Tricky Gems vs Smiley Chain
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tricky Gems
A fast-paced tile-matching puzzle game where you guide falling gem columns to create matches of three or more. Clear the board, build combos, and climb the leaderboards. Special bomb columns and power-ups add strategic depth to the escalating challenge.
- Tile-matching puzzle gameplay
- Match lines or diagonals of three or more gems
- Score points and build combos
- Escalating difficulty with faster falling columns
- Special bomb column power-up
- Unlock 23 achievements
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Tricky Gems is a fast-paced tile-matching puzzle game for iOS and macOS that will challenge your reflexes and strategic thinking from the very first drop. Guide columns of three gems as they fall into the playing field and match lines or diagonals of three or more to score points. Clear the board efficiently, rack up combos, and climb the leaderboard as high as you can. Every level brings a new challenge — the columns fall faster, the pressure builds, and the background shifts to keep things fresh. At the end of each level, a special bomb column sweeps the field, destroying every gem that matches its color. You can also trigger this power move manually once your Power-up Bar is full. Run out of space and the game ends in a spectacular explosion of bombs. Prove your skills by unlocking all 23 Achievements — some require true mastery of the game. You will need sharp focus, quick reflexes, and a solid strategy to earn the ultimate title: Gem Legend. Good luck!
Smiley Chain
A classic falling block puzzle game where players connect groups of four or more same-colored smilies to clear them from the screen. Trigger chain reactions for bonus power-ups and compete for high scores on a global leaderboard.
- Falling block gameplay
- Connect 4+ same-colored smilies
- Horizontal and vertical connections
- Chain reaction bonuses
- Global leaderboards
- Classic 8-bit style
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GAME INTRO ---------------- Smiley Chain is a classic game that has falling group of 2 smilies from top of the screen. The pieces can be moved, dropped, and rotated as they fall. The piece falls until it reaches another smiley or the bottom of the screen. When four or more smilies of the same color line up adjacent to each other, the smiley will connect to each other, blinking and disappear. Smilies of the same color can connect horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally. A chain is made when falling smilies cause a new group of smilies to disappear, making a chain reaction. When player made a chain, you will earn a special bonus: Big Eater or Random Brush that will clear a lot of smilies in a extraordinary way. You can compete your score with other playes via leaderboard worldwide. Now go for it and have fun! CREDIT ------------------ + Sounds generated from Bfxr. FAN PAGE ------------------ + Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/qastudiosapps
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Smiley Chain at none against Tricky Gems's 1. Smiley Chain also leads on ads (none vs shown). Tricky Gems's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (48 vs 4). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Tricky Gems sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Smiley Chain asks for nothing beyond the download.
Tricky Gems holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tricky Gems has 48 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 75% and 75% positive.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tricky Gems | Smiley Chain |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (48 ratings) — better | 4.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 48 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Miroslav Otsedarski | Quang Duc Vu |
Customer experience
Tricky Gems
Smiley Chain
In-app purchases
Tricky Gems
- Pro Levels and Remove Ads$1.99
Smiley Chain
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Tricky Gems free?
Is Smiley Chain free?
Which has better reviews, Tricky Gems or Smiley Chain?
Do Tricky Gems or Smiley Chain have ads?
Which is updated more often, Tricky Gems or Smiley Chain?
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