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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
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Better options than

Lily’s Garden alternatives

Users often leave Lily's Garden due to frequent crashes, broken ads that halt gameplay, and a perception that the game is a money grab. Alternatives offer different gameplay styles, fewer ads, or more balanced progression for players seeking a smoother experience.

Why users look for alternatives to Lily’s Garden

The alternatives

Gardenscapes
4.7★ · 1,682,514 ratings · Free

Gardenscapes offers a match-3 puzzle experience with garden renovation, similar to Lily's Garden, but some users find its new adventure styles repetitive and the difficulty of levels, especially 'Super Hard' ones, can be frustrating without spending money R52. It has mini-games like Fancy Feathers and card collection for boosters, though players don't control which cards they get . Some ads for Gardenscapes are misleading, showing gameplay not present in the actual game .

Better for: This game might be better for players who enjoy a relaxing match-3 experience with fewer ads than Lily's Garden , but are prepared for potentially challenging levels that may require strategic use of power-ups or patience R53R54. It suits those who appreciate a long-standing game, as some have played since Covid .

Head-to-head: Lily’s Garden vs Gardenscapes
Zen Blossom
4.7★ · 50,967 ratings · Free

Zen Blossom is a tile-matching game designed to be relaxing and colorful, but many users find it frustrating due to excessive ads, sometimes 2 minutes of ads for every 2 minutes of play, often interrupting games R65. Some players also report that the game's ads are misleading, showing different tile layouts or games that aren't present in the actual app R67. The game includes a timer, which some casual players dislike R65.

Better for: Zen Blossom is better for players seeking a visually appealing and relaxing tile-matching game who are willing to pay for an ad-free version to avoid constant interruptions R66R67. It suits those who don't mind repetitive gameplay and are looking for a 'brain break' R67.

Head-to-head: Lily’s Garden vs Zen Blossom
Merge Gardens
4.6★ · 42,669 ratings · Free

Merge Gardens combines merging gameplay with garden renovation, offering a fun and relaxing experience for many players . However, as players progress, the game becomes less free-to-play friendly, requiring gems to open baskets or hangers, or to skip levels, making it difficult to advance without spending money R82. The game has also seen updates that remove rewards and make puzzles harder . Similar to Lily's Garden, users report issues with broken ads that force game restarts and disrupt streaks R80.

Better for: This game is better for players who enjoy the core merge mechanic and garden decoration, and who are either willing to spend money to progress at later stages or are very patient with slower progression R82. It might also suit players who prefer a merge game over a match-3 game .

Head-to-head: Lily’s Garden vs Merge Gardens
Small Town Murders
4.6★ · 35,611 ratings · Free

Small Town Murders offers a match-3 puzzle game with a detective storyline, which some players initially enjoyed for its witty chatter and interesting puzzles . However, many users report that the game's story line becomes almost nonexistent or changes to a less engaging format after reaching certain levels, requiring many wins to reveal small clues . Players also find levels to be too hard, with insufficient turns and a lack of boosters, making progression difficult without paying R94R96. The game also suffers from freezing issues .

Better for: This game is better for players who prioritize a detective storyline and match-3 puzzles, and who are looking for a challenge, even if it means slower progression or potential frustration with difficulty spikes R94. It might appeal to those who enjoy a game with a clear narrative goal, at least in its earlier stages .

Head-to-head: Lily’s Garden vs Small Town Murders
Garden Affairs
4.8★ · 29,046 ratings · Free

Garden Affairs is a match-3 game with garden design elements, praised for its creative puzzles and beautiful graphics R108. Many players appreciate that it doesn't force spending money to progress, even at high levels . However, some users find the game too easy in its match-3 levels due to limited object types and frequent events R109. Conversely, others report that levels become extremely hard at a certain point, requiring many stars to advance, making progress frustratingly slow R110. The game also has glitchy extra modules like the dice game and homes .

Better for: Garden Affairs is better for players who enjoy creative match-3 puzzles and garden design without feeling pressured to spend money, even at advanced stages . It suits those who appreciate strong graphics and a generally stable match-3 experience, but who are aware of potential glitches in side content .

Head-to-head: Lily’s Garden vs Garden Affairs
Stick with Lily’s Garden if

You should stick with Lily's Garden if you enjoy its storyline, graphics, and find the core gameplay fun and challenging, and if you have not personally experienced the frequent ad glitches, crashes, or feel pressured to spend money that many other users report .

Evidence note: No alternative had too-thin evidence.

