Puzzle Parade is a collection of brain teasers - all very different, but also clearly related. What they all have in common is that they have a high score competition that expires every hour. Here you win diamonds for both Puzzle Parade and Tower Empire, golden eggs for Farm Empire, donuts for Crime Scene and tokens for Komogvind.
In this game type, you need to make connected groups of four or more identical pieces. Clicking on a tile increases its value by one, allowing you to make four neighboring tiles have the same value. The number of points you score corresponds to the numbers on the tiles. You lose when there are no more opportunities to form groups of four of a kind - but you get to use any power-ups first.
In Push, you push the pieces in the bottom row up to form three or more of a kind in a row. When you push a tile up, its entire column moves up. You score points according to the number on the tiles. The skulls in the top row mark where you must not let a piece stop, otherwise you lose.
Here we have a classic three-on-stripe variant. You need to swap two pieces to form a three-on-stripe. Your goal is to move the black plugs to the bottom row to temporarily eliminate a color. The acidic connectors must also move to the bottom row, but they are just an obstacle and do not eliminate a color. You lose when there are no more possible moves.
Pups is about combining balls of the same color. When two similar balls hit each other, a new ball of a higher value and a new color is created. The higher the value of the ball, the more points you score. If you also make sure to combine at least one ball on each shot, your chain is increased and multiplied by the points you score. BONUS balls are formed randomly and score 10 times as many points as regular balls, so make sure to include them in the long chains. The game ends when 10 balls are still on the court.
A good strategy can be to play only slow shots, making sure to increase your chain by only one each time. This video shows how to set a good score with this strategy. The video is recorded with Team Viewer, so the quality is not so good.
At first glance, these seem like simple puzzles, but after playing a few times, it is evident that strategy and logic are needed. The leader board is fun, and helps one to gauge what it takes to win. This is one of my favourite games here on topia.