Discover 19 Gardenscapes events, how each one works, how progress is tracked, what rewards are available, and why events differ between players.
Gardenscapes is no longer just about beating match-3 levels and renovating the garden. The game now runs a wide mix of events alongside its main progression system, including individual competitions, team challenges, task-based events, card collections, Expeditions, merge boards, and shorter win-streak challenges. Some last only an hour or a day, while others run for several weeks and require consistent participation.
Not every player gets the same events at the same time. Playrix distributes events to different groups of accounts, and the duration, objectives, required items, and rewards can vary as well. Some events are initially released as limited tests, which means two players using the same version of Gardenscapes may still see completely different activities on their main screens.
The list below covers the main events appearing in Gardenscapes right now, arranged alphabetically. Each section explains the basic objective, how progress is tracked, and what kind of rewards are available. It gives you a quick way to decide which events are worth your time without having to dig through a full guide for every one.
The list below brings together the 19 events currently appearing in Gardenscapes, arranged alphabetically: Beat The Heat, Card Collection, Catch a Wave, Date Night, Electric Showdown, Expeditions, Fancy Feathers, Frog Trail, Gardening Duties, Gnome Treasure, Golf Masters, Grand Trophy, Helicopter Dash, Hit the Target, Secret Passage, Stellar Race, Swamp Quest, Team Bowling, and Team Chest. For each event, you will find the type of activity, its main objective, how progress is tracked, and what kind of rewards it offers. This makes it easy to decide which events are worth playing without opening a separate in-depth guide for every one.
1. Beat The Heat
Beat The Heat is a daily win-streak event that awards coins and nothing else. When it was introduced, it was not available to every player and appeared to be undergoing limited testing on selected accounts. On some accounts, it replaced Swamp Quest. The event has three consecutive stages, and the goal is to beat regular match-3 levels without losing.
Each stage requires a specific winning streak. If you fail a level, only your progress in the current stage resets, so you do not lose any stages you have already completed. After successfully finishing a stage, you receive a limited number of keys and enter a reward room filled with closed treasure chests.
You use those keys to choose which chests to open without knowing what is inside. Some contain coins, while others may be completely empty, so the event combines the skill of maintaining a winning streak with an element of luck. The maximum total reward can reach 1,550 coins, although the three stages of Beat The Heat do not guarantee that you will find every available coin reward.
2. Card Collection
The Card Collection is a major seasonal event that lasts about two months. Players collect unique cards and use them to complete themed sets. The main version has featured 15 sets with 10 cards each, for a total of 150 unique cards, although Playrix may change the number in future collections. Completing each set awards a prize, while finishing the entire album unlocks the Grand Prize.
Cards come from Card Packs earned through Expeditions, temporary events, missions, milestones, bonus chests, and other activities. Packs have different values and odds, and some Gold Cards are much harder to find. Duplicate cards are converted into Card Stars, which can be spent on additional reward chests, while card trading gives players another way to obtain missing cards.
Once every set in the Main Collection is complete, the player receives the final reward package and a unique token that remains permanently attached to the account. The Legendary Collection may then become available, allowing players to continue collecting and sometimes introducing an additional 16th set. Understanding how Card Packs, Gold Cards, duplicates, and trades work becomes especially important as the collection deadline approaches.
3. Catch a Wave
Catch a Wave is a competitive weekend event built around winning streaks. You play your regular match-3 levels, and every consecutive win adds Surfboards to your total score. The goal is to collect more Surfboards than the other participants and finish as high as possible on the leaderboard before the event ends.
You begin with 1 Surfboard and move through scoring tiers of 5, 10, 20, and 100 Surfboards as you continue winning without a loss. Once you reach the top tier, every additional consecutive victory adds another 100 Surfboards. Level difficulty does not determine the payout here; protecting your streak is what matters most.
If you lose a level, the Surfboards already added to your leaderboard score remain there, but you drop back to the starting tier and have to rebuild the streak. A single loss after reaching 100 Surfboards per level can slow you down considerably, especially if your opponents keep winning. That sharp reset is what makes the Catch a Wave scoring system much more punishing than it initially appears.
4. Date Night
Date Night is a four-stage merge event with its own board and a 38-item Collection. The story follows Robbie and Melinda during a romantic night out, while the player creates coffee, desserts, coins, gifts, and other items. To get started, you beat regular Gardenscapes levels, earn Cups, and use them to receive Drops inside the event.
Each tap of the Drop button places a new item on the board, and the small icon above the button shows what will appear next. Two identical items can be merged to create the next item in that chain. The progress bar shows which items are required for the active stage, and filling the bar awards a key that unlocks the next stage.
