Three in a row

Three in a row - Play Online

You know Bejeweled, right? This is basically that, but stripped down to its bones. Three in a row is a classic match-3 puzzle where you swap colorful gems to create lines of three or more identical pieces. The goal is simple: rack up 20,000 points per level by clearing gems and watching new ones cascade down. It's pure brain candy designed for quick sessions—the kind of game your mom probably plays on her tablet during lunch breaks.

Key Features

• Multiple Levels with Shape-Shifting Boards: The grid changes shape as you progress—I hit level 13 and suddenly had an hourglass-shaped board instead of the basic rectangle.
• Runs on Anything: Seriously low system requirements. If your device can open a browser, it can run this.
• Score-Chase Gameplay: Each level requires 20,000 points to pass, so you're always hunting for those big combo clears.
• Timer Pressure: That red progress bar at the top isn't just decoration—it's counting down, pushing you to make matches faster.

How to Play Three in a row

The rules are dead simple, but the timer makes it tricky.

Swap Gems to Match Three

You click or tap a gem, then click an adjacent one to swap their positions. If the swap creates a horizontal or vertical line of three or more identical gems, they disappear and you score points. No match? The gems swap back. It's the same mechanic you've seen a thousand times since 2001.

Race Against the Countdown

That red bar at the top is your enemy. It drains constantly, and when it empties, the level ends—doesn't matter if you hit 20,000 points or not. You need to chain matches quickly to beat the clock. New gems drop from the top to fill gaps, and sometimes you'll get lucky cascades that trigger automatic combos.

Clear 20,000 Points to Advance

Each level has a 20,000-point threshold. Hit it before time runs out, and you unlock the next stage with a new board layout. The grid geometry changes—some levels have chunks missing in the middle or shaped like hourglasses—which forces you to rethink your match strategy.

Who is Three in a row for?

This is built for absolute casuals. If you're looking for a no-stress puzzle to play while half-watching TV, you're in the right place. It's also perfect for older players who just want a familiar match-3 experience without flashy animations or confusing power-ups. Kids can handle it too—there's zero violence and the rules are intuitive. But if you're a hardcore puzzle gamer looking for depth or innovation, you'll be bored in five minutes.

The Gameplay Vibe

It's incredibly sterile. The gems have that glossy early-2010s bevel effect, and the background is just flat blue. No particle effects when you clear a line, no satisfying sound design—just basic pops and generic chimes. The font looks like Times New Roman with an italic slant, which honestly feels lazy. The whole thing screams "asset flip" or "developer's first Unity project." It's meditative in the way watching paint dry is meditative. You won't get an adrenaline rush, but you also won't get frustrated. It's just… there.

Technical Check: Saves & Performance

The game saves your progress locally in your browser cache, so you can pick up where you left off—as long as you don't clear your browsing data. Performance-wise, this runs on a potato. The graphics are so minimal that even a decade-old phone should handle it without lag. I didn't notice any frame drops or stuttering, probably because there's almost nothing happening on screen visually.

Quick Verdict: Pros & Cons

It's functional and inoffensive, but completely forgettable.

• ✅ Pro: Loads instantly and works on any device without a hitch.
• ✅ Pro: The board shape changes keep it from being 100% repetitive.
• ❌ Con: Zero originality. You've played this exact game under fifty different names already. The visuals and audio are bottom-tier, even for a free browser game.

Controls

Responsive enough, though nothing special. Point, click, swap—that's it.

• Desktop: Use your mouse to click gems and swap them with adjacent pieces.
• Mobile: Tap a gem, then tap a neighbor to swap. Touch controls work fine, no dead zones or lag.

Release Date & Developer

Developed by 3d Alexx and released on November 13, 2024. It's a recent upload, but the design feels like it time-traveled from 2012.