General Gameplay Hints

"cabs" = color arrow/bomb/blast combos
"blast" = when you match up two color jars

Once you've got a cabs combo set up (but not launched yet) you will usually want to clear some of the other color squares off of the board so you will have plenty of your color to launch arrows/bombs. You have to balance this with not using too many of your remaining moves. 

• If you have a whole bunch of your color on the board, you may want to go ahead and launch the cabs.
• If you only have a few of your color on the board, if you have enough moves you'll definitely want to clear some of the other colors. 
• For color arrows: they quickly drop to the bottom of the board, so if you have lots of objects to clear towards the top, make sure you have lots of launch squares at the top before you trigger.
• For color bombs: You'll want to make sure you have the launch squares close to the objects you want to remove. (The bombs only clear two rows/columns from where they're triggered.) You'll especially want to do this if you have objects in areas that are hard to clear by matching squares next to them. 
• Some levels will need two or more sets of cabs you'll need to launch, so for those levels you'll have to be sure to keep plenty of moves for the next set. (I usually try to save about 14.)
• If you can, it's good to keep an extra move or two for after the launch, as the cabs often miss one or two objects.
• When you have a column of objects and are about to launch color arrows try to get a square of your launch color squares at the top of the column. This is especially helpful with objects that requre multiple hits. 
• When you have a column of objects and are about to launch color bombs, try to get at least a couple of your launch color squares within two columns of the object column. If they are objects that require multiple hits, you'll want as many of your color as you can get near them.
  

On the larger levels with a bunch of objects that need to be cleared, it's often best if you focus on clearing just one smaller area so you can get enough clear to start making cabs. If you try to clear them all without cabs, you may run out of moves. 

When the board has a lot of objects at the start and you need to clear some out to have room to build cabs, you'll often want to work from the top to the bottom. If you're working at the bottom, you may accidentally mess up a combo you're building above it. 

When you're building cab combos, it's usually best to start at the middle or top of the board because that will give you more flexibility to add colors.

When you're making a cabs combo, if you can you should make the pairing top/bottom instead of side/side. That will help you keep from accidentally breaking the pairing.

When you are trying to set up cabs, you may want to try to create a specific pairing that will work best for the layout of the level. Examples: 

• If there are areas that you need to clear that don't have color squares you can use to remove adjacent objects, or use to launch arrows/bombs, you will probably want to use color arrows because they can reach farther than the bombs.
• If you are dealing with objects that need multiple hits such as the chests, color bombs are usually much better than arrows or color blasts. The reason is that arrows/blasts will only give them one hit and then they will close up again as soon as you make another move. Using bombs when you have plenty of launch squares will usually give them a couple of hits so they are totally cleared. This is more true for the chests than for the cameras, because the chests can't drop down to the bottom while the cameras can, so the arrows will rarely clear them out. The color arrows almost always clear out the bottom two rows, so if the cameras drop to the bottom you're in luck. If the cameras are really thick on the board, the bombs will work better.
  
• When you're dealing with "thick" rocks - the ones that have multiple layers piled on top of each other - color bombs can be useful to give them multiple hits on one launch. The circumstances for these vary, though, and sometimes color arrows may be a better bet. If you have rocks with 4-5 layers, arrows aren't going to be very effective at removing them. 
• If you have a ton of one-hit objects such as dandelions, and especially the grass (!!!), a color blast is ideal because it will clear every single object at once. Color blasts are easier to make on levels that only have 2-4 colors of squares. If you have 5-6 different colors, they're going to be much harder to make. 
• Do NOT use color blasts on levels with lots of cameras or chests, as they will be completely wasted. As soon as you make the next move after the color blast, they'll all close up again. 

'Hard Levels:' In my experience, these levels are ones that require a good amount of luck rather than skill/tricks. They often take a bunch of tries before you can clear them. This is usually either because they have more colors so that building cabs is difficult, or they have areas of the board that are hard to reach. In general, the levels I've had lots of trouble clearing have not been labeled 'Hard.'

Really tough levels: These are the ones that seem like they're going to be impossible to clear. If you keep trying the game will eventually make them easier for you. Sometimes it will give you better setups of color squares to make building cabs easier. If you use boosters and still can't clear it, after a couple of tries the game may give you a gift of unlimited boosters for ten minutes. 

Using boosters: Obviously, you want to save them for when you really need them. I only use them when I've given a level a few tries and I'm not having any luck. If it's a "really tough level," I'll add the arrows/bombs/color jars before starting the level. If it's a "Hard Level," or one that I think I should be able to clear but I'm having bad luck, if I get very close to finishing but I run out of moves I'll buy extra moves, or use a trowel or rake. Remember, you need to use the trowel/rake before you run out of moves. If I see that I just have one or two objects left to clear but the color squares are too messy so I know I'm not going to be able to make a match, that's when I use the trowel/rake. Note: I never buy extra moves unless I know I'll be able to finish the level quickly. Example: If I have a cab set up and I just need one or two more moves to build the parts and launch it, then the extra moves are clearly going to work.

Grass clearing: The grass can be the most annoying part of the game. There are a couple of ways to make it easier, if you're on the right kind of level. 

• One option is to make a color blast that will take out all the grass in one hit. 
• Another option is to "lock" the grass so that it can't spread. If the grass is surrounded by objects, it can't expand. It can only expand to adjacent color squares. Many levels start out with the grass locked. On those levels, you should try to build a cab combo before you unlock the grass, so you don't have to worry about the grass increasing while you're making those moves. The way you do this is by building the cabs with color squares that aren't next to the grass. 
• If neither of the above options is possible, you'll often need to juggle clearing the grass with building the cabs. Try to make moves that accomplish both. Alternate between clearing the grass or building the cab - that keeps the grass under semi-control so that it doesn't take over the whole board before you build the cabs. A good way to do this is to build the cab on one side of the board and work on the grass on the other side, so that the moves you make to clear the grass don't interfere with building your cabs. You'll want to start building your cab as far away from the grass as you can get so the grass doesn't eat part of it. 

Free Boosters: There are a few ways to get these. 

• The daily gifts of boosters/coins you get just for logging in.
• Every few days the game will let you buy free boosters for 2000 coins (try to keep that many on hand to prepare).
• When they have those sales where you can get an animal if you buy all three levels, the bronze level is FREE, so always grab it before it goes away.
  
• Join an active Family and requests boosters, then redeem them when you reach a difficult level. (Most people ask for extra lives, but boosters will help you more in the long run.)
  
•  'Like' the official Lily's Garden Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/lilysgardengame) and check in regularly. Every few days they'll have a post that will give you free boosters if you add a comment. 
• The special features they run every 2-3 days (ex: Hot Streak) are good ways to get boosters.