Strataquin

Strataquin is a downward digging puzzle about reading a seam of stone before you swing. Tap any patch of two or more touching tiles that share the same face and the whole patch is dug out. Everything above it settles down into the hole. If the settling seam forms a wide new patch on its own, it collapses without costing a swing and the chain counter climbs, one layer after another. Rock strata cannot be broken by hand. They only crack when a patch collapses beside them, and they need two cracks to fall apart. A deep chain cracks them twice as hard, so a single well placed swing can open a route that ten careless ones never would. At the bottom of every shaft a prize tile waits inside a ring of rock. Shatter the ring, tap the prize, and the depth closes behind you. Carry a satchel of tools into the dark. Rollback a swing you regret, blast a single stubborn cell, send a tremor wave through every stratum, call a spare prize to the surface, light a hint beacon, or take a second wind when the swings run thin. A depth trail records your stars, a fixed shaft of the day gives everyone the same stone to solve, daily contracts and a badge wall keep the gold nuggets flowing, and cavern palettes repaint the whole mine as you push deeper.