Xmas Match Deluxe

Xmas Match Deluxe wants a set number of gifts collected within a limited number of turns, which puts it firmly in the planning camp rather than the reflex one. Swapping adjacent gifts into a horizontal or vertical row of three is the basic move; the interesting part is what a bigger one earns you.

Collect more than five gifts in a single move and a spell appears on the right of the screen. Spells are not consumed automatically — you drag one and drop it on a target you choose, which makes them precision instruments rather than lucky bonuses. A spell aimed at the awkward corner is worth several ordinary matches; the same spell spent on open board is close to wasted.

With turns limited, the game becomes a straightforward exchange: spend a couple of moves building towards a six-gift clear, then use the spell it earns to solve something no ordinary match could reach.

1. Read how many gifts the level wants and how many turns you have.
2. Swap adjacent gifts to make a horizontal or vertical row of three identical ones.
3. Build clears of more than five gifts to earn a spell.
4. Drag the spell from the right of the screen onto the tile that actually needs it.

Hold spells until a corner or an isolated tile is the only thing between you and the quota. They are aimed by hand, so their whole value is in reaching what your swaps cannot — using one on the open middle of the board throws that away.