Garden Tales 2 is a match-3 puzzle game that continues a player's adventures in a fantasy gnome world in which they help the friendly garden gnome Willy complete tasks in the many small gardens of an estate. On a path that snakes through the landscape, the player matches three or more of the same objects, such as strawberries, flowers, pears, leaves, purple-capped mushrooms and blackberries, in lines to remove the pieces from checkered boards designed to represent the gardens. Beyond collecting plants, Willy tasks them to collect fruit baskets, break up and remove dirt, defrost ice-coated objects and unlock treasure chests. In some cases, the player must complete one or more lines to perform these secondary tasks.
Willy also shows the player how to complete tasks faster through the use of various types of bombs and boosters. When the player matches a specific number of objects in one or more lines, they create Line Blasts, Cross Blasts and Spiral Bombs that remove large swaths of objects with one move. They can also combine these special items, even when the objects aren't the same type. For example, if they combine one of the Blasts with a Spiral Bomb, they can turn every object on a board that matches the wrapped Blast object into a Blast. If they combine two Spiral Bombs, they can remove every object with one blast.
Garden Tales 2 offers the same rewards as its predecessor. The player receives up to three stars, coins and points when they complete all tasks within a garden level. They can use the coins to activate, buy and use boosters that unlock after the player reaches specific levels. They also receive a variety of gifts, prizes and non-board treasure chests.