Frequently asked

Why do Lily's Garden ads sometimes not close?
Lily's Garden ads frequently malfunction, blacking out the screen or lacking an exit button, forcing players to close and restart the entire game and often losing progress or rewards R1R3R10R19.
Is Lily's Garden a pay-to-win game?
Many players perceive Lily's Garden as a 'money grab' or 'rigged,' stating that it's nearly impossible to win certain levels or complete side games without spending real money on coins or power-ups, with costs potentially exceeding $100 per month for some R4R7R18R30.
Does Lily's Garden have mini-games as shown in ads?
Despite what its advertisements often show, Lily's Garden does not feature the mini-games depicted in its ads, which some users find misleading R6R21.
Why does Lily's Garden keep crashing?
Lily's Garden frequently crashes, freezes, or shuts down unexpectedly, sometimes after only one level, leading to lost progress and frustration for many players R3R12R13R16.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R3] Lily’s Garden 3/5 · US It’s fun but aggravating because it hangs and crashes.: It seems like some ads are just thrown on the platform with little to zero testing. When you’re playing and have to watch an ad, the ad will stop mid play, and that’s it. You have to cancel out of the game, then start over. Argh!
  2. [R12] Lily’s Garden 3/5 · GB Game issues: Love playing this game but just lately it keeps shutting down, sometimes after just 1 level played
  3. [R13] Lily’s Garden 1/5 · US Lily’s Garden: I have been playing this game for a couple of years and it has just gotten more glitchy with time. It keeps kicking me out and this last time I was playing a hard level and had to spend the 99 cents so I could finish the level, no big deal. But I completed the level and then it kicked me out and when I got back in I was back on the same hard level.
  4. [R16] Lily’s Garden 2/5 · US Frequent crashes: The game stops repeatedly and I lose my progress. It is annoying
  5. [R1] Lily’s Garden 1/5 · US broken ads: broken ads blacken the screen and block game progression- extremely frustrating- State Farm ad is broken blocks game and never exits, have to quit game entirely totally aggravated as a frozen ad forced deletion of app- won’t be coming back
  6. [R10] Lily’s Garden 1/5 · US Love it, but ad glitches: I would give it 5 stars, but nearly every 5th or so ad will make it impossible to close out of it- meaning you have to close the game and reopen it to get out. Meaning you ALSO watched the ad for nothing, and can lose coins, or even progress (like watching an ad for +2 moves on a one shot level). This is frustrating enough to dock the review for me.
  7. [R19] Lily’s Garden 1/5 · US Don’t waste your time: I’ve been playing this game for years, now after the latest update the numerous adds no longer have a way to close it. I waited 10 minutes and still no exit point. It makes game play impossible so don’t waste your time. Seriously, don’t waste your time!!!!
  8. [R4] Lily’s Garden 1/5 · US This game is designed to steal your money! BEWARE!: It has a great story line so it sucks you. After every try they present you with cheap enough options so you can win. So you click 2.99 then 9.99. Then 14.99 by a he end of the month you have spent well over 100 dollars or more. There is no way to win unless you click and pay. I take responsibility for playing this game and letting them outrigh
  9. [R7] Lily’s Garden 1/5 · US Money grab: I’ve been playing this game for three years. The graphics are amazing. They changed it up to keep it interesting. Now the bad news, this is ridiculously expensive to play Even the side games, especially merge, works against you, in that not only do you have to earn energy, you have to buy it, and then as you’re playing, they put up obstacles (bubbles were running out of energy again) e
  10. [R18] Lily’s Garden 3/5 · GB Difficulty: I like this game when I manage to win a level but I refuse to spend real money so on the frequent hard levels I waste weeks trying to get on. The side adventures are never finished because they move to a new one before I can get there
  11. [R30] Lily’s Garden 1/5 · US RIGGED: So I am playing and I go to use the restroom and then I come back and see that most of my moves were gone and I didn’t even use them and when I have a rocket I don’t touch it and it goes off even tho I didn’t touch it ! And I keep on getting pop ups saying to pay for coins!! Like I don’t pay to win …. Truly rigged +rage bait…..
  12. [R6] Lily’s Garden 3/5 · US Add lies: I would have given five stars but I’ve been playing this game for years and it does not have mini games, I don’t know why the adds say there are. But other than that it’s a great game and I love playing it and reading the story.
  13. [R21] Lily’s Garden 3/5 · GB Filled with deepfake ads and scams: The game in itself is excellent with good level rewards and a nice mix of mini games. Unfortunately you need coins to complete levels as they get more complex and while you can get those by watching ads (which I like), the ads that are run are almost universally deepfakes that are complete scams. You get inundated with deep fake videos of celebrities or body cha
  14. [R9] Lily’s Garden 3/5 · US Skimming: So I have noticed while playing the game, the side games like Lilly’s memories the more you get higher up in solving the puzzle pieces the game gives you less puzzle pieces out of 55 levels 24 memory packs. I only get one puzzle piece. You guys should really work on that thanks.
  15. [R15] Lily’s Garden 3/5 · GB Too many updates, very annoying: Almost everyday there is a new update, what’s with that. Also, it is not continuous, too many times when I’ve finished a task, there is nothing to do for a few days, until they load more. Adverts are too long too.
  16. [R23] Lily’s Garden 5/5 · US No new Levels: Apparently the game has no new levels for me to earn the stars I need to complete tasks
