Puyo Puyo!! Touch is a puzzle game in a similar vein to Candy Crush, and somewhat of a successor to the Nazo Puyo spin-offs. In this game, players are tasked with clearing Puyo by dragging them across the screen in order to complete a certain objective. Each time the player touches a certain color, they will have the option to drag it in 4 directions, up, down, left, or right, replacing the Puyo next to it with the same color. Clearing 4 Puyo will clear like normal, and every object effected by gravity will likewise drop to fill the gap. However if a player clears 5 Puyo, they will create a special arrow that will shoot a projectile when cleared, while clearing 6 or more Puyo will create a stronger double arrow. The direction the arrow shoots is based on where it's pointing, and will continue to fly until it's off the screen. Any objects hit with an arrow projectile will receive damage, 1 point for a normal arrow and 2 points for a double arrow.
The objective between each stage varies, ranging from clearing away a specific color of Puyo, clearing all the Nuisance Puyo, defeating a boss, or rescuing someone from a boss. For the boss battles and box stages, the objective is to defeat them by shooting them with arrow Puyo. Regardless of the objective, players are tasked with completing it within a set turn limit. If the player fails to complete a stage within the turns, they will lost the stage and will have to start over, unless they are willing to pay 5 stones for a continue. A stamina system prevents a player from playing a stage as much as they want, capping at 5 hearts, with an additional heart being added every 20 minutes in real time. Completing a stage will make any leftover turns count towards a bonus, where each turn is converted into an arrow that shoots in random directions.
As the player plays through a stage, their actions will count towards a score. As players clear away objects, the score will increase, reaching a star rank once enough points are collected. Each stage uses a 3 star ranking, each star rewarding the player with a prize once reached. Typically 1 star rewards a heart, 2 rewards money, and 3 stars rewards stones, powers, or stickers, with exceptions. After clearing every stage with 3 stars, a 4th heart will appear on every stage in an area. The objective will be the same, except a special icon will appear that will reward the player 10000 points when cleared, making it easier to get the 4th star.
During a stage, players have the option to use a character's skill in order to add an arrow or power onto the board. Clearing away Puyo will charge up a character, with the player gaining access to a character's skill once the gauge is completely filled. However players are limited to what Puyo they can transform, both with the color and the specific power each character as. However, players can optionally upgrade their characters to allow them to select more color types, at the cost of badges. Players can obtain more characters by completing certain criteria, for example rescuing the character from a box or collecting enough character-specific badges.
