Triple Trouble guide
How to play Triple Trouble
Triple Trouble is the match 3 game in Beasties. Swap two monsters, line up three or more of a kind, and build rockets, TNT and balls on the way to your goals. It plays offline on your iPhone, with no ads, no lives and no timer.
Match 3 rules
How to play: swap and match three
Every move is one swap of two neighbouring monsters. It only counts if it lines up at least three of a kind:
- Swap two neighbours. Drag a monster one cell up, down, left or right. No three in a row? Both hop back, and no move is used.
- Three of a kind in a row or column. This swap lines up three green monsters.
- They pop, new ones drop in. Everything above falls down. If that makes new rows, they clear too: a cascade, for free.
Matches run straight across or straight down, never diagonally. A swap that makes no match costs nothing, so trying is free. And if the board ever has no move left, it shuffles itself.
Power-ups
Match four, five or more for power-ups
Line up more than three, or a shape, and the matched monsters leave a power-up behind, right where you swapped. Fire it with a double tap or by swapping it.
Rocket4 in a row
- Four in a row. Makes a rocket where you swapped.
- Tap it twice. It clears a whole line: four across fire down the column, four down fire along the row.
Propeller2×2 square
- A 2×2 square. Four of a kind in a square make a propeller.
- It flies to a goal. It clears a small cross, then takes off and hits something you still need.
TNTL or T shape
- An L or T shape. A row and a column that meet make TNT.
- Boom. It clears everything in a 5×5 square around it.
Light Ball5 in a row
- Five in a row. Makes a Light Ball.
- Swap it with a monster. Every monster of that colour disappears.
Super Ball6 in a row
- Six in a row. You only get six from a cascade: here a Light Ball empties the gaps and the monsters above drop in.
- Super Ball. Like the Light Ball, but every hit takes its neighbours along.
Mega Ball7 in a row
- Seven in a row. The rarest one, again from a cascade.
- Mega Ball. Clears two colours at once.
If one match fits two shapes, the bigger power-up wins: seven beats six, six beats five, five beats an L or T, an L or T beats a square, a square beats four in a row. A power-up that gets hit by another one fires too, so one move can set off a whole chain. Some levels even start with a power-up on the board: save it for the spot where it helps most.
Power-up combos
Swap two power-ups for a combo
Two power-ups side by side are worth more together. Swap one into the other and they fire as one big combo:
CrossRocket + rocket
- Rocket + rocket. A cross: the whole row and the whole column.
Giant crossRocket + TNT
- Rocket + TNT. A giant cross, three rows and three columns wide.
Big bangTNT + TNT
- TNT + TNT. One big blast, 7×7.
Air dropPropeller + rocket or TNT
- Propeller + rocket. The propeller carries the rocket to a goal and fires a cross there.
Power swarmBall + rocket, TNT or propeller
- Ball + rocket. Every monster of the most common colour turns into a rocket, and they all fire.
Clean sweepBall + ball
- Ball + ball. The whole board goes at once.
Any ball with a rocket, TNT or propeller turns monsters into that power-up: a Light Ball takes the most common colour, a Super Ball two colours, a Mega Ball all of them. Two balls together clear the whole board.
Obstacles
Crates, ice, fog and the other blockers
Most levels have something in your way, and many goals ask you to clear it. Each one plays by its own rule:
CratesFrom Chill level 3
- Match next to it. Each match right next to a crate breaks one layer. Crates with iron bands take two hits.
- Power-ups work too. A rocket through the crate row breaks what is left.
IceFrom Chill level 4
- Match the monster on it. Ice cracks when the monster on it is matched. Thick ice needs two matches.
- Or blast it. Every power-up hit cracks one layer.
Colour cratesFrom Chill level 8
- Only its own colour. A blue match breaks the blue crate next to it, not the green one.
- Power-ups don't care. They break colour crates whatever the colour.
Monster babiesFrom Chill level 9
- Babies can't be matched. Clear what is below them so they drop down to the arrows at the bottom.
Goo carpetFrom Chill level 12
- A match that touches goo spreads it. Every cell of the match gets goo.
- Fire power-ups on goo. They spread it over their whole area. Cover the board!