As more merge chains become available, open space gets tighter and board management becomes the hardest part of the event. Items you have already created carry over to the next stage, while the Collection and Pawsome Progress add more objectives and rewards. Knowing how Cups, Drops, frozen coffee, and the Date Night board interact can prevent valuable spaces from being filled with items you do not currently need.
5. Electric Showdown
Electric Showdown is a fast, individual competition in which five players battle for first place. Each competition lasts exactly one hour and begins when you press Start, which also activates one hour of Unlimited Lives. The overall event remains available for several hours, allowing players to enter more than one competition during the same event cycle.
Points are earned by activating Rainbow Blasts and Super Rainbow Blasts in regular levels. Hard levels have a ×3 multiplier, Super Hard levels have a ×5 multiplier, and One-Shot levels have a ×3 multiplier. However, your points only count if you beat the level. If you lose, the Rainbow Blasts activated during that attempt are not added to the leaderboard, although you can retry while the timer is still running.
Only the player in first place when the hour ends receives a reward. The prize may include a six-card pack, one hour of Unlimited Lives, a Bomb, a Rainbow Blast, a Shovel, and a Desk Fan. Because the standings can change in the final minutes, it is best to start when you can play for most of the hour. This winner-takes-all format is the most important part of how Electric Showdown works.
6. Expeditions
Expeditions are large exploration events that temporarily move the action to a separate map with its own story, characters, and quests. The main goal is not to clear every object from the map. It is to complete the required story quests before the timer expires and reach the Grand Prize. The main story is divided into two chapters, with four reward milestones in each one.
Opening routes requires Energy, which is spent to remove bushes, rocks, logs, crates, and other obstacles. You can earn Energy by beating regular levels or Golden League rounds, waiting for it to regenerate, collecting it on the map, or purchasing it with coins. The quest tablet shows your next objective and points you toward the correct part of the map.
The map also contains optional paths, Chests, Secret Gates, hidden items, and extra rewards, but not all of them are required to finish the story. Expedition Energy does not carry over to the next event, so any remaining Energy should be used before the timer runs out. Following the main route described in the Gardenscapes Expeditions overview can keep optional detours from draining the Energy needed for the Grand Prize.
7. Fancy Feathers
Fancy Feathers is an unusual cooperative event that combines normal Gardenscapes progression with a pinball-style mechanic. Players beat levels and take part in other activities to collect Beads. Those Beads are then used in the special pinball machine, where the movement of the ball generates Feathers that are added to shared progress bars.
Every shot costs Beads, and the available multiplier depends on how many Beads you have saved. Larger totals unlock higher options such as ×10, ×20, or ×50. The ball drops through numbered obstacles and eventually lands in one of several sections, which determines the number of points added to your progress.
Reaching the shared milestones unlocks the corresponding rewards. Any Beads left after all Birds have been completed are automatically converted into Bomb boosters. Playrix has not officially explained the exact conversion rate, and the available evidence suggests that the conversion has a cap. That conversion is one of the less obvious details behind the Fancy Feathers pinball mechanic.
8. Frog Trail
Frog Trail is a seven-day event featuring a frog, a reward path, and Dragonflies used for progression. When it was first documented, it appeared on only one of 35 accounts checked within the same team, strongly suggesting that it began as a limited test. Unlike events based on a single mechanic, Frog Trail pulls together several different Gardenscapes activities.
Each day introduces objectives that may involve first-try wins, Rainbow Blasts, card collection, spending Energy or coins, completing garden tasks, and participating in other events. Finishing these objectives awards Dragonflies, which move the frog toward the next checkpoints on the reward path. Future days unlock gradually according to real time rather than player speed.
Additional rewards become available whenever the frog reaches a checkpoint. Progress appears to carry over between days, meaning some actions completed earlier may count toward objectives revealed later. Because the tasks cover so many parts of the game, consistent daily participation is more effective than trying to finish everything at once. The number and variety of objectives help explain why Frog Trail can feel unusually difficult.
9. Gardening Duties
Gardening Duties is a weekly task-based event that begins every Friday alongside Team Bowling and ends on Monday morning. It does not have a separate match-3 board. Instead, progress comes from regular levels and other activities running during the same period. The goal is to complete objectives, collect Pruning Shears, and unlock five reward packages.
The event is divided into five stages, with five different objectives in each stage. Tasks may involve beating levels, creating specific power-ups, collecting coins, or participating in another active event. The stages do not have to be completed in strict order because their progress bars can fill simultaneously.
To unlock a stage reward, you must complete all five objectives shown on that stage’s tab. Since the event lasts only one weekend, it helps to review every task early and focus on actions that advance several counters at once. Any reward packages still locked when the timer expires can no longer be claimed. The ability to work on several Gardening Duties objectives at the same time is the key to finishing efficiently.
10. Gnome Treasure
Gnome Treasure is a recurring four-day treasure-hunting event. It uses a separate board filled with covered tiles, blockers, and hidden gems. The player must find every required object on the current board to finish that stage and move on to the next one.
