Groups comparison

Visual matching - 1978 to 2022
A type of puzzle games where you match colors, shapes, patterns or other visual cues together to progress.

Match 3 - 1979 to 2021
A type of visual matching puzzles where you match 3 or more visually similar pieces to progress, often by lining them horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Falling blocks - 1981 to 2023
Sub-genre of visual matching puzzles which involves rotating and placing falling blocks together usually to form complete lines and to make them disappear.

Color matching - 1982 to 2020
Matching or selecting specific colors is part of gameplay.

Tile swap puzzle[tile swapping puzzle] - 1982 to 2012
A visual matching puzzle where player swaps any tile with any other to achieve what is wanted. May also occur with swapping groups of adjacent tiles together for added challenge.

Shape matching - 1984 to 2020
Matching or selecting specific shapes is part of gameplay.

Tile cycle puzzle[tile cycling puzzle] - 1994 to 2021
A visual matching puzzle where player cycles tiles in predefined area (usually 1x2, 2x2, or similar area of adjacent tiles) until they match what is desired.