A Beginner's Guide to Faerie Fragments

     For the last year, Neopians have been rediscovering a fragment of old Faerieland which is becoming new through the magical talents of the faerie Luxinia, with encouragement from her friends, such as Varia, the rambunctious Shoyru. If you have not had a chance to discover this haven in the clouds, there is no time like the present to join them on their journey.

     Faerie Fragments is a game featuring Baby Neopet tiles where one must match three or more tiles together. Fans of Sutek’s Tomb are familiar with the basic concept, but instead of racing against a simple timer, one must clear objectives within a certain number of moves. Keep an eye on the level's objectives and moves left on the left side of the screen as you play. New obstacles are introduced periodically, requiring greater luck and expertise with power-up combos as the game continues.

     Between match 3 levels, one can work with Luxinia and her friends to restore and decorate New Faerieland, while trying to unravel Luxinia’s lost memories.

     This guide will focus on navigating the basic match 3 game mechanics and game resources.

Matching

     In general, matches are made by swapping one tile with another, so there are at least three tiles in a row of the same color. This causes them to disappear, and then other tiles will fall into their place. More than one set can be matched at a time, and more matches might happen automatically as replacement tiles fall into place.

     Additionally, matching four or five tiles leads to power-ups! The early levels will run through these so you can see them in action. You can either double-tap a power-up to set it off in place, or swap it with an adjacent tile to trigger it in a more favorable position.

Power-ups

     

• Butterfly - This simple power-up is made by matching four tiles in a square. When triggered, it will damage all four adjacent tiles, and send a Butterfly to target a random objective. Butterflies are smart - they are good at reaching out of the way places, and may know a thing or two about priorities.

     

• Missile - This flower-like power-up is formed by matching four tiles in a row. Setting it off will shoot all the tiles in the same row and column as its origin. It's a great tool to reach across the board.

     

• Bomb - Made by matching five tiles in a T- or L-shape, this little bottle packs a punch. It causes an explosion in a 5x5 area, and can be great for breaking through barriers.

     

• Nova Rod - This magical power-up is formed by matching five tiles in a row. When double-tapped, it will sweep away all the tiles of the most plentiful color. When swapped with a coloured tile, it will sweep away all of that color. What's even more fun is that it will leave fewer colors behind, which means automatic matches or even automatic power-ups!

     

     Besides forming these power-ups, there are a couple ways to start levels with them. The first one is pre-level Boosters. You can choose to start with a Missile, Bomb, and/or Nova beginning with level 7. They can be earned through various side activities, or you can buy them with Gold Coins if you run out. The second way is to earn Gifts from Neopia by winning levels on the first attempt, beginning with level 32. Once will grant a Butterfly, twice will also grant a Bomb, and thrice will add a Nova Rod on top. Losing a life will reset these Gifts, commonly called streak power-ups, and you will have to win three levels in a row to fully restore them.

Combos

     Now, what's even better than one power-up? Two! Swapping one power-up with another will create a combo that will combine their effects.

     

• Butterfly+Butterfly - Damages all eight surrounding tiles and sends three Butterflies to target random obstacles.

     

• Butterfly+Missile and Butterfly+Bomb - Damages four adjacent tiles and sends a Missile or Bomb, respectively, to randomly target obstacles where they are most dense.

     

• Missile+Missile and Missile+Bomb - Shoots multiple rows and columns centred around its origin - three for the Missiles, and five with the Bomb.

     

• Bomb+Bomb - Causes an explosion in a 9x9 area.

     

• Nova+Butterfly, Nova+Missile, and Nova+Bomb - Uses the Nova’s power to transform all of the chosen color into corresponding power-ups, which are then automatically triggered. Note that Nova+Butterfly behaves a little differently, as none of the Butterflies damage adjacent tiles - just their tile of origin, if applicable, and their target.

     

• Nova+Nova - Damages the whole board! Kaboom!

     

Power-up Items

     Power-ups are certainly your most powerful tool when facing obstacles, but they're not the only thing you'll need to ascend through the levels. Another major tool to rely on are power-up Items, which reside on the right side of the game board. They are all introduced by level 18, and include:

     

• Mini Wand - This bit of magic damages any one tile of your choice. It is wonderful to help finish off a level.

     

• Mega Wand - This magical tool acts just like a Missile… except you get to center it on any tile of your choice!

