The original Gardenscapes, released for PC in 2009, is a Hidden Object Game, but the name is better known for its remake released on iOS and Android in 2011 and Nintendo 3DS in 2012, which turned it into a Match-Three Game, a direction that would inform the rest of the series. You play the newly-minted owner of a mansion, which sits on dilapidated grounds. With the help of your butler Austin, you set out to restore the property to its former glory. You complete match-three levels to earn stars, which are used to complete tasks around the grounds. As you interact with the townsfolk, they are added to Austin's social media network, where you can see them make posts and comments.
Gardenscapes 2 and Gardenscapes: Mansion Makeover were released for both phones and PCs in 2013, but falling popularity on the latter meant that 2016's Gardenscapes: New Acres and 2017's Homescapes (in which you have to help restore the house where Austin grew up in order to convince his parents not to sell it) were released only on mobile.
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A-K
- Affectionate Nickname: Stephanie often shortens her daughter's name to "Kath."
- Alliterative Name: In Homescapes, the local celebrity chef is named Ralph Ray.
- Anti-Frustration Features:
- After finishing a level, the player can skip waiting for the remaining power-ups and combos to clear and go straight to the winnings screen.
- One seen only in Homescapes: If the player fails a level, they are given the option to receive an additional five moves for 900 coins. If the player refuses (either because they don't have enough coins or just don't want to spend them), they can retry the level until they run out of available lives. However, after a number of refusals, the game will increase the amount of additional moves being offered in increments of five, going as high as a total of 35 extra moves, without increasing the amount of gold required. Savvy players stuck on particularly rough levels will sometimes wait it out until they can get the most bang for their buck.
- Asian Store-Owner: Uncle Lao, in Homescapes, is a longtime friend of Austin's dad who owns an antique shop. He's always willing to make a good trade to help Austin acquire gifts and important design elements, although he can't convince William to part with a specific statue that Lao covets.
- Awesome Ego: Invoked with Katherine's mother Stephanie, whose in-game social media includes the tagline "The best at everything." But she really is extremely talented in multiple areas and generally has the skill to confirm her claims of how good she is. She's also, surprisingly, a Graceful Loser on the rare occasion when she is defeated, such as when her dear friend Olivia beats her in a baking contest; she concedes that Olivia's cake was superior, and asks for the recipe.
- Big Fancy House:
- In Gardenscapes, the player is indicated to be the owner of one of these. Zig-zagged, however, in that they only ever see the exterior. Except for occasional cutscenes in which Austin retrieves an item from a storage room inside the house, the player apparently never enters their own residence. Presumably the house's interior is just fine, and that's why the focus is entirely on the garden.
- In Homescapes, Austin's parents live in the Barrow family manor, which definitely qualifies for one of these. After he finishes renovating it, Austin purchases a second one on the far side of the lake, and turns it into the family's vacation home. Later still, a third big fancy house - the Mountain Estate - also becomes a location.
- Birthday Episode:
- The story behind the Party Room area in Homescapes is Austin and William preparing for Olivia's birthday.
- The Open Air Cinema room renovation was about preparing a movie night for Einar's birthday.
- During August 2024, Gardenscapes marked its eighth birthday, and the developers essentially created one of these in-game with special decorations and events.
- The Butler Did It:
- In one of Austin's Idle Animations, he is reading a book and makes an exasperated comment about the story's culprit having turned out to be the butler.
- When Austin calls Jane to borrow a hazmat suit, she jokes, "Don't tell me the butler did it!"
- Cat Up a Tree: You meet Lucy when her cat gets stuck up a tree in your garden.
- Character Blog:
- Childhood Friends: Austin has been friends with both Robbie and Katherine since childhood. Robbie and Katherine finally meet during the Guest Wing episode of Homescapes.
- Crossover: One side adventure had Austin help his friend Carl from Manor Matters fix up an old castle and find a lost crown hidden inside.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- Homescapes puts the focus on Austin's parents, William and Olivia.