  17. [R27] Lily’s Garden 3/5 · GB Please: I was completely enjoying this game until I got kicked from it. Some kind of error and when I message tactile about it, no response
  18. [R34] Lily’s Garden 1/5 · GB Game not working: I do like this game but for a few days now it don’t seem to be working and I’ve emailed the company to ask for help but they have not responded
  19. [R44] Lily’s Garden 2/5 · GB No support: I’ve played through to Highland Mystery and then froze. Asked for support and no response after 6 weeks.
  20. [R51] Gardenscapes 2/5 · US it’s an okay game: too hard and the powerups are weird
  21. [R52] Gardenscapes 5/5 · US New programmer review: I’m not liking the new game as much as the old style for the adventures. There are too many fixes too many find and fix constantly find and fix over and over and fix this is getting repetitive and boring. I miss the old blue and yellow trails and the new adventures is stupid. Some of these obstacles I have to move 3040 and 50 energy points, which means I have to wait 2 1/2 3
  22. [R53] Gardenscapes 3/5 · US The game is fun but…: Level 25 is very hard to pass. Especially if you don’t have a lot of coins. I won’t spend money in games. It be nice if there was ads to watch when wanting to use a booster instead of just coins. If a person does not have enough coins then there stuck.
  23. [R54] Gardenscapes 1/5 · US Welcome to…: Welcome to pure meanness. You have one task left to do to complete a day. You finally get the chance and obtain a “reward” of 30 free minutes of play. The level you start will a super hard level which the entire 30 minutes will be wasted on. Using power has the same effect as using a flashlight with dead batteries. You then try using the free 10 minutes in frog event after that humil
  24. [R65] Zen Blossom 2/5 · US Peaceful NOT! 2 min ads per 2 min play: First - a low stress game should not be timed. Second - 2 minutes of ads per 2 minutes of play is insane. You have to sit thru multiple ad breaks for a single puzzle. Third - you don’t see the pretty tile designs in the ad, only a pile of tiles. Deleted….
  25. [R66] Zen Blossom 5/5 · US Love love this game: Very relaxing fun colorful
  26. [R67] Zen Blossom 3/5 · US Relaxing but repetitive and misleading: It is a pleasant game, but the tile layouts do not change as advertised; it’s just one rectangular board with lots of tiles piled on top of each other. You quickly run out of new tiles to collect, you can only create a very limited set of flowers in the side game, I think nine, so that gets boring quickly. I have paid for the ad-free version, so I’m not in
  27. [R68] Zen Blossom 1/5 · US What happened: This game is changed so much that i struggle with frustration to continue when i fail, I do NOT care about score because I am NoT playing anyone else, its a win or fail game period. Go back to normal PLEASE , Its not scoring right either. Score of 24 by the time I lose….. going to DUMP the game again if it does not change! Dissatisfied at this time…….been playing a LOOONG ti
  28. [R79] Merge Gardens 1/5 · US You don’t give us: Any freakin space I keep buying coin storage and I can’t store any more coins this game is stupid that’s why I literally deleted this game before
  29. [R80] Merge Gardens 4/5 · US Broken ads: Fun game, but extremely frustrating to have streak rewards and incentivize streaks and ads to continue the level when half of the ads break the game and force you to exit the game, destroying your streak
  30. [R81] Merge Gardens 3/5 · US Need update: Games suddenly not working, keep restarting
  31. [R82] Merge Gardens 2/5 · US the more you play, the more it’s not free to play friendly: at later levels you need to open basket or hangers WHICH need gems to open OR you can pay gems to skip it… then other levels you need mystery eggs which (who would’ve guessed) needs gems… between using gems on levels and quest to level up, there’s just not enough as a free to play player to use without paying which is why the game require
  32. [R93] Small Town Murders 1/5 · US It would be fun, but……: The constant reminders onscreen on how to play are unnecessary and annoying most people who down load games know how to play
  33. [R94] Small Town Murders 4/5 · US Not enough turns: When you play this game you don’t get enough turns. And it is sometimes boring.
  34. [R95] Small Town Murders 3/5 · US I have couldn’t get on my previous account after getting a new phone. Very frustrating.: I couldn’t get on my previous account after getting a new phone. Very frustrating!
  35. [R96] Small Town Murders 2/5 · US Disappointing: Now I find that I’m stuck on a level with no boosters and no coins. I find that unless you beat the levels you lose lives and it doesn’t take long to run out of lives. I won’t pay to play. I also find that I accidentally use coins because the button is where I would have played. This is frustrating because I love playing.
  36. [R107] Garden Affairs 1/5 · US Annoying: Pop ups every second
  37. [R108] Garden Affairs 5/5 · US Good game: I picked up Garden Affairs thinking it’d just be another chill merge game, but it actually surprised me. At first it feels pretty simple, just merging items and fixing up the garden, but it gets more addictive the longer you play. There’s always something to do, and unlocking new areas keeps it interesting.
  38. [R109] Garden Affairs 3/5 · US Too easy: First off, I want to say that I’m really glad you didn’t include those terrible minigames that other match 3 game do. Aside from that, I’m finding that the game is objectively extremely easy. The levels only have 4 types of objects making it very easy to get power ups. However, I feel that the main factors are the events. There are always several of them going on at once so I end up cons
  39. [R110] Garden Affairs 1/5 · US Too hard once you reach a certain level: Once you reach a certain level they completely stall the progress needing 6 stars to move ahead. It makes the game so frustrating and slow so I’m quitting for good.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store