Gardenscapes Screen Guide for New Players: What Every Button and Icon Does

A complete beginner-friendly guide to the Gardenscapes screen, explaining the main buttons, icons, Lives, Coins, Stars, Teams, settings, events, tools, and Map.

When you first open Gardenscapes, the main screen can look much busier than it really is. You may see Lives, Coins, your profile, the garden tablet, the Play button, Teams, rankings, events, offers, and other icons that appear as you progress.

You do not need to understand every icon on day one. Some buttons are permanent parts of the game, while others appear only after a feature unlocks or while a temporary event is running. The interface can also differ slightly between accounts because Playrix regularly tests and updates features.

Why Doesn't Every Player See the Same Screen?

Gardenscapes introduces features gradually instead of showing everything to a new player at once. During the first 10 levels, the basic systems are introduced step by step, and more buttons appear as you unlock Boosters, Teams, events, competitions, and other features.

This is why another player's screenshot may not look exactly like your own screen. Their account may be farther along, they may have a different event running, or they may be part of a feature test that is not available to everyone.

1. Your Profile Icon

Your avatar in the upper-left corner of the main screen opens your player profile.

The current profile shows your player name, profile picture, current level, general statistics, and your team name and badge if you belong to a team.

You can also edit parts of your profile. Playrix currently allows players to change their name, avatar, badge, and avatar frame. Some additional profile customization may be tied to features such as the Garden Pass.

2. The Lives Counter

The heart counter near the upper-left corner shows your available Lives. You normally lose one Life when you fail a level and need another one before you can try again.

The standard Life counter holds up to five Lives, with one Life restoring every 30 minutes. Certain features can temporarily increase that limit, and Lives can also come from teammates or Unlimited Lives rewards.

Running out of Lives does not erase your progress. Your completed levels, Stars, Coins, Boosters, and restored garden areas remain exactly where they were.

3. The Coins Icon

The Coins icon appears in the upper-right area of the main screen. Selecting it opens the Garden Shop, where available Coin packs and other offers can be displayed.

Coins are used for gameplay-related options such as additional moves, Boosters, and Life refills. They are different from Stars, which are mainly used to move the garden restoration and story forward.

4. The Garden Tablet

The tablet in the lower-left area of the garden screen is one of the most important navigation tools in the game.

It keeps track of your current garden tasks and gives you access to other garden-related tabs as they become available. Tasks may involve cleaning an area, repairing structures, planting, decorating, helping characters, or advancing the story.

Some tasks have several stages, so a single project can require Stars more than once before it is fully completed.

5. Stars

Stars connect the match-3 levels to the garden and story.

According to Playrix, regular levels currently award one Star when completed. Challenge Levels can award three Stars if you beat them within the allowed attempts.

Stars are spent on renovation and story tasks through the tablet. You do not have to spend them immediately, so you can keep playing levels, save Stars, and return to the garden later.

6. The Play Button

The large Play button takes you to the next available match-3 level.

Before the level begins, the pre-level screen lets you see the upcoming level and select any available starting Boosters. The current pre-level Boosters are Rainbow Blast, Two Bombs, and Rainbow Blast + Dynamite.

You do not need to use a Booster before every level. Saving them for boards where they can make a meaningful difference is often more useful than activating them automatically.

7. Goals and Moves Inside a Level

Once a level starts, two pieces of information matter most: your goals and your remaining moves.

The goals show what must be completed to win. Depending on the board, you may need to collect pieces, remove obstacles, uncover hidden elements, or complete another specific objective.

The move counter shows how many moves remain. You win when every required goal is completed before the counter reaches zero.

8. In-Level Booster Icons

Gardenscapes currently has four Boosters that can be activated while you are already playing a level: Shovel, Kettlebell, Darts, and Fan.

Shovel: removes one piece or one layer of an obstacle.
Kettlebell: clears a column.
Darts: clears a row.
Fan: shuffles the objects on the board.

These are different from the Boosters selected before entering a level. That distinction has become more important since the right-side tools became part of the standard level layout rather than an experimental feature available only to some accounts.

9. The Rainbow Blast Meter

Rainbow Blast is a chargeable Power-up. As Power-ups explode on the board, the meter fills. Once it is fully charged, a Rainbow Blast is created.

The meter is not a button you need to press. It is simply a visual indicator showing how close you are to generating the next Rainbow Blast.

