Gardenscapes Level 117 Guide: Board Strategy and Power-Up Combos

To beat Gardenscapes Level 117, prioritize matches in the lower rows to clear wooden obstacles, open restricted columns, and trigger cascading tile drops. Clearing bottom clutter allows fresh pieces to flow freely, generates explosive power-ups, and rapidly charges the Rainbow Blast meter without exhausting your allotted moves.

Target the Lower Board to Trigger Cascades

Level 117 features a segmented layout where multi-layered obstacles obstruct piece flow into the lower quadrants. Matches made near the top of the grid consume turns without changing the board state, whereas matches near the bottom pull whole columns downward, frequently creating automatic matches that save moves.

Move Choice	Board Impact	Move Value on Level 117
Top-row match-3	Clears three tiles; drops zero to one new row	Low; leaves blocked lower columns unchanged
Bottom-row match-3	Clears three tiles; pulls down the entire column	High; drives cascades and auto-matches
Direct obstacle hit	Removes one layer from adjacent blockers	Essential; widens the board for tile flow
Power-up creation	Spawns a Firecracker, Bomb, or TNT Barrel	Critical; breaks multi-tile blocker clusters

Unless a higher move immediately forms a power-up, always take the lowest available match to maximize passive tile drops and reveal open spaces.

Build and Combine Explosive Power-Ups

Standard three-tile matches cannot clear Level 117's layered blockers within the move limit. You must build explosives by matching specific tile formations:

Firecracker (four tiles in a line): Clears a cross-shaped pattern one tile in each cardinal direction. Use these to target isolated edge blockers.
Bomb (five tiles in an L or T shape): Clears a two-tile radius around the blast center, removing multi-layered obstacles in the middle of the board.
TNT Barrel (six tiles): Clears a three-tile radius, stripping obstacles across a substantial portion of the grid.

Whenever possible, avoid detonating power-ups in isolation. Swapping two adjacent explosives amplifies their range and fills the Rainbow Blast meter faster:

Bomb + Firecracker: Projects the wide blast of the Bomb along the directional lines of the Firecracker to hit distant corners.
Bomb + Bomb: Clears nearly half the active grid, stripping multiple layers of obstacles at once.
TNT + Bomb: Triggers an extensive shockwave that clears most standard pieces and blockers, causing massive cascades.

Charge and Deploy the Rainbow Blast

The Rainbow Blast meter charges solely through power-up explosions. Once filled, the Rainbow Blast spawns onto a random open tile. Instead of tapping it on the most convenient color, use it strategically:

Target the dominant color: Check which color has the highest count touching remaining obstacles, then match the Rainbow Blast with that color to weaken multiple blockers simultaneously.
Clear bottleneck colors: If a specific column cannot receive new tiles because a single color is jammed above an obstacle, target that color to restore board gravity.
Combine two Rainbow Blasts: If two Rainbow Blasts spawn or fall next to each other, swap them together to clear the entire screen, immediately removing one layer from every blocker on the board.

Avoid Common Move-Wasting Mistakes

Chipping at isolated corners: Making direct three-tile matches against single blockers in hard-to-reach areas wastes turns. Build explosives in the open areas of the board and detonate them toward the corners instead.
Detonating without scanning: Always examine neighboring pieces before setting off a power-up. Detonating too quickly can destroy an accidental four- or five-piece setup on the board before you can make the match.