Something is afoot in the sleepy town of Thornton Grove! After a grizzly murder case occurs, it is up to you to help Nora Mistry investigate and discover the truth in Small Town Murders, a new match-3 detective game from the makers of the popular Angry Birds series.
To get the bottom of the case, players will need to solve match-3 puzzles and collect clues to help put the mystery together. Once all of the clues are found, use your detective skills to make sense of them and locate the real culprit!
In Touch Tap Play’s Small Town Murders tips and tricks guide, we will go over match-3 basics and how to pass the levels safely and find all the clues. Let’s get started with our Small Town Murders cheats, tips, and tricks strategy guide to solve the case!
Create the Special Pieces
In Small Town Murders, you need to finish the objective of the level to beat it. Each level has its own goal, whether that is to break all the picket fences or to collect all of the documents.
To help you reach your goal, the game has plenty of your standard match-3 special pieces to shake up the board. Making these pieces is the key to beating some of the harder levels.
Here, we will list all of the special pieces and how to create them.
The rocket is created when you match four pieces together. The rocket will be facing either horizontally or vertically. The direction the rocket is facing depends on what direction the final piece in the match moved in.
When set off, the rocket will automatically match all pieces in the same row or column it is in. The rocket travels across gaps, so it is especially helpful on the levels with fragmented boards.
The paper plane is created when you match pieces in a square formation. The paper plane can be swapped or double-tapped to activate it, at which point it will match all adjacent pieces. The paper plane will then take off and home in on an objective piece.
For example, if you need to collect a document, the paper plane will land on it and match it for you. The paper plane is useful for hard-to-reach objective pieces.
The bomb is created when you match pieces in either a “T” or “L” formation. Bombs are explosive little beasts, and when they are set off they will blow up all surrounding pieces. When you have a bunch of mismatched pieces in a clump, the bomb works wonders.
Finally, if you match five pieces you will create the almighty color bomb! This rainbow disco ball will match all pieces that match the color of the piece you swapped it with, potentially making this piece one of the strongest special pieces.
Special pieces will make anyone’s life much easier, so make sure you keep an eye out when you see the opportunity to create one!
(This Small Town Murders guide was first published on Touch Tap Play)
Combine Special Pieces for Devastating Results
You know what is even better than a special piece? Two special pieces combined into one super piece! You can mix and match various special pieces for some rather explosive results! If two special pieces fall near each other, try matching them and see what happens!
For example, if you match a paper plane with a bomb, the paper plane will travel to one of your objectives and then explode, also matching all of the surrounding pieces.
The most notable combination is matching two color bombs together – the result is a large color explosion that wipes out the entire board!
So, when you can, try to save special pieces if you think that you will have multiple ones falling down next to each other. Their effects are compounded when you utilize different kinds!
Dealing with Each Objective
Each level in Small Town Murders will have to working towards a specific objective. Here is a list of them and the best ways to conquer them!
Regular Pieces
For the first set of levels, your main objective will be to collect a specific number of a certain type of pieces. For example, you may have to collect green apples or purple notebooks. This is the easiest objective, but it will get much harder later on!
White Picket Fences
Your first major objective are the white picket fences. These fences must be destroyed, and in order to do that you must make a match next to the fences. Some of them fences are reinforced, so you may have to make multiple matches to get through.
Bombs and rockets are particularly effective on fences since they are piercing and can hit multiple fences.
Boxes of TNT
Next, you will have to deal with boxes of TNT. These things are actually kind of helpful, as they function just like fences except with an explosive bonus. You need to match next to them to destroy the boxes, and when the TNT are exposed, the next match will set them off.
When a TNT goes off, it produces an explosion similar to that of a bomb, which means it can destroy other objectives or pieces around it.
On the levels where you have to clear these things out, they tend to be clumped up so if you set one off you may start a chain reaction!
Once again bombs and rockets are your friends here, as they can help you hit multiple rockets with one move.
Detective Hats
Purple detective hats will appear near the top of the board, and they must be dropped all the way to the bottom. You do this by clearing out all of the pieces below the hats until they fall all the way.
All of the special pieces are helpful for clearing the board, but the color ball is perhaps the most useful for its mass matching capabilities. Vertical rockets are extremely helpful if you can manage to spawn one in the same column as a hat.
Collect the Documents
Important paperwork will be lying around the board, and it is your job to collect it all. Some of the documents will be sitting out in the open and can be collect with one match.
Other documents may have a cover on them which needs to be destroyed before the documents can be collected, so the documents may take several hits before they can be collected.
As always, since the game tends to clump the documents up together, bombs and rockets do wonders.
Eventually, once you get to around level 15, the game will start to throw multiple objectives at you. You might have to collect documents while taking care of TNT boxes, and so forth. Keep calm and match on!
This also just covers the first case. As you progress to new cases, you will have new objectives thrown at you, so stay on your toes!
Use Boosters to Give you an Edge
If you are having trouble with a particular level, keep in mind that you can always resort to using boosters, as long as you have the coins to buy them.
There are two kinds boosters: starting boosters and level boosters. Starting boosters are used before you begin the level, and they often give you a special piece or two right off the bat.
Level boosters are used during the level and can help you with objectives.
Starting boosters can provide you with free color bombs, normal bombs and rockets, or two paper planes. You can choose any of the three boosters or all of them if you really want to ensure a strong start!
Level boosters can be bought in the middle of a stage and help you more precise things. For example, the hammer can match one tile of your choosing, which can save you in a pinch.
You will not have access to all of the boosters at first – you must progress through the game enough to have the ability to use all of the boosters.
Solving the Case
The case is split into five parts: intro, crime scene detailing, suspect profiling, investigation, and the conclusion. The story will progress automatically as you finish the matching puzzle levels.
Do not worry about having to do any note-taking or research yourself – Nora will keep track of all the stuff you have learned so far automatically.
If you are following the story, then all you need to do is keep playing through the levels. Once you profile the suspects, put together evidence and testimonies, the answer will be clear!
That’s all for Small Town Murders. If you have any other tips or tricks to share, let us know in the comments below.
I’ve been stuck on level 1495 for weeks. Any advice, clues, cheats, etc., to help beat it?