Suika Game

Overview

Suika Game, sometimes known as Watermelon Game, is a falling-piece physics-puzzle game developed and digitally published by popIn (later as Aladdin X) for the Nintendo Switch in Japan on December 9, 2021, with a worldwide release on October 20, 2023.

In Suika Game, players drop fruits of different sizes from the top of the playfield, which can combine with other fruits of the same size to form a single fruit of the next biggest size, earning points based on the combined size. Unlike other falling-block games, the game makes heavy use of the mostly-round pieces' physics and requires players to carefully manipulate the playfield to cause chain reactions.

The origin of the game is believed to be based on the Chinese browser game Héchéng Dà Xīguā ("Synthetic Big Watermelon"), which was released in January 2021 and became popular in Japan the following month. A clone of the browser game, Suika Game, was added in April 2021 as a bonus app for the popIn Aladdin, a ceiling-mounted Android-based digital projector that doubles as a LED light fixture and Bluetooth speaker.

Despite the app's popularity, its Switch release later that year received little attention. Similar to Among Us, the game gained a sharp increase in worldwide popularity years after its original release due to coverage from livestreamers.

Fruits & Scoring

Although both the Aladdin and Switch versions include the same assortment of fruit, both versions have different point values and piece weight.

Fruits that can be dropped by the player include the Cherry, Strawberry, Grapes, Orange, and Persimmon.

• Cherry - 1 point on Switch. 3 points on Aladdin.
• Strawberry - 3 points on Switch. 6 points on Aladdin.
• Grapes - 6 points on Switch. 10 points on Aladdin.
• Orange - 10 points on Switch. 15 points on Aladdin.
• Persimmon - 15 points on Switch. 21 points on Aladdin.
• Apple - 21 points on Switch. 28 points ion Aladdin.
• Pear - 28 points on Switch. 36 points on Aladdin.
• Peach - 36 points on Switch. 45 points on Aladdin.
• Pineapple - 45 points on Switch. 55 points on Aladdin.
• Melon - 55 points on Switch. 66 points on Aladdin.
• Watermelon - Can only be combined in the Switch version, clearing both fruits and granting 66 points.