10. The Settings Button

The gear-shaped Settings button is located in the upper-right corner of the game's home screen.

From Settings, you can access several basic options, including Music, Sound, Language, and Help and Support.

Music and Sound

Music and Sound are controlled separately. Music changes the background soundtrack, while Sound controls the game's sound effects.

Language

To change the language, open Settings and select the globe-shaped Language button. Choose your preferred language, and the game will reload using that selection.

Help and Support

Help and Support is the official place to go if you have a problem involving your account, purchases, missing progress, technical issues, or another game-related problem.

11. The Teams Icon

Teams are not available when you first start playing. The feature currently unlocks at Level 21.

The Teams icon is located in the lower-left area of the screen. Once it becomes available, you can use it to join an existing team or create one of your own.

Teams can have up to 50 members. Teammates can exchange Lives and participate together in certain team activities and events.

12. The Leaderboard Icon

The Leaderboard now has its own icon in the lower-left area of the screen, near the Teams icon.

This section includes player rankings, local and worldwide standings, Top Teams, and your in-game friends.

The Friends tab is also where you can view your friend list, accept requests, add new friends, and see friend suggestions. This is useful to know because older screenshots may show social features arranged differently.

13. The Mini-Games Icon

The current game can display a separate Mini-Games icon near the bottom center of the screen after you complete one of the first match-3 levels.

These Collect and Combine mini-games are optional side activities. You can leave them and return later, and they do not have a time limit or a losing condition.

Playrix currently states that this Mini-Games icon is available only up to Level 300. After that point, it disappears from the main screen.

14. Event and Competition Icons

Temporary event icons can appear around the main screen as new activities become available.

They may represent Expeditions, competitions, seasonal activities, or other limited-time events. These icons are not permanent, and their appearance can change frequently.

Events are optional and do not replace the regular garden restoration. This is also one reason two players at similar levels can have noticeably different screens.

15. Special Offer Icons

Special offers can appear on the right side of the screen. Selecting one opens the offer and shows what it contains and how much it costs.

These offers are temporary and may change from one account to another. They are optional purchases and are not required to continue progressing through the main game.

16. Where Is the Map?

Older Gardenscapes screenshots may show navigation differently, but the current Map is located inside the in-game tablet.

Open the tablet, select the Map tab, and choose the expansion you want to visit. Austin's icon then shows your current location.

The Map is not available from the beginning. Playrix currently states that it becomes available after you restore the Picnic area and unlock the second expansion.

17. The Complete the Day Button

Some players will eventually see a Complete the Day button inside the tablet.

If you save enough Stars to finish all remaining tasks for the current game day, the button shows how many Stars are required and lets you complete the rest of that day at once instead of selecting every task separately.

Playrix currently states that this feature is available from Level 18 onward for players who have reached the Treehouse expansion.

18. Why Do New Icons Sometimes Appear Without Warning?

A new button does not always mean Gardenscapes has just received a major update. Many features appear only after your account reaches a certain level, completes part of the garden, joins a Team, unlocks another expansion, or becomes eligible for an event.

Other differences may come from account-based tests. Playrix frequently runs features or event variations with selected groups, so another player can legitimately have an icon that you do not have.

What Should a New Player Focus on First?

You can ignore much of the visual clutter when you are just starting out. The basic loop is straightforward: play a level, complete its goals, earn Stars, and use those Stars to continue restoring the garden.

Once that connection is clear, the overall purpose of Gardenscapes becomes much easier to understand. Teams, rankings, events, offers, mini-games, and additional tabs are extra systems built around that central progression loop.

For your first few sessions, focus on the Play button, Goals, Moves, Lives, Coins, Stars, and the garden tablet. The rest of the interface becomes much easier to understand when each feature appears naturally instead of trying to memorize everything at once.

Conclusion

The Gardenscapes screen eventually contains a lot of information, but only a handful of buttons are essential at the beginning. The permanent interface revolves around playing levels, managing Lives and Coins, earning and spending Stars, checking garden tasks, and accessing your profile and settings.

As you progress, Teams, Leaderboards, mini-games, events, offers, the Map, and additional tablet features are added around that core experience. If your screen does not perfectly match an older screenshot or another player's account, that does not automatically mean something is missing or broken. Your progress, active events, game version, and account-based tests can all affect what appears on the screen.