Discover the 10 classic Gardenscapes elements introduced in the first 100 levels. Learn how Gnomes, Grass, Boxes, Lemonade, Chains, Acorns, Stream, Ice, Flowers, and Soil work, why they matter, and how mastering them will improve your strategy in later levels.
During the first 100 levels of Gardenscapes, players encounter ten core elements that form the foundation of the game's Match-3 mechanics: Gnomes, Grass, Boxes, Lemonade, Chain, Acorns, Stream, Ice, Flowers, and Soil. This order is not random. It reflects how new players are gradually introduced to different gameplay mechanics, starting with simple hidden objectives and progressing to moving board mechanics and multi-layered obstacles.
These elements are more than just part of the game's history. Although Gardenscapes now features more than 100 different Match-3 elements, with new elements being added from time to time, these original ten still appear regularly, even in the latest weekly levels. They represent the game's core "language" and are constantly combined with newer, more advanced mechanics.
This article explains what each element is, how it is cleared or collected, the role it plays in level design, and the most common mistake new players make when they first encounter it.
The Order in Which the 10 Classic Elements Appear
| Order | Element | First Known Appearance | Primary Mechanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gnomes | Level 6 | Hidden objective |
| 2 | Grass | Level 7 | Tile coverage |
| 3 | Boxes | Level 9 | Static obstacle |
| 4 | Lemonade | Level 11 | Drop-down objective |
| 5 | Chain | Level 18 | Locks a piece |
| 6 | Acorns | Level 26 | Obstacle and objective |
| 7 | Stream | Level 31 | Moving path |
| 8 | Ice | Level 41 | Freezes an element |
| 9 | Flowers | Level 51 | Objective generator |
| 10 | Soil | Within the first 100 levels | Covers and hides tiles |
1. Gnomes – The Hidden Gnomes
Gnomes are the first true hidden objective that new players encounter. They do not appear as regular objects on the board. Instead, they are hidden beneath the pieces and occupy a specific pattern of tiles.
A single Gnome can cover anywhere from two to twenty-four tiles. This means that not all Gnomes have the same size or shape. Some are small and are uncovered quickly, while others stretch across a large portion of the board.
How to Collect Gnomes
To collect a Gnome, you must make matches or activate power-ups on every tile that covers its body. Revealing only most of it is not enough. If even a single tile remains covered, the Gnome is not considered complete. As soon as the final tile is uncovered, the Gnome automatically leaves the level.
Bombs and powerful explosions are especially effective because they can clear a large area at once.
What Is Their Role?
Gnomes teach players to think in terms of board coverage rather than individual pieces. You need to recognize the hidden shape and predict where it most likely continues beneath the visible board.
They are also one of the first elements that demonstrate how a large power-up can be far more valuable than making several small matches. The goal is not simply to remove colored pieces, but to uncover the entire hidden area.
2. Grass – Grass Tiles
Grass is a layer that covers certain tiles on the board. It does not move and is not a regular colored piece. Its purpose is to cover the board's surface and, in many levels, to hide Gnomes or other objectives underneath.
How to Clear Grass
Grass is removed by making a match on an adjacent tile or by activating a power-up next to it. The Rainbow Blast can also remove Grass when it clears pieces located on neighboring tiles.
Grass can have multiple layers. When flowers are growing on top of it, additional matches or more explosions are required to remove it completely.
What Is Its Role?
Grass creates an area-based objective. It forces players to make moves near specific tiles instead of anywhere on the board. When it covers a large section, the level becomes an exercise in efficient move management.
It is often combined with Gnomes. In those cases, a single move can cut the Grass while also revealing part of the hidden Gnome. This is a simple but important example of a move that advances two objectives at the same time.
3. Boxes – The Wooden Crates
Boxes are stationary obstacles that occupy space on the board. They can block regular pieces, power-ups, other obstacles, or even empty tiles.
They are one of the most common tools used in level design to restrict the playable area at the beginning of a level. When many Boxes are present, players have fewer possible moves and fewer opportunities to create power-ups.
How to Destroy Boxes
Boxes are destroyed by making matches or triggering power-up explosions next to them. Basic Boxes require fewer hits, while reinforced Boxes with additional wooden layers must be hit repeatedly.