Pickaxes are the event’s main resource, and you earn them by beating regular match-3 levels or Golden League rounds. Every attempt to remove a blocker from the event board consumes Pickaxes, so success depends on managing a limited supply as well as figuring out where the hidden objects may be. Simply clearing a large number of tiles does not complete a stage unless every required object has been found.
Gnome Treasure has five stages, each with its own board, objectives, and reward. Once all required objects are uncovered, the player receives the prize and unlocks the next board. Completing all five stages can require a substantial number of levels and may also consume boosters or coins along the way. Careful use of the Pickaxes makes a major difference in Gnome Treasure.
11. Golf Masters
Golf Masters is a competitive leaderboard event in which players collect Golf Balls by beating regular levels. You must first complete one level to pass the qualification stage and officially enter the competition. After that, every successful level adds Golf Balls to your total and moves you up the rankings.
Golf Balls are not earned through specific moves, combos, or power-up activations inside a level. What matters is whether you complete the level, although harder levels generally award more Golf Balls. Qualifying also gives you 30 minutes of Unlimited Lives, which can help you keep playing and build an early score.
The top 10 players receive Card Packs, Unlimited Lives, and boosters, with the largest bundle going to first place. However, first place now awards a Ruby Card Pack instead of a Sapphire Card Pack with a guaranteed Gold Card, reducing the event’s value for players working on the Card Collection. Comparing the current Golf Masters rewards with the resources needed to win can help you decide whether first place is still worth chasing.
12. Grand Trophy
Grand Trophy is a temporary endgame competition for players who have completed every regular level currently available. Entry is automatic after the highest numbered level, and it does not begin a new chapter of the main story. Until another batch of regular levels is released, players continue through rotating match-3 rounds and collect Cups for a leaderboard.
Every completed round adds Cups to your total, but it does not increase your regular level number or award Stars for garden renovations. When Playrix releases new levels, you leave Grand Trophy and return to normal progression. If you finish the new levels before the next release, you enter another Grand Trophy cycle.
Rewards depend on your final leaderboard position and may include coins or boosters. Entering later can place you in a different competition with a smaller prize pool, while competing for the top positions may require many levels and a significant investment of resources. The timing differences in Grand Trophy competitions are important because an early and late entry may not offer the same rewards.
13. Helicopter Dash
Helicopter Dash is a weekly racing event that usually appears on Friday and runs into the beginning of the following week. Each race includes five players trying to be among the first to complete 15 regular match-3 levels. There are no special event boards; every successful level moves your helicopter closer to the finish line.
The race does not end as soon as the first player finishes. It continues until all three rewarded positions have been filled. If only the first two players have completed 15 levels, everyone else remains in the same race until a third player finishes. Only then can the fourth- and fifth-place players be placed in a new race, provided the overall event is still active.
The top three players receive Unlimited Lives and boosters. First place has been shown with one hour of Unlimited Lives, a Bomb, Dynamite, and a Shovel; second with 30 minutes of Unlimited Lives, a Bomb, and a Rainbow Blast; and third with 15 minutes of Unlimited Lives and a Bomb. Waiting for all three winners is a defining part of the Helicopter Dash race format.
14. Hit the Target
Hit the Target is a task-based event with four consecutive stages. Each stage contains smaller objectives completed through regular match-3 levels and other in-game actions. Every completed task awards one Arrow, and collecting all the required Arrows opens that stage’s reward chest.
Arrows are progress units and do not need to be spent manually. The first stage is generally quicker, while later stages include more tasks or more demanding objectives. Simply beating a large number of levels will not always produce fast progress because you need to perform the specific actions listed in the active tasks.
Recorded rewards include 1,000 coins, a Bomb, a Shovel, a Rainbow Blast, a Rainbow Blast and Dynamite combination, a Desk Fan, a Dart, a Kettlebell, and Card Packs. Their exact distribution across the four chests may change, so the total package is more reliable than a fixed stage-by-stage list. Checking the active Hit the Target objectives before playing makes it easier to work toward several tasks instead of passing levels with no useful progress.
15. Secret Passage
Secret Passage is a 10-day cooperative event in which each player selects four different teammates. A separate partnership is created with each teammate and displayed on its own tablet. In other words, this is not one five-player mission with a single progress bar. It is four independent routes that must all be completed.
You earn Paws by beating levels and use them to spin the wheel with a ×1, ×5, ×10, ×20, or ×50 multiplier. The wheel selects a color, and the dog moves to the first matching stone ahead, collecting Tokens or activating special spaces such as ×2, Bonus, and Super Bonus. Tokens are added to the shared progress of the corresponding two-player partnership.