- Certain areas and room renovations focus on certain characters. For example, the tropical corner event focused on Katherine and Stephanie, while the thirteenth area in Gardenscapes puts the focus on Jane.
- Disappeared Dad: In Homescapes, Katherine's father almost never appears or is even mentioned by name. (Very rarely, Stephanie will make a comment about him - they've been divorced for quite some time.) He is, or was, a geologist, and Katherine used to spend her summers with him at his arctic outpost.
- He showed up briefly at the start of December 2024, delivering a temporary penguin addition to Austin's family home. Also, during the month's Christmas-themed side adventure, Katherine implied that he's actually Santa Claus.
- Doting Parent: Austin's mother and father clearly adore their only child, as seen in the social media aspect of Gardenscapes and all over the place in Homescapes. He loves them just as fiercely.
- For all of her My Beloved Smother tendencies, Homescapes shows that Mrs. Broom likewise dotes on her daughter Katherine. Katherine in return loves her mom (and tolerates her eccentricities); during the Guest Wing episode, she affectionately notes that "My mom is the best!"
- Endless Game: Homescapes especially is implied to be one of these, since it states on one of the Loading Screens that new levels and storylines are added weekly.
- Epic Fail: The ads for Homescapes show the player using the wrong tools to try to fix the rooms, only to destroy them in the process.
- Famed in Story: Ralph Ray, the local celebrity chef, has his own cooking show. Austin's mom Olivia is a big Fangirl of his.
- Fictional Counterpart: Seen frequently in Homescapes.
- During the Attic renovation event, Robbie finds records by The Heatles and The Rolling Cones, referencing The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
- The Garage episode centers around repairing Austin's father's old Forsche.
- While upgrading the Home Theater, neighbor boy Scotty asks if they can watch The Avenge-Hers.
- During the Guest Wing episode, Austin's visiting friend Robbie recalls how he and Austin used to watch "that Seven Kings show," in which "King Robert Balderdashian fights for the Tin Throne!"
- Fictional Currency: Money in the game takes the form of gold coins engraved with what appears to be the image of a house. The name of the currency is never stated beyond "coins."
- Fictional Document: Austin subscribes to a handful of these, and sometimes references them, particularly the gardening periodicals.
- First-Name Basis: Austin's last name is Barrow, but you'd be forgiven for not knowing that since it's almost never mentioned. Some of the younger characters even address him as "Mr. Austin."
- Game Within a Game: The logic puzzles, in which the player needs to feed or rescue pets or get items into a container while avoiding bombs, are sometimes presented as being stages in a game that Austin himself is playing.
- Genuine Impostor: In the Left Wing arc of the Mountain Estate in Homescapes, Rachel turns out to be a con woman pretending to be a Barrow in order to find and steal a priceless painting of a Barrow ancestor. She ultimately comes to care too much about the family and runs away, leaving behind a clue to find the painting. Austin finds it... and the ancestor is the spitting image of Rachel, proving that she really is a Barrow.
- Green Thumb: Katherine is a florist and horticultural expert. In Homescapes, she's a huge help to Austin when he renovates his parents' orangery, and he in turn helps her win a floral contest by having her grow it in there. Olivia also frequently consults with Katherine about the flowers and trees on their property.
- Happily Married: Austin's parents are very much in love with each other. Robbie and his wife Melinda are also this.
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: Your name, as well as the names of the dognote , the horsenote , and the catnote , are decided by the player.
- Honorary Uncle: Uncle Lao, in Homescapes, is always called Uncle Lao by everyone in Austin's generation or younger. (Austin's parents just call him Lao.) He's apparently the honorary uncle of the entire neighborhood.
- I Have This Friend:
- Annie asks for dating advice by saying it's for a friend.
- Before Austin is due to take part in a dive, he posts asking what people do when they're feeling anxious. When his father asks what's got him feeling anxious, Austin says it's for a friend.
- When Austin enters a dog show, Peter advises him not to get the time wrong, saying it happened to one of his friends. When Austin says to send his condolences, Peter replies, "Thanks, but it won't happen to us this time!"
