Instead of simply disappearing, the barrel releases a Firecracker that immediately explodes and helps clear the surrounding area.

How Many Hits Does It Take?

The Barrel with the Firecracker takes a total of five hits to clear. You can hit it by making matches directly beside it or by using power-ups and boosters whose effects reach the barrel.

First hit: removes the first stage.
Second hit: removes the second stage.
Third hit: removes the third stage.
Fourth hit: leaves the barrel at its final stage.
Fifth hit: opens the barrel and releases the Firecracker.

The hits do not have to be consecutive. The barrel keeps its progress even if you make your next move somewhere else on the board.

Does It Always Take Five Moves?

If you rely only on regular matches made beside the barrel, it will normally take five separate moves. However, five hits do not always mean five moves.

A single move can trigger several power-ups as part of a chain reaction. If separate explosions reach the barrel one after another, each activation can remove another stage. This makes it possible to clear the barrel in fewer than five moves.

One large explosion, however, will not remove all five stages at once. No matter how large its blast radius is, a single power-up activation that reaches the barrel counts as only one hit.

Which Matches Can Hit the Barrel?

A regular match must be made on a tile directly next to the barrel. Matches can hit it from above, below, left, or right. A match made only diagonally from the barrel will not affect it.

Power-ups can hit it from farther away as long as the barrel is within their blast radius. Simply creating a power-up nearby is not enough. The power-up must be activated, and its effect must reach the barrel.

A well-placed match or explosion can hit several barrels at the same time. This is the most efficient approach because one move can remove a stage from two or more Barrels with the Firecracker.

What Happens on the Fifth Hit?

When the barrel takes its fifth hit, it opens and releases a Firecracker. The Firecracker does not remain on the board for the player to activate later. It detonates automatically without using another move.

This makes the timing of the fifth hit important. It does more than remove the barrel from the objective counter. It also creates an extra blast that can clear regular pieces, remove one layer from nearby obstacles, and hit other barrels.

How Many Tiles Does the Firecracker Hit?

The Firecracker explodes across a 3×3-tile area, covering nine positions on the grid:

the center tile previously occupied by the barrel,
the four tiles directly above, below, left, and right,
the four diagonal tiles surrounding the center.

There are two correct ways to describe its range, depending on what is being counted. The full blast area covers nine tiles, but the center tile is the barrel’s own position. In practical terms, the explosion can hit up to eight neighboring tiles around the barrel.

Measurement	Number of Tiles	What It Includes
Full blast area	9	The center tile and all eight surrounding tiles
Neighboring tiles it can hit	Up to 8	Four directly adjacent tiles and four diagonal tiles

If the barrel is positioned along the edge of the board or next to an empty section of the grid, fewer active tiles will fall within the blast area. Its range is still 3×3, but part of that area may extend beyond the playable board.

Barrel with the Firecracker Gameplay

The video below shows the barrel’s different stages, the hits it takes, and the Firecracker’s automatic explosion. One of the clearest examples can be seen at approximately 46–48 seconds.

What Can the Final Explosion Hit?

The Firecracker’s blast can clear regular pieces within its 3×3 area and deal one hit to obstacles inside that area. If a nearby obstacle has multiple layers, the explosion will normally remove one layer.

It can also hit other Barrels with the Firecracker around it. Clearing one barrel can therefore remove a stage from nearby barrels and make it much easier to clear an entire cluster.

If another power-up is inside the nine-tile blast area, the Firecracker can activate it. That power-up then creates its own effect, potentially reaching additional barrels or other level objectives. The same basic principle applies to larger explosive power-ups such as TNT, although they cover a much wider area.

The Best Strategy

Hit Multiple Barrels with One Move

When two or more barrels are close together, look for a match that touches more than one of them. One move can then remove a stage from each barrel instead of forcing you to spend separate moves on them.

Create Power-Ups Near Barrel Clusters

Power-ups are especially valuable when several barrels are grouped together. One explosion can hit multiple barrels, while a chain reaction may remove several stages during the same move.

Time the Fifth Hit Carefully

When possible, land the fifth hit while there are still useful targets around the barrel. If all eight neighboring tiles have already been cleared, much of the final blast will be wasted.

A fifth hit beside other barrels, multilayered obstacles, or power-ups can completely change the board. The goal is not just to clear the barrel as quickly as possible, but to get the most value from the Firecracker it releases.

Do Not Waste Every Move on an Isolated Barrel

An isolated Barrel with the Firecracker may take several local moves to clear without helping with the level’s other objectives. Before focusing all your attention on it, check whether you can create a power-up or open up more space in that part of the board.

Why Does This Element Have Two Roles?

At first, the barrel is purely an obstacle. It takes up space, prevents pieces from falling into its tile, and takes five hits to clear. Once it opens, however, it becomes useful by releasing a Firecracker that helps the player clear nearby pieces and obstacles.

This creates a different kind of strategy from the one used for ordinary multilayered obstacles. The goal is not simply to remove the element. You also need to make the most of its final explosion.

Gardenscapes includes other elements that release useful objects, but the Barrel with the Firecracker is especially predictable: its fifth hit always triggers a localized explosion around the barrel’s position.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Hits Does the Barrel with the Firecracker Take?

It takes exactly five hits to clear.

Does It Always Take Five Moves?

With regular adjacent matches, it normally takes five moves. However, separate explosions within the same chain reaction can remove several stages during a single move.

Do the Hits Need to Be Consecutive?

No. The barrel keeps its progress even if you make other moves between hits.

Does the Firecracker Remain on the Board?

No. It detonates automatically as soon as the barrel opens.

Does the Firecracker Fly Toward a Distant Target?

No. It explodes in the barrel’s original position and affects only the surrounding 3×3 area.

Does It Hit Eight or Nine Tiles?

The full 3×3 blast area contains nine positions. Because the barrel occupies the center position, the explosion can hit up to eight additional neighboring tiles.

Can It Hit Obstacles Diagonally?

Yes. The final explosion reaches all four diagonal tiles around the center.

Has It Appeared for Every Player?

No. As of August 2026, it had appeared for some endgame players but had not yet been rolled out across all player accounts.

Conclusion

The Barrel with the Firecracker takes five hits to clear, but the fifth hit does more than remove the element. It releases a Firecracker that detonates automatically across a 3×3 area. That means a total blast area of nine grid positions, including up to eight neighboring tiles around the barrel.

The best strategy is to hit multiple barrels at once, use power-ups near barrel clusters, and land the fifth hit while useful targets are still within range. With the right setup, clearing a single barrel can trigger a much larger chain reaction.