Each hit removes one protective layer. The more reinforced a Box is, the more times it must be hit before it disappears completely.
What Is Their Role?
The primary role of Boxes is to limit the active playing area. At the start of a level, they can create isolated sections, narrow passageways, or enclosed spaces where new pieces cannot fall.
Destroying them is not always the level's final objective, but it is often necessary before the board can function properly. As more space opens up, the chances of natural cascades and larger power-up combinations increase significantly.
Common Mistake Made by New Players
New players often ignore Boxes because they usually do not appear in the objective icon. However, a Box may be blocking a Lemonade glass from dropping, restricting a flowerbed, or preventing access to hidden Gnomes. As a result, destroying it may be essential even though it does not count directly toward the objective.
4. Lemonade – Lemonade Glasses
Lemonade is a classic drop-down objective. The glass must not be destroyed. Instead, it has to be guided to the bottom of the board and reach one of the exit points marked by the white arrows.
How to Collect Lemonade
The player clears the pieces and obstacles beneath the glass so the Lemonade can fall toward the exit. The glass can also swap places with an adjacent piece, provided the swap creates a valid match or activates a power-up.
Once the glass reaches the correct exit point, it leaves the board and counts toward the level objective.
Modern levels also feature trays that hold between one and four Lemonade glasses. Before the glasses can be released from the tray, the tray must first be hit three times by making adjacent matches or triggering power-up explosions.
What Is Its Role?
Lemonade teaches players the importance of vertical paths and gravity. Making random matches around the board is not enough. The path directly beneath the glass must be opened so it can reach the exit.
The challenge increases when the exit is located in a narrow column, when Boxes or Chains block the route, or when the Lemonade must first move into a different column before it can begin falling.
Common Mistake Made by New Players
Many players clear pieces around the glass but not directly beneath it. Another common mistake is failing to check where the white arrows are located and trying to drop the Lemonade into a column that has no exit.
5. Chain – Chains
Chains lock a piece or another element in place. The trapped piece cannot be moved until the Chain is broken.
Chains can be single, double, or triple. Their appearance indicates how many layers must be removed before the trapped object is released.
How to Break Chains
A Chain is broken when the locked piece is included in a match or is hit by a power-up. A single Chain requires less effort to remove, while double and triple Chains require additional hits.
The key difference between Chains and Boxes is that a Chain does not occupy its own tile. Instead, it sits on top of a piece. The locked piece remains visible and can still be included in a match, but it cannot be moved freely.
What Is Their Role?
Chains reduce the board's mobility without completely removing colored pieces. They create fixed positions around which players must plan their matches.
They are often used to lock important pieces, power-ups, or key points along an objective's path. In more difficult levels, they can severely limit the player's opening moves.
Common Mistake Made by New Players
New players often keep trying to drag a locked piece. The correct approach is to first include it in a match or hit it with a power-up to break the Chain.
6. Acorns – Acorns
Acorns can appear as an obstacle, an objective, or both at the same time. They do not participate in regular Match-3 combinations with colored pieces.
How to Collect Acorns
Acorns are collected by making a match or triggering a power-up explosion next to them. Some are covered with leaves and require additional hits before they are completely removed.
There is also a particularly powerful interaction with the Rainbow Blast. When an Acorn can be swapped with a Rainbow Blast, every Acorn on the board is removed at the same time.
What Is Their Role?
Acorns teach players how to deal with objectives that are cleared from adjacent tiles. Since they cannot be included in a regular Match-3 combination, every move must either be made directly beside them or affect them through an explosion.
When grouped together, they encourage the use of Bombs and power-up combinations. When placed in corners, they become more of an access problem than a durability challenge. Managing them efficiently is part of thinking strategically before every move, rather than simply making the first available match.
7. Stream – The Stream and Lily Pads
Stream is one of the first mechanics that changes the position of pieces after every move. It consists of flowing water and moving Lily Pads that can carry pieces across the board.
Pieces cannot rest directly on the water. They can only sit on the Lily Pads, which always follow a predetermined path.
Can the Stream Be Destroyed?
The Stream cannot be destroyed or collected. It is a permanent part of the board's layout. Players must use its movement to their advantage and predict where the pieces will be carried next.