ChainsFrom Normal level 1
- Chained monsters stay put. You can't swap them, but a match with them breaks the chain.
- Power-ups break chains too. The monster stays, the chain is gone.
Spooky fogFrom Normal level 3
- Match next to the fog. Every fog cell next to a match lifts.
- Blast it away. TNT lifts a whole patch at once.
Giant sleeperFrom Normal level 8
- A giant sleeper. It blocks 2×2 cells and only wakes from power-ups: three hits, one per power-up.
- The dots count down. Rocket, rocket, TNT: awake and gone.
WallsFrom Chill level 13
- Walls split rows. Three in a row with a wall in between don't count, so this swap hops back.
- Power-ups blast right through. Walls also stop falling monsters, but not rockets.
StonesFrom Tricky level 1
- Matches don't touch stones. A match right next to it does nothing.
- Only power-ups smash them. Here a rocket clears the row, stones and all.
Power-ups are the answer to almost everything: they break crates and colour crates, crack ice, snap chains, lift fog, smash stones and wake the giant. They also shoot through walls. Only monster babies and gargoyles ignore them: clear the cells below a baby instead.
Board shapes and refill
Gargoyles, lids, portals and conveyor belts
Some boards change where new monsters come from. None of these four is a goal, but each one decides what drops in next:
GargoylesFrom Chill level 6
- Solid stone, for good. Nothing breaks a gargoyle and nothing falls through it. Monsters slide in diagonally underneath.
- Not even a rocket. The rocket clears the row, the gargoyle stays put.
LidsFrom Chill level 10
- A lid on top. No new monsters drop into a column with a lid.
- They slide in from the side. Clear the column and the monsters next to it fill it diagonally.
PortalsFrom Normal level 5
- Two portals, one colour. One sits on the bottom edge of a cell, its partner on the top edge of another.
- In at the bottom, out at the top. Whatever falls into a portal pops out of its partner and keeps falling.
Conveyor beltsFrom Normal level 11
- Conveyor belts. After every move the belt carries its monsters one cell on.
- The last one hops back. At the end of the belt a monster jumps back to the start. Rows the belt lines up clear as usual.
Below a gargoyle or a lid, new monsters only arrive by sliding in diagonally, so the cells under them are slow to refill: make your matches there early. Portals and belts move monsters around for free, and a row they line up clears like any other.
Mailbox and magic hat
The monster mailbox and the magic hat
Two fixtures that stay on the board for good and give you something each time you hit them, with a match right next to them or a power-up:
Monster mailboxFrom Chill level 7
- Match next to the mailbox. It spits out a letter and stays on the board.
- Collect the letters. A match next to a letter, or a power-up, collects it. This rocket hits the mailbox again too.
Magic hatFrom Chill level 11
- A magic hat. Its band shows its colour, here blue.
- Hit it, get three. A match next to it or a power-up makes it conjure three monsters of its colour nearby.
Letters can’t be matched. They fall like monsters, and a match next to one or any power-up collects it. The mailbox keeps at most four letters on the board, so collect them as you go when a level asks for a letter goal. The hat’s three monsters land on the nearest monsters of another colour, which often lines up a match on its own.
Bubble cauldron and treasure cupboard
Fill the cauldron, open the cupboard
Two fixtures that leave the board once you are done with them. Both are goals when they show up:
Bubble cauldronFrom Chill level 14
- Fill it with its colour. Matches of its colour right next to it fill it up. The number shows how many monsters are still missing.
- Full? Splash! It bursts and clears everything up to two cells around it.
Treasure cupboardFrom Chill level 16
- Locked up. Every match next to the cupboard, or power-up hit, breaks one lock.
- Open! With the last lock gone, the treasures inside drop out.
- Collect the treasures. A match next to a treasure or a power-up takes it, like this rocket.
Only matches of the cauldron’s own colour fill it, by as many monsters as the match has; a power-up hit adds one. Cupboards have one to three locks, and an iron band means three. The treasures count only once you collect them.