Each partnership includes three reward stages, and the Grand Prize unlocks only after all four tablets are complete. The final bundle includes 2,500 coins, boosters, a six-card Sapphire Pack with one guaranteed new card, and a decorative Nickname Style. Choosing active teammates makes a major difference because the four Secret Passage partnerships progress independently.
16. Stellar Race
Stellar Race is a competitive event tied directly to regular Gardenscapes levels. It does not use a separate board, exploration map, or special Energy system. Progress is measured in Telescopes. The documented version contains 12 consecutive stages, from Stellar Race I through Stellar Race XII, and players must complete every round to earn the Main Reward.
Every level you beat awards 10 Telescopes, and each move left over adds 1 more. For example, finishing a level with five unused moves awards 15 Telescopes in total. Two players can therefore beat the same number of levels and still make very different amounts of progress depending on how many moves they have left at the end.
Each stage has separate rewards for first, second, and third place. First place receives all three displayed prizes, second receives the first and third, and third receives only the final prize. Rewards may include coins, Energy, Card Packs, Unlimited Lives, boosters, and tools. Finishing levels efficiently matters because the Stellar Race Telescope total includes every unused move.
17. Swamp Quest
Swamp Quest is a short daily event that requires players to complete seven consecutive match-3 levels without a loss. The levels use the normal Gardenscapes goals, move limits, blockers, and boosters. Each victory moves you one step closer to the end of the route, and only a successful seven-level run sends you to the reward phase.
If you fail any of the seven levels, the current run ends and all progress on that route resets. A waiting period then begins, and once it expires, you can start again from the first level. Multiple attempts are allowed while the event remains active, with no fixed daily limit beyond the available event time and the cooldown after each failed run.
Players who complete all seven levels are placed in a ranking of 100 participants, and the coin reward depends on the final result. The top possible prize is 10,000 coins, but the payout can drop significantly when it is shared among more players. Rewards of around 800–900 coins are much more common. That wide range is an important part of how Swamp Quest rewards are calculated.
18. Team Bowling
Team Bowling, also known as Bowling Match, is a weekly team competition with multiple teams on the same leaderboard. It runs from Friday through Sunday and becomes available from level 36. To qualify for the final rewards, a player must complete at least one level and remain on the same team until the event ends.
Players continue through their regular levels and collect Pins for the team. A Normal level awards 1 Pin, a Hard level awards 3, and Super Hard and Challenge levels award 5. Every Pin is added to the team’s combined score, and the final ranking is determined by the total contribution of all participating members.
The top five teams receive coins, while the three highest contributors on each team earn additional boosters. Because the competition now runs every week, an aggressive push can drain more coins and boosters than the final reward replaces. Looking at the current Team Bowling rewards and scoring can help a team decide whether to compete for the top spots or take a lighter approach that weekend.
19. Team Chest
Team Chest is a cooperative event in which every team member helps collect Keys and open three consecutive chests. There are no special event levels. Keys are automatically added to the shared total whenever players complete regular levels. A Regular level awards 1 Key, a Hard level awards 3, and a Super Hard or One-Shot level awards 5.
The final target is not the same for every team and can range from 500 to 8,000 Keys. The requirement appears to depend mainly on the team’s previous Team Chest performance rather than simply its size or the level ranges of its members. Teams that repeatedly complete their target may move into a higher tier, while a failed attempt can lower the target the next time the event appears.
The three chests can contain Card Packs, coins, Unlimited Lives, boosters, and tools, with the largest rewards placed in the final chest. At higher tiers, success depends far more on broad participation than on a handful of players carrying the entire team. The different Team Chest target tiers explain why two teams of similar size may be asked to collect very different numbers of Keys.
Which Gardenscapes Events Are Actually Worth Playing?
There is no single event that is best for every player. The value of an event depends on what you need most: coins, boosters, Card Packs, team success, or simply more gameplay. An event may advertise a strong final prize while requiring more resources than it gives back. First place on a leaderboard is not necessarily a profitable result if reaching it costs you a large supply of coins and boosters.
Before committing to a difficult run, check how much time is left, how close you are to the next reward, and what you will probably have to spend to reach it. Team events depend heavily on how many other members are contributing. In win-streak events, one difficult level can reset your active run. In Expeditions and merge events, careful management of Energy or board space is often more important than moving quickly.
Events provide the best value when several of them overlap. A single completed level might add leaderboard points, team Keys, progress toward another task, and rewards for the Card Collection at the same time. The smartest approach is not to chase every prize simply because it is available. It is to recognize when multiple events are rewarding the same effort, giving each win more value without forcing you to burn through your resources.
Connect with Gardenscapes Strategy
Follow Gardenscapes Strategy for gameplay, new levels, research, updates, community discussions, and more.
Have you noticed something that isn’t mentioned here? Level differences, changes, or team-related issues? Leave a comment.