When a match is made using pieces that are on Lily Pads, the Lily Pads move after the new pieces have fallen. When the match is made elsewhere on the board, the Lily Pads move before the new pieces fall.
What Is Its Role?
The Stream introduces the concept of a moving board. A setup that is available now may look completely different after the next move.
It can carry a useful power-up closer to an objective, but it can also move a ready-made match out of position. For that reason, successful planning requires players to consider not only the current position of the Lily Pads but also where they will move next.
Common Mistake Made by New Players
The most common mistake is planning the next move without taking the Lily Pads' movement into account. After the first move, the piece or power-up the player intended to use may have been carried somewhere else.
8. Ice – Ice
Ice traps gems, power-ups, or other elements inside frozen blocks. As long as the Ice remains, the trapped object cannot be moved or activated normally.
How to Break Ice
Ice is broken by matching the frozen gem or by activating a power-up next to it. If the Ice has multiple layers, additional hits are required before the trapped element is completely released.
Powerful explosions can damage multiple layers or several frozen tiles at once. Once all the Ice has been removed, the trapped object is released and can be moved or activated normally.
What Is Its Role?
Ice combines the concepts of locking and multiple durability layers. Unlike Chains, which appear as a chain wrapped around a piece, Ice creates a frozen block that must be broken away layer by layer.
It is often used to keep power-ups inactive, restrict the starting board, or delay access to an important objective.
Common Mistake Made by New Players
Players often assume that every Ice block can be broken with a single hit. However, the appearance of the Ice should be checked carefully because some frozen tiles contain multiple layers and require repeated actions. In many situations, the very first move can affect the entire board, especially when frozen power-ups or limited space are involved.
9. Flowers – Flowers and Flowerbeds
Flowers are among the first objectives that do not appear on the board from the start. They must first be produced by Flowerbeds.
How Flowers Are Produced
To activate a Flowerbed, players must perform three actions directly next to it. Each adjacent match or power-up explosion counts as one action.
After the third action, the Flowerbed produces four Flowers, which fall onto random tiles on the board and immediately count toward the level objective.
When several Flowerbeds are close together, a single move or explosion can activate multiple Flowerbeds at the same time. This is the most efficient way to collect a large number of Flowers.
What Is Their Role?
Flowers introduce the concept of generators. Instead of simply clearing an existing objective, players must trigger the objective to be created.
This changes the logic of the level. Clearing large numbers of pieces has little value unless it happens close to the Flowerbeds. Players must also calculate how many complete activations are needed to generate the required number of Flowers.
Common Mistake Made by New Players
Many new players believe that each hit produces one Flower. In reality, three actions are required before the Flowerbed generates four Flowers all at once.
10. Soil – Soil
Soil covers tiles on the board and blocks access to whatever lies beneath them. It can hide regular pieces, power-ups, or even part of the level objective.
How to Clear Soil
Soil is removed by making matches or triggering power-up explosions next to the covered tiles. Some versions of Soil have rocks on the surface and require additional hits before they can be cleared.
Each action removes one layer. Once all layers have been cleared, the tile is revealed along with whatever was hidden underneath.
What Is Its Role?
Soil limits the available playing area and creates uncertainty. Players do not always know exactly what is hidden beneath each covered tile.
In some levels, Soil's primary purpose is to keep part of the board closed off. In others, it hides objectives that must be uncovered. Clearing it can therefore provide both additional space and immediate progress toward the level objective.
Common Mistake Made by New Players
The most common mistake is clearing scattered tiles while leaving the main mass of Soil untouched. In most cases, it is more effective to open up one concentrated area, creating a larger active playing space and increasing the chances of triggering cascades. This approach is closely related to how your brain thinks inside a Match-3 level.
What These 10 Elements Teach New Players
The first ten classic elements introduce nearly every core mechanic that Gardenscapes is built upon:
- Gnomes: how to uncover a hidden objective.
- Grass: how to clear an area using adjacent matches.
- Boxes: why opening up the playable board is essential.
- Lemonade: how gravity and exit points work.
- Chain: how to free a locked piece.
- Acorns: how to collect objects that cannot be matched.