- Idle Animation: All of the recurring characters will start performing these if either game is left untouched for a period of time. It's most obvious with Austin, who dusts the furniture, plays games on his tablet, pets the cat/dog, and waters plants, among many other things.
- In the Blood: According to both Austin and William, being a butler is this. Austin is the third generation; William is retired from being a butler, and William's father had also been one.
- In-Universe Game Clock: During the Kitchen arc, the player selects a clock to hang on the wall over Olivia's kitchen sink. It maintains the correct time for the player's time zone thereafter, even taking Daylight Savings Time into account.
- Inconsistent Spelling: The courier in Homescapes is named Lisa, but sometimes the game will call her "Liza" instead.
- Interface Spoiler:
- Depending on when a person begins playing the games, some of the side adventures can be this, as they can feature characters and/or relationships which the player has not yet encountered in the main games.
- Some of the logic puzzles depict Katherine in the company of a small girl. Based on some of the games' former advertisements, the implication is that Austin and Katherine eventually get married and the girl is their daughter. (A close look at the girl's face shows that she bears a strong resemblance to Austin's mom.)
- An Interior Designer Is You: After each level, you help decorate the garden (or the mansion in Homescapes).
- Jerkass Has a Point: Stephanie Broom may be condescending and boastful about her own skills, but she repeatedly shows that she genuinely possesses the talent to back up her claims, and the points she makes are generally accepted by the other characters. Their response is often a variation of "She's right—I just wish she could be nicer about how she says it."
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Katherine is the one who initially finds a stray cat and brings him to Austin's parents' house in Homescapes, mistakenly thinking he belongs to the Barrows. He doesn't, but they end up adopting him; Austin, Katherine, and Austin's parents all fall squarely into this trope and tend to treat the cat with great affection.
L-R
- Labcoat of Science and Medicine: Jane the scientist is usually wearing a lab coat.
- Loading Screen: As the games open, a status bar shows the progress of the load. Beneath the status bar, players will find helpful suggestions or bits of trivia about the game and characters.
- Married to the Job: Winston's relationship status is "Married to his job", and Jane's is "Conducts research".
- Meaningful Name: Many of the townsfolk have these.
- Robbie Wood is a carpenter.
- Martha Goodwill loves animals and runs an animal shelter.
- Winston White runs a cleaning service.
- Colin Stone is a mason.
- Claire Hoverson flies a helicopter.
- John Rockit throws firework shows.
- Annie Smith is an apple farmer.
- Jason Armstrong is an amateur bodybuilder.
- Jonathan Mooney is an astronomer and is first met being nervous about a date — mooning over someone is something someone on a date might do.
- Stephanie Broom is a rather stuck-up woman, leading to people say she's a witch.
- Microtransactions: The games are free to download and play, but players have the option of purchasing boosters, energy, and extra lives through the in-game store.
- My Beloved Smother: Stephanie is incredibly overbearing and very much this to Katherine; however, she's also shown to be a Doting Parent who really does love her daughter.
- Never Trust a Trailer:
- In the late 2010s, Gardenscapes among other games of this style started putting out misleading ads which portray the games as being chaotic Solve the Soup Cans games of various styles (such as choosing objects to fix a broken house or pulling giant pins to get someone out of a dangerous situation) that very rarely have anything to do with the actual premise of the game in question. Minigames of that sort were introduced in mid-2020 as a response to false advertising complaints, presented in-universe as "Austin's Bad Dreams" (or as "Austin's favourite video game" in Homescapes); however, they rarely come up.
- A few early trailers for Homescapes, for some reason, portrayed Austin being in a romantic relationship with Katherine and cheating on her with Jane from Gardenscapes (who is presented as a housemaid rather than a scientist). Austin is not in a relationship with either woman, although Homescapes heavily implies that he has feelings for Katherine and vice versa.
- Another old trailer for Homescapes showed Austin moving back home with his parents after he and Katherine divorced, bringing their young daughter with him.
