Rock Garden Deluxe Game Review

Rock Garden Deluxe Game Background

Rock Garden Deluxe is a garden-themed slide puzzle game. Developed by Flipline Studios, the game was first released in 2008 and made available for free in 2010. Your goal is to slide stones around to sort them according to their color.

How to Play Rock Garden Deluxe

Getting Started

To select, left click with your mouse or tap on the touchscreen with your fingers. Select Continue on the loading screen to bring up the welcome screen. On the welcome screen, type in your user name if you’re playing for the first time. Your web browser automatically saves your profile and game progress. Select Classic Game to start the standard version of the game. Select View Garden to show the gardens you’ve already made.

The game has 5 save slots. To create a new save slot, select Not You? Click Here on the leaf at the bottom right corner of the screen. Select Add User to add another save profile, and Delete User to remove a selected profile.

Game Controls

Select and hold the stone you want to move, then drag it in the direction you want it to go. Release to slide the stone into place.

Basic Gameplay Advice

Basic Rules

You begin with a maze-like board with a set of colored stones within. Move the stones around and form groups of 5 identical stones. The stones slide from one edge to the next unless stopped by another object, usually another stone, or the edge of the board. You can only move one stone at a time. Stones can come in two sizes, but they move the same way.

If you commit an error at any point in the game, you can reverse your last move using the undo button on the bottom right corner of the screen.

The stones need to form a continuous group; they do not need to form straight lines. Once you form a group of 5 stones, they flip and cannot be moved. Keep sliding the colored stones until you’ve successfully matched all sets of them in the level.

In some levels, there are stones that cannot be matched to any of the others. These often have a marker above them. Stones with a cursor marker on top of them can move like the colored stones. Move them out of the way or use them to direct the other stones to where they need to go. Other stones are tied to the ground and cannot be moved. Plan your moves so the other stones go around them.

The game is timed. The timer at the bottom center of the game screen starts the moment you make a move. When all the stones have been matched, the timer ends.

Collected Stones and Gardens

Stones are collected in Levels Mode. The first stone is unlocked in Level 15. To unlock a stone, you must beat the high score set for that level. The game has a total of 101 stones to unlock over the course of gameplay. These stones can be added to the rock gardens you can assemble.

Select My Stones to view your current collection of unlocked types of stones.

The game has space for up to 9 different gardens per user. Select an empty slot to start a new garden or select an occupied slot to view and edit an existing one. To begin, choose from one of 32 different backdrops, then select OK on the bottom center of the screen.

At the garden screen, select the available stones from the stone menu at the bottom center, then drag and drop them into place. Select a size for the stones from one of two options (small and large). Select the arrows on either side of the stone menu to browse through the available stones. Drag and drop stones you don’t want into the trash can on the bottom right corner.

Once you’re happy with your work, select Save on the bottom right corner. Otherwise, exit by selecting the menu button on the bottom right

Game Modes

Levels Mode

The default mode of the game, you can start this mode by selecting the play button at the center of the welcome screen. The levels are unlocked sequentially; the game has 115 levels. Playing this mode is the key to unlocking every available stone in the game.

The game rates your level performance based on how quickly you match all the stones. It compares your speed with a predetermined high score the first time you play the level. When you beat this score, your current score becomes the new high score to beat. The slower it takes for you to finish the level, the lower your level rating will be. The highest possible rating you can receive is 5 stars.

Random Mode

To start this mode, select its button to the center left of the welcome screen. Select the difficulty by choosing the number of stars, then select Continue to begin. This will generate a random arrangement of stones in a garden that you must sort. The higher the difficulty setting, the more stones you have to sort throughout the game.

Although the Random Mode puzzles have a timer, they have no star ratings.

Advanced Playing Tips & Strategy

The one thing to remember about Levels Mode is that it’s about time, not move counts. Your task is to finish the level before the preprogrammed best time shown on the bottom center left. Thus, your task is to find the right pattern of moves that match all the stones quickly and efficiently.

Pathfinding is the most crucial part of the game. It’s vitally important to keep the level open, with plenty of paths for stones to move around in. This is especially important in later levels and in higher-difficulty random games, where a lot of stones must be moved.

Before matching a group of stones it’s important to make sure that nothing gets trapped behind them. Once matched, stones flip over and cannot be moved, essentially becoming another obstacle. Try to form the matched groups in corners to keep the center regions open. This will help keep the paths clear for the other stones you need to match.

To get accustomed to the game, consider practicing in random mode. There is no pressure to finish the game within a time limit and you can spend time practicing the foresight needed to solve more complex

Educational Aspects

The game encourages strategic and creative thinking. To quickly and efficiently solve puzzles, players must think two steps ahead to ensure that a path exists for every stone to go where it needs to go. It encourages players to be methodical with their moves to ensure that nothing gets trapped as they solve each puzzle.

Player Age Recommendations

This game is suited for school-aged players and above. We recommend it for fans of sliding maze puzzles.