- Stream: how to predict board movement.
- Ice: how to break through multiple protective layers.
- Flowers: how objective generators work.
- Soil: how to uncover hidden tiles and objectives.
Anyone who understands these mechanics during the first 100 levels has already learned the core concepts needed to tackle a large portion of the game's later levels. Newer elements may have more complex appearances and multiple phases, but they are often built on these same fundamental principles.
Why They Still Appear in Modern Levels
Gnomes, Grass, Boxes, Lemonade, Chains, Acorns, Stream, Ice, Flowers, and Soil are not just part of Gardenscapes' history. They continue to appear in new weekly level releases because they are flexible mechanics that can be combined with almost any newer element.
A modern level may combine a brand-new element with Boxes that restrict space, Chains that lock critical pieces, Ice that traps power-ups, or Soil that hides the true objective. As a result, the challenge often comes not from the new element itself, but from the way it interacts with these classic mechanics.
This continued use is the main reason these ten elements truly deserve to be called classics. They appear early, teach the game's fundamental rules, and remain an active part of Gardenscapes level design many years later.
Quick Reference Guide
| Element | Destroyed or Collected? | What the Player Needs to Do |
|---|---|---|
| Gnomes | Collected | Clear every tile that forms the hidden shape. |
| Grass | Cleared | Make adjacent matches or trigger nearby explosions. |
| Boxes | Destroyed | Remove each layer with adjacent matches or power-ups. |
| Lemonade | Collected | Open a path to the exit point at the bottom of the board. |
| Chain | Broken | Include the locked piece in a match or hit it with a power-up. |
| Acorns | Collected | Make matches or trigger explosions directly next to them. |
| Stream | Cannot be destroyed | Predict the movement of the Lily Pads. |
| Ice | Broken | Match the frozen gem or use a power-up. |
| Flowers | Generated and collected | Perform three actions next to the Flowerbed. |
| Soil | Cleared | Keep making adjacent matches or explosions until every layer is removed. |
Historical Significance
Gardenscapes was released on mobile in 2016 and had to gradually teach a massive audience how a Match-3 game with objectives, obstacles, and a limited number of moves works. The first 100 levels effectively serve as an extended tutorial for the game's core mechanics.
The order in which these elements appear reflects that gradual learning process. First come the hidden Gnomes, followed by Grass, Boxes, Lemonade, and Chains. Then players encounter Acorns, the moving Stream, Ice, Flower generation, and finally Soil, which hides pieces and objectives beneath the surface.
Each new element introduces one additional concept without replacing the mechanics already learned. That is why later levels begin combining them. A single level might feature Gnomes hidden beneath Grass, Lemonade blocked by Boxes, Chains within a Stream, or Flowers placed next to Ice.
These ten elements represent a kind of historical DNA for Gardenscapes. Even after the introduction of dozens of new mechanics, the core principles of the board are still built on the lessons taught during the first 100 levels.
Conclusion
Gnomes, Grass, Boxes, Lemonade, Chains, Acorns, Stream, Ice, Flowers, and Soil are the ten core elements introduced gradually throughout the first 100 levels, and they can rightfully be considered the classic mechanics of Gardenscapes.
For new players, understanding how these elements work is far more valuable than memorizing the solution to a single level. Levels change, board layouts vary, and the available moves are never exactly the same. The rules governing these elements, however, remain consistent.
For longtime players, these elements represent the game's early history. They are the mechanics that shaped Gardenscapes' original identity and continue to appear alongside newer elements in today's weekly level releases.
Sources and References
The descriptions of these mechanics have been cross-checked using the official Playrix Gardenscapes Help Center and documented observations of the first 100 levels. Because Playrix may redesign older levels over time, the mechanics themselves should be considered a more reliable reference than the exact level number where an element first appeared.
- Playrix Support – Match-3 Elements
- Playrix Support – Gnomes
- Playrix Support – Grass
- Playrix Support – Boxes
- Playrix Support – Lemonade
- Playrix Support – Chain
- Playrix Support – Acorns
- Playrix Support – Stream
- Playrix Support – Ice
- Playrix Support – Flowers
- Playrix Support – Soil
- Gardenscapes Wiki – Levels 1–100
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