Gemz guide · The basics

How to play Gemz

Gemz is a block puzzle with a twist: some of the blocks you place carry gems, and the gems caught in each line you clear multiply your score. This guide explains the rules exactly as the game applies them, from your first piece to level 200.

Updated 27 September 2026 · By the Free Consciousness team

The board and your pieces

Gemz is played on a board of 8 rows by 8 columns. You get three pieces at a time, shown under the board. Drag a piece onto any spot where it fits; once all three are down, three new pieces arrive. Tap a piece to rotate it before you place it. Every block you put on the board is worth 1 point.

Your first games use small and medium pieces: single blocks, bars of two to four blocks, the 2×2 square, small corners and the four-block L, J, T, S and Z shapes. Larger pieces join the deal as you pull off big clears, and each new family is announced at the end of the game in which you unlock it:

• Big L-pieces (the four five-block corners) after your first 4-line clear.
• Hexominoes (2×3 and 3×2) after five 4-line clears.
• Big Bars (1×5 and 5×1) after ten 4-line clears.
• Big Blocks (2×4 and 4×2) after your first 5-line clear.
• The Colossus, the nine-block 3×3 square, after five 5-line clears.

Clears of five or six lines also count toward the 4-line goals, so bigger clears unlock these pieces faster.

The hold slot

Clearing level 3 gives you a hold slot: drop a piece there to keep it for later, then drag it back onto the board when it suits your plan. A piece still waiting in the slot when a game ends is there for you in your next game on the ladder. Three more hold slots can be bought with coins, for 2,500, 10,000 and 40,000 coins.

Clearing lines

When a row or a column is completely full, it clears and its cells empty. Rows and columns can clear in the same move, and each one counts as a line: a piece that completes two rows and one column clears three lines at once. Because a completed line always passes through the piece you just placed, the most you can clear in one move is six lines, with the 3×3 Colossus, a 2×4 Big Block or a 1×5 Big Bar.

A move that clears at least one line is a scoring move. A move that clears nothing only adds the points of its blocks.

Clean Sweep

Emptying the whole board is a Clean Sweep. Your next two scoring moves are boosted: the first is multiplied by 10 and the second by 5. The boost also carries over: your next game on the ladder starts with the same ×10 and ×5 ready to use.

Gems and your gem mix

Some cells of the pieces you receive carry a gem instead of a plain block. Those gems always come from your gem mix: the gems you have equipped in the Collection. Every new player starts with three common gems already equipped: Rock Crystal, Rose Quartz and Amethyst.

A gem only counts when it leaves the board, that is, when a line it sits in is cleared. How often each gem of your mix shows up depends on its appearance rate, and common gems appear far more often than rare ones. Pieces often carry the same gem on all of their gem cells, which is what makes clears full of identical gems possible.

Your mix starts with 3 slots. Each rank boss you beat (levels 5, 30, 55, 80 and 140) adds a slot, for a total of 8, and completing level 200 opens the ninth and last one. The gem guide covers every gem, its stats and how to level it up.

How a move is scored

You can tap the score during a game to open the in-game score guide. Behind it, every scoring move is calculated like this:

Score = Base × Lines × Gems × Combo × Synergy

When a Clean Sweep boost is active, the result is multiplied again by 10 or by 5.

Keeping a combo alive

The combo counts consecutive scoring moves. You are allowed one placement that clears nothing between two clears, and the chain survives it. A second placement in a row that clears nothing resets the combo to zero. That single free placement is what lets you prepare the next clear without losing your multiplier.

A worked example

Take the three starting gems at level 1: each has a Power of 1 and a Multiplier of ×2. You place a piece that completes two rows holding two Rose Quartz, and it is your second scoring move in a row:

• Base: 1 + 1 = 2
• Lines: two lines, ×2
• Gems: ×2 times ×2 = ×4
• Combo: second clear in a row, ×2
• Synergy: two identical gems, ×8

That move is worth 2 × 2 × 4 × 2 × 8 = 256 points, plus 1 point per block of the piece. Now make it three Rose Quartz across three lines on your third clear in a row: 3 × 2.5 × 8 × 4 × 27 = 6,480 points. Level 1 asks for 1,000. Identical gems and unbroken chains are where the big numbers come from.

The level ladder

The heart of Gemz is a ladder of 200 levels. Each level sets a target score, and you have 8 scoring moves to reach it. Only moves that clear lines use up a move; placing a piece that clears nothing is free, so you can build up the board before cashing in.

Reach the target and the level is won. You can finish right away or keep playing your remaining moves to push the score higher, and the win screen celebrates beating the target by 50%, doubling it and tripling it. If your 8 scoring moves run out before you reach the target, the level is lost and you can try it again.

Targets start at 1,000 points on level 1 and climb to 100 trillion (100,000,000,000,000) on level 200. Every level also has its own reward, from coins, jewels and power-ups to jewel boxes of every rarity. A few are fixed milestones: five Rewinders at level 2, your first hold slot at level 3, a new gem for each rank boss, and a Mythic box for clearing level 200.

Boss levels and mix requirements

Ten levels are bosses: 5, 30, 55, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180 and 200. A boss gives you only 4 scoring moves instead of 8, and your points add up across those four moves as usual. The bosses at 5, 30, 55, 80 and 140 close a rank: beating them promotes you and gives you a new gem, an Uncommon at level 5, a Rare at 30, an Epic at 55, a Legendary at 80 and an Exotic at 140.

Forty-five levels also check your gem mix before you start. The requirement is shown on the level screen, and the START button stays locked until your mix meets it, with a Change mix button right next to it. There are three kinds of requirement:

• a number of equipped gems at a minimum level, such as 2 gems at level 3 or higher for the boss at level 30;
• at least one gem of a given rarity or better, such as an Epic gem;
• a specific gem equipped, such as the Ruby for the boss at level 140.

The level screen also compares your mix's Power with the power the level calls for, and gives a verdict: Comfortable, Tight or Tough level. It describes a trend rather than a guarantee, but it is a good signal that it's time to level up your gems.

Ranks, from Wood to Diamond

Your rank follows your position on the ladder. Each new rank adds gems to the jewel boxes and, from Bronze on, a gem slot to your mix.

Platinum and Diamond are split into three divisions of 20 levels each. Completing level 200 opens your ninth gem slot and the Champion's League.

When no piece fits

If none of your pieces fits anywhere on the board, including the one in your hold slot, the game offers you a chance to continue: watch a rewarded ad or spend jewels, and the board is cleared while your score and combo are kept. If you decline, the game ends. The first time it happens during your first three games, the continue is free. Continues are not offered in the Champion's League.