Creeping mushrooms
Stop the mushrooms before they spread
Mushrooms block their cells like fog, and when they are a goal, every one of them has to go. Leave them alone and they grow:
- 22 mushrooms
- Creeping mushrooms. They block their cells like fog. This move doesn't touch them.
- Missed them? One grows. After a move that hits no mushroom, a new one sprouts next door, and the goal counts up.
- Break them early. A match right next to them, or any power-up, breaks them. This one takes two.
Only a move that hits no mushroom at all lets one grow, so one match next to any mushroom keeps all of them in check for that move. Clear the ones near open space first: they have the most room to spread.
Goals and stars
Reach the goals, keep the stars
The goals sit above the board: monsters of a colour to collect, crates to break, ice to crack, fog to lift, goo to spread, babies to bring down, letters and treasures to collect, cauldrons to fill, mushrooms to clear. Each one counts down as you go. How many stars you keep depends on your moves:
- Three stars at stake. Every level has a move count for three stars. Under the stars, the app shows how many moves you have left before one goes.
- Over the count, a star goes. And another one a few moves later.
- Reach the goals, keep the rest. Finish while a star is left and the level is won. Only when the last one goes is it lost.
- Helpers cap it at two. Hammer and Shuffle cost stars and no move, but a round with a helper gives two stars at most.
Every level has its own move count for three stars, shown on its solution page. After that it goes like this:
- Chill: a star goes every 5 moves past the three-star count.
- Normal: a star goes every 4 moves past the three-star count.
- Tricky: a star goes every 4 moves past the three-star count.
- Devilish: a star goes every 3 moves past the three-star count.
There are no lives and no timer: a lost level costs nothing, and Restart gives you the very same board again. Below the board sit Restart and two paid helpers, Hammer (smash one cell) and Shuffle. Their price is on a small tag at the button: 30 and 20 stars from your counter, and no move. The price doubles each time you use one in the same round, and a round with a helper gives two stars at most.
Need a break? Tap back at the top left and your level waits right where you left it. The gear next to it opens the settings, sound and vibration included.
Difficulty levels
Four difficulties, from Chill to Devilish
These are level 1 of each difficulty. Chill brings in the obstacles and fixtures one at a time, Normal starts with chains, fog, portals, belts, the giant and the mushrooms, Tricky has six kinds of monster and stones, and Devilish puts it all together with up to five goals.
Chill
5 colours · 3★ in 11–38
Five kinds of monster and one to three goals. Levels 1 to 50 bring in crates, ice, gargoyles, the mailbox, babies, lids, the magic hat, goo, the cauldron and the cupboard one at a time; portals, belts, chains, fog, mushrooms and the giant follow later.
Normal
5 colours · 3★ in 10–43
Five kinds of monster and up to four goals. Chains, fog, portals, the giant sleeper, conveyor belts and creeping mushrooms from the start, stones later on. Plan your power-ups.
Tricky
6 colours · 3★ in 18–50
Six kinds of monster, stones from level 1 and up to four goals per level.
Devilish
6 colours · 3★ in 18–77
Six kinds of monster, every blocker at once and up to five goals. Combos are your friend.
Each difficulty has 999 levels, 3,996 in all. Levels 1 to 150 of Chill, Normal and Tricky are free, the next ones open in packs of 50 with the stars you win, and Devilish comes with Beasties Pro. The levels are fixed and so are the monsters that drop in, so every player gets the same boards, and the solutions on this site match your app move for move.
Match 3 strategy
Tips for three stars
You have more moves than you need for three stars in every level. These habits help you keep them, shown on real moves from the solutions:
Tip 1
Combine power-ups
Two power-ups next to each other make one big combo. Firing them one by one wastes a move and most of the effect.
- 1the giant sleeper
- 4860 blue monsters
From Normal level 8, move 4 of its solution
- Two power-ups side by side. Don't fire them one by one.
- Swap them into each other. One move, one combo, far more than both alone.
- Combos are your friend. On Devilish they are how you beat the long goal lists.
Tip 2
Match low, let it cascade
A match near the bottom moves everything above it. The new rows that fall into place are free.
- 66 crates
- 3838 purple monsters
From Tricky level 1, move 2 of its solution
- Match low on the board. The lower the match, the more monsters fall afterwards.
