Rubber Ducks Element in Gardenscapes: How It Works and What It Carries

Rubber Ducks carrying Firecrackers, Acorns and Rainbow Blasts along a glowing river in Gardenscapes

Learn how Rubber Ducks work in Gardenscapes, what items they can carry, how they move across water tiles, and why their contents can change by level.

Rubber Ducks are a unique Gardenscapes element that appears on water tiles. These yellow rubber ducks move around the board and release items when you activate them.

What makes them interesting is that they do not always carry the same thing. Their contents can change from one level to another. A Rubber Duck may carry only something useful, or it may release a useful item along with another element that makes the level harder.

When Were Rubber Ducks Introduced?

Rubber Ducks were added to Gardenscapes in late 2018. The release notes for version 3.0.0, released on November 27, 2018, introduced them as a new match-3 element and said that players could get power-ups and other useful elements by activating the ducks. They are also one of the elements that move around the board instead of staying in one place.

The Gardenscapes Wiki lists Level 3451 as their first appearance. No official Playrix source has been found confirming that exact level number, so Level 3451 should be treated as a community record rather than an officially confirmed debut.

How Do Rubber Ducks Work?

Rubber Ducks appear only on water tiles. You can activate them by making a match next to them or by hitting them with a power-up explosion. They can also be hit with the Shovel, Dart, or Kettlebell.

When a Rubber Duck opens, it releases its contents onto the board. The item does not necessarily appear in the same spot where the duck was sitting.

The ducks also move. Every two moves, they can shift to another available water tile. That means an easy match next to a duck can disappear if you spend those moves working on another part of the board.

Watch gameplay featuring Rubber Ducks in action.

What Can a Rubber Duck Carry?

There is no fixed loadout that applies to every level.

In some levels, a Rubber Duck carries only one useful item. For example, it may contain a Firecracker while the objective asks you to collect a certain number of them. In that case, opening the Rubber Ducks directly helps you complete the objective.

In other levels, a Rubber Duck may carry a Firecracker together with an Acorn. If the objective requires Firecrackers but not Acorns, the Firecracker helps you make progress, while the Acorn drops onto the board as an extra obstacle that may cost you more moves to clear.

In some levels, Rubber Ducks may carry only Acorns. That does not automatically mean Acorns are part of the objective. Some levels do ask you to collect Acorns, but in others they are not required at all and simply create extra clutter on the board.

The Original 2019 Description: Boost + Hazard

An interesting piece of early information comes from a Liquid & Grit report published in January 2019, shortly after Rubber Ducks were introduced.

At the time, the mechanic was described as a duck that could carry one Boost and one Hazard, with both being released onto the board when the duck was activated.

That description still fits what happens in some levels today: the duck gives you something useful, but at the same time it can add something that makes the board harder to deal with.

However, the “1 Boost + 1 Hazard” setup is not a rule for every Rubber Duck level. Some levels have ducks that carry only the useful item, so their contents depend on how that particular level was designed.

Why Does the Firecracker and Acorn Combination Matter?

This combination shows exactly why Rubber Ducks can be tricky. You need to open them to get the Firecrackers, but every Acorn they release can take up useful space and may force you to spend extra moves clearing it.

So the value of a Rubber Duck is not just about what it gives you. You also have to think about what else it puts on the board.

How to Play Levels With Rubber Ducks

Check what the ducks are carrying. Before making a move, look over the board to see whether they contain only something you need or something useful plus an extra obstacle.
Activate them early when you need what they are carrying. Because Rubber Ducks move, an easy chance to open one may be gone two moves later.
Keep an eye on board space. If the ducks release Acorns or other unwanted elements, the board can get crowded quickly.
Use explosions when a duck is hard to reach. A power-up can activate it without forcing you to make a specific match right next to it.
Do not count on the item landing where you want it. The contents can appear somewhere else on the board, so a Firecracker may not end up in the most useful spot.

Rubber Ducks and Ducks Are Not the Same Element

Newer versions of Gardenscapes also include a different element called simply Ducks. It is not the same mechanic as Rubber Ducks.

Rubber Ducks move across water tiles and carry other items. The newer Ducks element works differently and should be treated as a separate mechanic.

Conclusion

Rubber Ducks have been part of Gardenscapes since 2018, and what makes them tricky is that you cannot treat every Rubber Duck level the same way. In one level they may give you exactly what you need, while in another they may give you a useful item and drop an extra obstacle onto the board at the same time.

Before you activate one, it is worth checking both sides of the mechanic: what you are getting from the duck and what else it may add to the board.