Puzzle and Dragons
Puzzle & Dragons is a mobile match-three RPG with MMO-like social hooks, best known for being a massive hit in Japan and for turning simple orb-matching into surprisingly strategic dungeon runs. The basic idea is easy to grasp, but long-term play revolves around building a roster of monsters, assembling teams around elemental synergies, and learning how to squeeze maximum damage out of each board.
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Publisher: Gungho Online Entertainment Playerbase: High Type: Puzzle Game Release Date: November 8, 2012 (NA/EU) Pros: +Approachable early game and clear basics. +Simple rules with a high skill ceiling. +Huge monster roster to chase. +A large amount of dungeons and content. Cons: -Stamina limits how long you can play in one sitting. |
Puzzle & Dragons Overview
Puzzle & Dragons is a match-three puzzle MMO for Android, iOS, and Kindle Fire that mixes quick mobile sessions with long-term team-building. At a glance it resembles classic color-matching games, but the board is directly tied to combat, your orb matches determine which elements attack and how hard they hit. Matching three orbs triggers an attack for that element, while making larger matches and stacking multiple combos ramps up damage dramatically, turning a single turn into a satisfying chain of payoffs.
Where the RPG side kicks in is your monster box and party composition. You collect monsters through drops and the Egg Machine, then strengthen them through leveling, fusion, and evolution. As your roster expands, the game gradually shifts from “match what you can” to planning teams around elemental coverage, survivability, and how reliably you can generate combos on demand. Dungeons function as bite-sized runs with escalating difficulty, and many players end up treating the game like a long-form puzzle, optimizing both the board play and the squad behind it.
Even though the core gameplay is solo-friendly, the social layer is a major part of the loop. Before heading into a dungeon you can borrow a helper monster from another player, which makes progression smoother and encourages experimenting with leaders you do not own yet. That co-op style helper system also ties back into rewards, feeding the broader collection chase and giving players a reason to keep trying new content.
Puzzle & Dragons Key Features:
- Combo-driven Match-3 Battles – Move and connect orbs of the same color (fire, water, wood, light, or darkness) to activate attacks, with higher damage coming from bigger matches and multiple combos in a single turn.
- Over 700 Monsters to Collect – Expand your roster through the Egg Machine and dungeon drops, with rare finds serving as long-term goals.
- Fusion and Evolution Progression – Improve your lineup by feeding monsters to each other for experience, then evolving key units into stronger forms for harder dungeons.
- Helper-based Co-op Support – Bring a friend’s monster into runs as an ally, earning points that can be used toward Egg Machine pulls.
Puzzle & Dragons Screenshots
Puzzle & Dragons Featured Video
Puzzle & Dragons Review
Puzzle & Dragons stands out because it does not treat the puzzle board as a minigame, it is the combat system. Each turn asks you to read the board quickly, decide which colors matter for your current team, and then route a path that sets up as many matches as possible before the timer runs out. Early on you can succeed by making basic triples, but later dungeons reward players who can consistently generate multi-combo turns and who understand how to manage the board rather than simply reacting to it.
Team-building is the other half of the experience, and it is where the game earns its longevity. Building a party is not just picking your strongest monsters, it is about synergy and coverage. A well-built team can make an average board feel powerful, while a mismatched lineup can struggle even if the individual monsters are high level. Because progression includes fusion and evolution, the game is also good at making “extra” pulls feel useful, since duplicates and less-desired monsters can become resources for powering up your core units.
The helper system is a smart piece of design that smooths out difficulty spikes without removing the need to learn. Borrowing a strong ally can help you clear a roadblock, but it also teaches you what certain leaders and elements can do, which pushes you to refine your own collection goals. It is a lightweight social feature compared to traditional MMOs, but it does create that familiar sense of community-driven progression.
The biggest friction point is the stamina system. It is a common mobile structure, but it still means your playtime is paced by a timer unless you are willing to wait or use resources. For some players that is a fair trade for a game built around short, repeatable dungeon runs, for others it is the main reason the experience can feel restrictive.
Overall, Puzzle & Dragons is best recommended to players who enjoy puzzle mechanics but also want an RPG-style long-term chase. It is approachable, deep enough to reward practice, and packed with content, but it also expects you to engage with the collection and stamina loops that define many mobile games.
Puzzle & Dragons Links
Puzzle & Dragons Official Site
Puzzle & Dragons Wikipedia
Puzzle & Dragons PAD Wiki (Database/Guides)
Puzzle & Dragon X (Fan site + Guides)
Puzzle & Dragons Wiki (Database / Guides)
Puzzle & Dragons Google Play Store
Puzzle & Dragons Apple Store
Puzzle & Dragons System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Android 2.3 or later, iOS 5.1 or later
Puzzle & Dragons Music & Soundtrack
Puzzle & Dragons Additional Information
Developer: GungHo Online Entertainment
Platforms: iOS, Android, Kindle Fire
Executive Producer(s): Kazuki Morishita, Akihiko Ichikawa
Producer: Daisuke Yamamoto
Game Designer: Masato Takano
Composer(s): Kenji Ito, Yukio Nakajima
Release Date (iOS): November 8, 2012
Release Date (Android): December 12, 2012
Release Date (Kindle Fire): June 23, 2014
Puzzle & Dragons (often shortened to PAD, and also known as Pazudora) is developed by GungHo Online Entertainment, a Japanese developer and publisher known in part for operating the Japanese server of the MMORPG Ragnarok Online. The game became a major driver of GungHo’s success, reportedly accounting for 91% of the company’s $1.6 billion revenue in 2013, and it surpassed 41 million downloads worldwide as of January 2015.
A notable part of PAD’s ongoing appeal is its frequent crossovers with major game and anime brands. Collaborations such as Monster Hunter, Evangelion, and Dragonball Z have appeared as limited-time events, typically bringing themed Egg Machines, special dungeons, and exclusive monsters that are not always available again once an event ends. The franchise has also expanded beyond phones, including a Super Mario Bros. edition for the 3DS released in Japan in 2013, along with other ports and spin-offs that reflect how large the brand became.
Outside the app itself, Puzzle & Dragons has extended into official merchandise sold in Japan and even arcade-focused spin-off experiences. While it was initially planned as a Japan-only release, its momentum pushed it to a worldwide launch in late 2012. Even with international versions available, the strongest concentration of players has historically been in Japan, with 30 million of its 37 million downloads attributed to Japan as of 2014. Financially, the game has been described as generating over $2 million per day for GungHo Online Entertainment, placing it among the most successful mobile titles globally and putting it in the same general conversation as other major hits like Monster Strike and Clash of Clans.