- Another extremely common ad format will depict a poor homeless woman and her daughter desperately trying to survive while freezing to death, often ending with them hysterically crying in despair shall the player fail and likely succumbing to the cold (though it is never shown what happens), all of which being played very bleakly. Given the game's usual light-hearted tone, this all feels very sad and bleak.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed:
- A "Patty Kerry" is mentioned on a newsfeed, referencing Katy Perry.
- The camper renovation event centers around Robbie buying a camper and discovering it was once owned by "Rick Dagger" (a play on "Mick Jagger").
- No Fourth Wall: Austin will look at and speak directly to the player.
- Obnoxious Entitled Housewife: Stephanie Broom is a stuck-up woman who goes about her way to criticize Austin and his family (even her friend Olivia) and tries to control her adult daughter Katherine.
- Omni Disciplinary Scientist: Jane Nea Tong. Her occupation is listed as "scientist" in her bio and over the course of the game she tackles chemistry, biochemistry, botany, physics, astronomy, and mechanical engineering with equal aplomb.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: In an early stage of Gardenscapes, Austin cuts down a tree, which falls into a fountain which he then needs to get repaired. Any time dealing with a tree comes up after that, expect someone (usually Robbie) to remind him of this.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Briefly teased but then averted, in the August/September 2024 side adventure. When Austin (or rather, the Identical Stranger who lured Katherine away) asked Stephanie for permission to propose to Katherine, she was genuinely shocked. But after flatly stating that he'd be "the worst son-in-law I can imagine", she had to admit that this would make Katherine incredibly happy, and begrudgingly gave her consent.
- Permanently Missable Content: Each of the side adventures is a once and done event. Players who don't complete the missions, or who started playing the game after the missions have concluded, have no further opportunity to gain those special decorations for the manor.
- Pet the Dog: Apart from the literal petting of the dog in Gardenscapes, Stephanie sometimes does this with Austin. She doesn't necessarily like him, or think he's good enough for her daughter, but she does acknowledge when he does something well and is seen to demonstrate little kindnesses here and there. She's even persuaded to change family plans in order to allow Katherine to attend a carpentry festival with Austin and Robbie, because she realizes how much Katherine wants to go and how much Austin wants her there.
- Point-and-Click Map: In Homescapes, this becomes part of the interface once the player has completed all of the renovations at Austin's parents' house. Austin then buys a second house on the far side of the lake, and the map (found by clicking an icon at the bottom of the screen) allows fast travel between the two locations, along with two other locations which open later in the gameplay.
- Play Every Day: Both Gardenscapes and Homescapes give the player a free booster for logging in every day, even if they don't actually solve any puzzles. Homescapes tracks the gifts on an in-game calendar, seen in Austin's bedroom, and will grant extra bonuses if the player maintains certain streaks of daily logins.note
- Punny Name: Some of the townsfolk have these, such as John Rockit the fireworks guy, Annie Smith the apple farmer (like the Granny Smith apple), and Henry Right the reporter.
- Relationship Upgrade: In Homescapes, Austin's second cousin Patrick meets and ends up dating Lisa, the neighborhood courier.
S-Z
- Second-Hand Storytelling: If an event ends and the player has participated but not completed everything, their remaining energy will be converted to coins, and Austin will assure them that any characters who were being rescued have returned home safe and sound. You'll just have to take his word for it.
- Shared Universe: Both Homescapes and Gardenscapes exist in the same universe as Manor Matters; as noted above, Austin and Manor character Carl are longtime friends. By extension, this means that they also share a universe with Mystery Matters, the 2023 spinoff of Manor, which actually takes place in the same community (Gardenville) as Gardenscapes. It's possible to see characters from any of the four games walking the streets or participating in the side adventures of the other three.
- Ship Tease: Austin and Katherine have quite a bit of this. He gets rather nervous around her at times, and she's often shown to be shyly tugging on her braid when speaking to him.
- The 2022 "Dance Season" event featured Katherine asking Austin to be her partner in a dance contest, and teaching him to waltz. Seen here
. - The August/September 2024 side adventure had Austin and Stephanie joining forces to rescue Katherine from a kidnapper, who lured her away by pretending to be Austin professing his love. One Gardenscapes eighth birthday graphic also shows Austin with his arm around Katherine.
