claygroundAbout Chip Off
Chip Off is a clay puzzle that turns match-3 inside out. A slab of coloured lumps has a figure hidden in it. You swap lumps, line up three of a colour, and the matches crumble away. Nothing refills the slab, so every match decides what is left. When all the loose clay is gone, the lumps that remain puff up into a charm, wake up, and say hello.
Each level is built backwards from its answer, so there is always a way through. Three stars is the fewest moves the maker needed.
How to play
- Drag a lump onto a touching one to swap them, or tap one and tap where it should go. A lump can also slide across empty spots to any spot it can walk to.
- Three or more touching lumps of one colour crumble. The lumps set into the figure never crumble, but they count towards the three, so they make good anchors.
- Clay with fewer than three of its colour left on the slab dries out and falls away by itself.
- Clear every loose lump to carve the figure. Fewer moves earn more stars. Undo takes a move back and gives it back to the count.
What is new about it
In most match-3 games the board refills and the score is the point. Here the clay you clear is gone for good, and the picture hidden under it is the point. You plan from the finished figure back to the slab, the way a sculptor takes away what is not the shape.
The levels climb through three packs: Pinch teaches the swap, Slab adds slides across holes and figures with clay on every side, and Kiln has the long ones. Each day there is one more level, the same for everyone.
At a glance
| Price | Free |
|---|---|
| Players | 1 |
| Takes | A minute or two a level |
| Plays on | Any modern browser: laptop, tablet or phone |
| Account | None needed. Your stars stay on your device. |
Questions people ask
How is it different from other match-3 games?
The board never refills, so the clay on it is a fixed puzzle, and you clear it to uncover a figure. Lumps set into the figure count towards a match but never crumble. You can also slide lumps across empty spots, not only swap neighbours.
Can I get stuck?
You can reach a position with no way forward. Undo takes moves back with no limit, and the hint button looks a few moves ahead for a match, or shows you the undo button when there is none.
What are the stars for?
Three stars means you finished in the fewest moves the level was made with. Two stars is a few more. One star is carving it at all. Undoing a move takes it off the count.
Is there a daily level?
Yes. Everyone gets the same figure and slab on a given day, and your result is a row of coloured squares in the shape of the figure that you can post.