Matching With Friends Walkthrough

Matching With Friends is the latest entry in Zynga’s “With Friends” series. The object of the game is to match blocks on a playing field that share the same color. It’s a simple concept, but there’s a lot of depth and strategy within. Gamezebo’s quick start strategy guide will provide you with detailed images, tips, information, and hints on how to play your best game.

Game Introduction – Matching With Friends

Quick Start Guide

Getting Started

To play Matching With Friends, go ahead and select the “Play Now” button at the top of this

Push Notifications – Upon firing the game up the first time, it will ask you if you’d like it to send you Push Notifications. If you want to change your answer later, you can do so in the “Settings” section of the game.
The game will kick off with a tutorial of how to play.

First things first, you’ll learn how to place a set of blocks on the playing field. It’s as simple as grabbing a piece from your inventory (each set consists of three blocks, and they’re located at the bottom of the screen) and dragging it to where you think it works best. Keep in mind the ultimate goal is to match three or more of a certain color.
During each turn in the game you’ll be provided three sets of blocks to place. There’s no order this must be done in, so lay them out as you see fit.
Once you’ve placed a set of blocks on a playing field, tapping them will cause them to rotate vertically and horizontally.
If you decide you’re not happy where you’ve placed blocks, you can pick them up off the playing field and move them to wherever they fit.
It should be noted that pieces cannot be laid atop one another, so you have to make sure you have space for at least three blocks when laying your pieces out.

Swap – Inevitably, you’ll be provided some dud pieces. To remedy this, you can choose the ‘Swap’ option at the bottom of the screen. Swapping costs 10 coins, and you’ll be allotted 125 of them at the start of the game. You can also earn more by playing.

Before sending your turn, you’ll be able to see how many points it will net you at the top of the screen.

Play – Once you’re happy with where you’ve placed everything, go ahead and click ‘Play’ on the bottom right. The points of the move will be tallied up and it will be your competitor’s turn.
Each game ends after 10 turns

Bombs

There are several different types of bombs in Matching With Friends, and you can only use two per game.
The first bomb is a directional one, and it destroys every block directly above, below and to the sides of it.

For 35 coins, you can purchase a bomb that destroys all of the bombs in a contained vicinity around it.
Again for 35 coins, you can purchase a bomb that, when placed next to a block, will destroy that block as well as every one it’s touching.
Lastly, for 35 coins, there’s a bomb that blows everything a single spot above, below, and to the sides of it.

Additional Elements

Despite the simple concept behind Matching With Friends, there are a few additional elements players should keep in mind.
Star Blocks – Now and then a block donning a star will show up in your inventory. These blocks take on whatever color they’re placed next to.

Multipliers – Various parts of the playing field will be branded with ‘2X’ and ‘3X’. Matching blocks atop these results in a doubling or tripling in points of that specific match.
Resign – If your opponent is a jerk and is taking way too long to take their turn, there’s a ‘Resign’ option on the bottom left of the screen that enables you to opt out.

Finding Other Players

Once you complete the tutorial, the game will prompt you to sign in through an email account or a Facebook profile. Upon doing so, you’ll be taken to the main menu.

There’s also a full menu dedicated to starting new games (shown above) that you can get to by clicking the ‘+’ icon on the top right of the main menu.
Facebook – You can start up a game with Facebook friends by inviting those who don’t have the game to get it, or by challenging friends already playing the game.
Twitter – You can also invite Twitter followers to play against you.
Random Opponent – If you choose the ‘Start a Game’ option on the menu, you’ll be able to challenge random people by selecting the ‘Random Opponent’ option.
Contact List – Furthermore, you can enter the username of friends, or invite someone from the contact list of your iPhone.

More on the Menu

Of course, there’s more you can do besides find other people to play against.
Your Turn – The ‘Your Turn’ section lists the games that it’s currently your turn in.
Their Turn – On the flipside, the ‘Their Turn’ area shows you the games where it’s the turn of your opponent.
Options – In the options menu, you can toggle sound, check your current coin balance, change account info, and view the tutorial a second time.
Store – In the game’s store, you can purchase more coins.

Get Games – The ‘Get Games’ option will take you to a small list of available Zynga games.
News – Under ‘News’, players can view current Zynga news. It’s currently an ad for Draw Something, but I suspect it will be updated at certain intervals.
Scramble – By clicking the ‘Scramble’ icon, you’ll be redirected to Scramble With Friends or prompted to download it if you don’t currently own it.
Words – This is the same as ‘Scramble’, only it will redirect you to Words With Friends or prompt you to download it.

Tips

Connect as many blocks of the same color as you possibly can. It leads to a higher score.
Don’t be afraid to swap out blocks when you’re unhappy with the hand you were dealt.
Star blocks can lead to some pretty big block matches.