- Swap. Everything above drops down.
- Free cascades. New rows form on their own, and none of them costs a move.
Tip 3
Aim your ball at a goal colour
A ball clears the colour you swap it with. Pick one from your goal list and every monster it takes counts.
- 06 crates
- 1038 purple monsters
From Tricky level 1, move 7 of its solution
- Pick the ball's colour. The ball clears the colour of the monster you swap it with.
- Swap it with a goal colour. Here: a colour on the goal list.
- Goals tick down. Every monster it takes counts for your goals.
Look at the goals first. A propeller flies to something you still need, a rocket clears a whole line: build the power-up that reaches your goal. Stuck? Wait a few seconds, and two monsters wiggle to show you a swap.
Solutions
Match-3 level solutions
All 3,996 Triple Trouble levels have their own solution page, free and Pro. Because the refills are fixed, each one is an exact list of moves that wins with all three stars. Watch it move by move, with every cascade and combo.
FAQ
Triple Trouble questions, short answers
Is Triple Trouble a match 3 game I can play offline?
Yes. Triple Trouble and every other game in Beasties run on your iPhone without an internet connection. There are no ads, no account and no tracking.
How do I make a match?
Drag a monster one cell up, down, left or right to swap it with its neighbour. If that lines up three or more of the same kind in a row or column, they pop. A swap without a match hops back and costs no move.
Which matches make which power-up?
Four in a row make a rocket, a 2×2 square a propeller, an L or T shape TNT, five in a row a Light Ball, six a Super Ball and seven a Mega Ball. The power-up appears where the monster you moved lands.
How do I use a power-up?
Tap it twice, or swap it with a neighbour. A ball takes the colour of the monster you swap it with. Swap two power-ups into each other for a combo.
What are the best combos?
Ball and ball clear the whole board. A ball with a rocket, TNT or propeller turns a colour into that power-up and fires them all. TNT with TNT blasts 7×7, rocket with TNT clears three rows and three columns.
Does Triple Trouble have lives or a timer?
No. You can play as long as you like, there is no clock and no energy that refills over time. A lost level just starts again with the same board, and a level you leave waits for you.
How many moves do I have?
Each level has a move count for three stars. After that you lose a star every few moves (every 5 on Chill, 4 on Normal and Tricky, 3 on Devilish). Reach the goals while a star is left and the level is won.
What do Hammer and Shuffle do?
The hammer smashes one cell, Shuffle mixes all monsters. Both cost stars from your counter but no move: 30 and 20 stars at first, shown on a tag at the button. The price doubles each time you use one in the same round, and a round with a helper gives two stars at most.
Why is the level the same every time?
The monsters that drop in come from a fixed sequence per level. The same moves always give the same board, for you and every other player. That is why the solutions here can list exact moves.
How many levels are there?
3,996: 999 on each of Chill, Normal, Tricky and Devilish. Every level has a solution on this site.
Is Triple Trouble free?
Yes. Levels 1 to 150 of Chill, Normal and Tricky are free, and you open the next ones in packs of 50 with the stars you win. Beasties Pro, a one-time purchase, opens all levels at once and adds Devilish. There are no ads either way.
How do I bring the monster babies down?
Babies can’t be matched or blasted. Clear the monsters under them so they fall, and they leave the board on the yellow arrows at the bottom.
How do I collect letters and treasures?
Letters come from the monster mailbox, treasures from the treasure cupboard once its last lock breaks. Neither can be matched: a match right next to one, or any power-up that hits it, collects it for your goal.
How do I stop the mushrooms from spreading?
Hit at least one mushroom every move, with a match right next to it or a power-up. Only a move that misses all of them lets a new one grow.
What do portals, lids and conveyor belts do?
They change the refill. Monsters that fall into a portal come out of the portal with the same colour, no new monsters drop into a column with a lid, and belts carry their monsters one cell on after every move. Gargoyles block for good: nothing breaks them and nothing falls through.
How does the bubble cauldron work?
Matches of its colour right next to it fill it, and the number on it shows how many monsters are still missing. Once full, it bursts and clears everything up to two cells around it.