SkyGems and the PowerLab, without the folklore
The PowerLab is the part of the game most often described incorrectly in community threads, usually because someone has generalised from a single experience. What follows is the structure as the game presents it, with the reasoning that structure implies.
Where SkyGems come from
SkyGems appear periodically on the board during levels and are collected by clearing them like any other objective. They are the raw material for powers: without a stock of them, the PowerLab has nothing to build with.
That makes SkyGem collection a background objective on every level. When two moves look equally good for your main goal, take the one that also collects a SkyGem.
How powers are made
In the PowerLab you spend collected SkyGems to create a power. Creation is not instant: once started, the power takes time to finish, and the game offers the usual options to shorten that wait. The waiting period is the design constraint that should shape your behaviour.
- Start a build before you stop playing, not when you need the power. A power that finishes overnight costs you nothing.
- Do not build what you will not use. Each build consumes SkyGems that were slow to collect.
- Match the power to a specific problem level you are stuck on, rather than building whatever is cheapest.
Two representative powers
The publisher's own description names the Star Swapper, for forcing a swap through a difficult spot, and the Scrambler, for reshuffling the board into a fresh set of matches. They illustrate the two categories worth thinking in:
- Targeted powers solve a known problem in a known place. Use them on levels where you can point at the tile that is beating you.
- Board-wide powers solve the problem of a board with no good options. Use them when you are stuck for reasons you cannot localise.
Players who fail a level repeatedly usually need the first kind and reach for the second.
Constellations unlock further powers
Completing constellations — see our guide to stars and constellations — can unlock additional powers that then become available to create in the lab. This connects the two systems: stars are not only a scoring flourish, they are the route to what the PowerLab can offer you at all.
What we do not cover
We do not publish recommended spending, nor tables of what any purchase currently provides. Those change, and advice about them ages badly. Everything on this site is written to work without buying anything.