     

• Magic Glove - Need a hand? Here it is! This Item simply swaps two adjacent tiles of your choice, as long as they're both movable. It's very handy to position power-ups for combos, or even to make a match.

     

• Rainbow Negg - If you're feeling stuck, this Item will rearrange all the coloured tiles and hopefully make some matches for you.

     

     Power-up Items can be acquired from various side activities, as well as purchased with Gold Coins if you run out. They are particularly helpful when you are close to winning and just need a boost, especially because they do not use any movement!

     If you do find yourself with no more moves, you will be faced with a choice to buy more moves with 900 Gold Coins, or accept your fate by clicking the little X instead. The latter will cost a Life. Normally you can have up to five lives at a time, and it takes half an hour to refill one. However, if you run out you can once again spend 900 Gold Coins to refill them instantly.

Basic Resources

     When you complete levels, there are a few key resources you can earn that are shown when Luxinia is congratulating you on a job well done, and you can always see how many you have on hand in the town screen.

     

• Gold Coins - Use Gold Coins to beat levels, get Gold Coins from beating levels. Nice! There are many ways to earn them, including purchasing them with real life currency. Each level awards a small amount based on difficulty, but Gift levels - such as level 20 - have no other objective than collecting Gold Coins. Expect to earn several hundred on such levels… which will definitely come in handy, as some new obstacle is introduced immediately following every Gift level. There is no store front where you can spend them, but if you run out of any resources you will have the option to buy more with Gold Coins.

     

• Closet Tokens - Each level grants a base number of Closet Tokens, but if you have any moves left or unused power-ups on the board after a win, your partner Neopet will zap them and earn you bonus Closet Tokens! You can use them to buy cosmetic wearables for your partner Neopets. Then, you can make sure they look extra snazzy wherever they accompany you.

     

• Wocky Jelly - These are used to unlock the main story of Luxinia and New Faerieland. You earn one per main story level. At the time of writing, you need to earn and spend 465 Wocky Jellies to complete the three chapters that have been released so far.

     

• Bronze Coins - These are only available during seasonal events. Each event has a unique design relating to the event theme. They don't carry over from event to event, but they can lead to some great rewards! There is always a reward track based on the total you've earned: at 3,000 you can claim a special Neopets.com item. By 6,000 you'll unlock a number of in-app rewards ranging from power-ups to avatar frames, and sometimes the reward track will provide resources beyond the 6,000 milestone. As if that's not enough, there is also a shop where you can spend Bronze Coins on in-app or Neopets.com prizes.

     

Navigating the Town

     There is still so much to explore in Faerie Fragments! This overview should be enough to get you started playing match 3 levels, but I'll also quickly summarize some other areas to explore in the main menu, the town screen.

     

• Resources - At the top left side of the screen you can see how many lives you have, and your current number of basic resources like Gold Coins. Click on them for tips on how to earn more.

     

• Settings - At the top right side of the screen you can invite friends, punch a Daily Stamp Card for in-app and Neopets.com rewards, read announcements, check notifications (which is where a lot of in-app rewards are sent!), and go to Settings to do things like change your in-app avatar or link to NeoPass.

     

• Events and Side Games - On the left edge, you can see the current seasonal event, if applicable, and various side games that offer various resources as rewards for beating match 3 levels! The side games start and end periodically throughout the week. A couple of them require being part of a Guild. Likewise, on the right side of the screen you can get more rewards from side activities like the Snorkle Bank and Negg Tree!

     

• Main and Side Stories - In the bottom left corner you can complete main story tasks using Wocky Jelly, or switch to side story mode to complete additional match 3 levels.

     

• Other Features - Down at the bottom in the center of the screen there are some other major features: the Closet to customize your partner Neopet, Guilds (unlocked at level 23), the Journal of partner Neopets, the Store for purchasing Gold Coins and other resources, and Achievements to unlock in-app and Neopets.com rewards for various accomplishments.

     

• Tower Mode - In the bottom right corner, just above the button to play main story levels, is the Tower. Initially unlocked at level 50, this mode allows you to play a daily set of levels you've played before for Gold Coins and power-up Items... even if you're out of lives!

     

     Now, what are you waiting for? Go play and explore! And if you have any further questions, feel free to shoot me a Neomail or stay tuned for future articles about Faerie Fragments. Happy matching!