- The 2022 "Dance Season" event featured Katherine asking Austin to be her partner in a dance contest, and teaching him to waltz. Seen here
- Shipper on Deck: Olivia makes no secret of the fact that she sincerely hopes Austin and Katherine get married. I Want Grandkids is probably in play as well, though she's more discreet about that.
- Shout-Out:
- When Austin posts a photo of himself wearing a hazmat suit with the caption "Getting ready for an experiment!", Robbie comments, "Looks like Austin is breaking bad…"
- In Homescapes, when Austin buys an aquarium, the fish bear a strong resemblance to the major characters in Finding Nemo.
- In Homescapes, there are some references to Harry Potter, who gets identified as "the boy with the scar". When Austin tries to find a way to open the secret room near the library (the cinema room), somebody suggests hissing at a faucet.
- After you plant the hedge maze, you get a letter inviting you to take part in "a new action movie called Hedge Maze Runner".
- Jason posts that he was thinking about making an iron man suit, but it turns out someone beat him to it.
- When Colin is working on a sculpture in the pond, Austin looks at the unfinished column of stone and says it looks like an evil fortress from a fantasy novel... and the image he thinks of looks a lot like the film version of Barad-Dur from The Lord Of The Rings.
- One of the things Austin can see while reading the newspaper is the results of a lottery where the winner gets a flight to a tropical island. The winning numbers are 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42, referencing Lost.
- Side Quest: In addition to the main game, there are special events (accessed by a map icon at the bottom of the screen) which take place in unrelated, often fanciful locations. The player and Austin assist other characters in solving a mystery by clearing a path. Along the way they can collect gold and various objects to earn additional rewards. Completing these side quests involves energy, represented by blue lightning bolts. Each event usually runs for about three weeks, and completing them earns special decorations for the garden/mansion as a sign of achievement.
- Spot the Impostor: In the August 2024 sidequest, in which Austin and Stephanie were trying to rescue Katherine from her kidnapper, this came into play when it turned out that the kidnapper looked exactly like Austin. The player could figure out when the fake showed up, because he had dark circles under his eyes and very messy hair, but the other characters were more easily deceived.
- Strong Family Resemblance: In Homescapes, portraits of Austin's grandparents and great-grandparents show that he and his father look quite a bit like various relatives. Austin also has the same eye color and nose shape as his mother.
- Vague Age: Austin's age is a mystery. It's noted in Homescapes that he's only a year or so older than Katherine, who just completed her college education a year prior to the events of the games, which suggests he's most likely in his mid-twenties. His extreme receding hairline, however, makes it hard to tell (and is one of the things about which Katherine's mother is known to give him a hard time).
- Victory Pose: Successfully completing levels brings up an animation of Austin applauding for the player. In Gardenscapes, sometimes he will also say "Wow!"
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Stephanie Broom and Olivia are the embodiment of this trope, as seen in Homescapes. At first Stephanie is straight-up rude to Olivia, but after completing the Kitchen renovation, the latter defeats her in a cooking challenge, which mellows Stephanie out. She still remains uptight, but it's clear that the two enjoy their banter and have accepted their clashing personalities as a major part of their long friendship. Homescapes also had some fun with this during the July 2024 Olympics-themed side event, in which reaching certain goals unlocked groups of images of the characters. One of these groups depicted Stephanie and Olivia, seemingly glaring at one another while carrying tennis rackets, implying that they were about to play a fierce match. Instead, the last image revealed that they were working together to beat the dirt out of a carpet.
- Wedding Episode: One area story is focused on the wedding of Alex and Jason.
- White Sheep: In Homescapes, either Katherine is this to her family, or else her mother is the Black Sheep. Stephanie is, as noted above, extremely haughty and unpopular as a result, while Katherine is a complete sweetheart.
- The Wild West: Austin's cousin Rachel sometimes ends up in side adventures in a locale of this nature, in part due to her on-again off-again romance with Mason Maze, a notorious cattle rustler.