Caves

Dig through dirt, collect diamonds, escape to the exit. Don't stand under an unsupported rock — gravity is not on your side.

How to play

Swipe up, down, left, or right to move your miner one cell at a time. Moving into dirt digs it away. Moving into a diamond collects it. Push rocks sideways into empty cells; you cannot push them up or down. Whenever the cell below a rock or diamond becomes empty, it falls — and if it falls onto your miner, you die. Collect the diamond quota for the level, then reach the exit on the bottom right. You have three lives; dying on a level resets that level only.

Tips & strategy

Look up before you dig. The single most common death in Caves is digging dirt that has a rock directly above it. The rock has no idea you're below — it's just waiting for support to disappear. Train yourself to glance at the cell two rows above your target before every single dig, especially when you're moving up.

Build rock walls on purpose. Pushing rocks sideways is the only way to alter the cave's vertical hazards. If you can shove a rock one cell to the side, that empty column underneath becomes a safe vertical highway, and the rock now blocks a different column. Plan two moves ahead: which column do I want clean, which can I afford to bury?

Diamonds fall too — that's free score. A diamond above an empty cell drops just like a rock, except landing on you collects it instead of killing you. Use this: dig the dirt directly under a column of diamonds and let them drop to you in a stack. One dig, several diamonds.

The exit always opens. Once you've collected the level's quota, the exit on the bottom right activates. There's no time pressure between collecting and exiting, but the path to the exit doesn't get easier as you stir up the cave — the further you've dug, the more rocks are mid-fall. Plan a clear exit route on your first reconnaissance, before you commit to the long diamond hunt.