Introducing Carton Collect: a Match-3 Game Made of Cardboard

Carton Collect is a casual match-3 puzzle game about cardboard: swap two neighbouring pieces, line up three or more of a kind, and gravity drops everything above into the gap. It runs on Android 7.0 and newer, speaks English and Ukrainian, and is out now on Google Play. This is a walkthrough of the board itself: the swap, the special pieces, the obstacles, the bosses, and the stars that open the next chapter.

The loop: swap, match, cascade

A level opens with two numbers: the moves you have left and the targets you have to collect. Match three identical pieces and they leave the board; everything above them drops into the empty cells. A drop can complete a new line on its own, and that line clears more pieces. One swap can set off several of those cascades in a row.

Early levels ask for one kind of piece. Later ones list two targets at once, and a boss level lists three, so the target list stops being decoration.

Special pieces and how they appear

Four shapes are born from matches of four or more, and each one does a job a plain match cannot.

• Scissors come from a line of four, and that line fixes their cut: horizontal scissors slice the row, vertical scissors slice the column. Swap them along their own line (a horizontal swap for horizontal scissors, a vertical swap for vertical scissors), and the whole row or column clears; other specials trigger them from any direction.
• A corner comes from an L or a T shape. It fires in two directions at once, so a corner placed near the middle clears a long arm in each of its two directions.
• A tape bomb comes from a 2×2 square of four identical pieces. It clears the 3×3 around it.
• A crane comes from a line of five. It takes every piece of one kind off the board, which is the quickest answer to a target that is spread thin.

Swapping two specials into each other also works, and the pair hits harder than either piece alone.

Obstacles: tape, boxes, bindings, blocks, holes, locks

Later boards stop being a plain grid.

• Tape seals a piece without hiding it. That piece still matches, but instead of leaving the board it loses a layer of tape, and it stays sealed until the last layer is gone.
• Boxes hold a piece inside and open after enough hits next to them.
• Bindings tie a group of cells together: damage one, and the whole group loses a layer.
• Torn cardboard blocks cannot be swapped or matched. A match beside them knocks a layer off.
• Holes are gaps in the board. Nothing falls through them, and nothing swaps across them.
• Locks keep a piece in place until a key lands in a match. Then every lock on the board opens at once.
• Paint pots carry the colour of a piece. Break one open and the cells around it turn into that piece.

Chapters, stars and bosses

Levels are grouped into chapters, and each chapter closes with a boss. A boss level asks for three targets at once, and the later bosses widen the pool of pieces on the board. The first clear of a boss adds a hammer to your boosters, and finishing a chapter adds a shuffle and a pack of extra moves.

Each win also pays stars. One star arrives with the win; the second and third wait behind score thresholds that the level sets for itself. Stars pile up across the level map, and they are the gate to the next chapter: it opens at 70% of the stars available in the chapters before it. A chapter cleared with one star per level does not reach that bar, so the map sends you back to the levels you rushed.

Hearts, coins and boosters

You hold five hearts, and a level that ends in failure spends one of them. Hearts return on a timer, so a losing streak costs time rather than progress. The opening chapter runs without hearts at all. Wins pay coins, and coins buy boosters: a hammer clears one piece or one obstacle layer, a shuffle remixes everything left on the board, and extra moves put a few more swaps on the counter when a level comes down to the last one.

A board made of cardboard

The world is built from delivery-box materials: kraft-brown tiles, soft shadows, and pieces that look cut from paper. The pieces are the small things you would find inside a parcel: stars, leaves, coins, hearts, gems, mushrooms, shells, apples, oranges, bananas, kiwis, and the occasional key. Obstacles come from the same box: tape that seals, boxes that hide pieces, bindings that tie a group of cells, and pots of paint.

Carton Collect is the studio’s only game; the app chooser covers the notes and expense apps if you came for those instead.

Carton Collect FAQ

What kind of game is Carton Collect? A casual match-3 puzzle game. You swap neighbouring pieces, match three or more, and work through the targets the level names. Every clear lets the pieces above fall, and a fall can finish the next match on its own.

Do I need an account to play Carton Collect? No. There is no sign-up, no email and no log-in; the game opens straight into a guest session, and progress stays on the device.

Can I play Carton Collect without an internet connection? Yes. The boards, the levels and the saved progress live on the device, so the game runs with the connection switched off.

What happens if a level does not work out? A lost level spends one heart, and the level stays open; the heart returns on a timer. Boosters help on the next attempt: a hammer clears one piece or one obstacle layer, a shuffle remixes the board, and extra moves add a few more swaps.