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Pill Drop Cure is a free online pill puzzle game: a tall bottle, three colours of viruses sitting in the bottom of it, and a stream of two-colour capsules dropping in from the neck. Slide and turn each capsule as it falls, and when four or more of one colour line up — across or down, viruses and capsule halves together — they clear. Viruses never move, but capsule halves do: clear one half of a capsule and the other falls on its own, and whatever it lands on can line up again for a chain. Clear every virus to cure the bottle; let the capsules pile into the neck and it tops out. Twenty levels climb from four viruses to eighty — from level 16 they sit higher up the bottle too — at three speeds, and every bottle is dealt from a seed, so Play again is the same bottle capsule for capsule. The stars count capsules: three means you cured it as frugally as a careful player who plans with the Next capsule. No download, no sign-up — play with a keyboard or with the on-screen pads on a phone.
How to play Pill Drop Cure
- Pick a level and a speed — Low, Med or Hi — and press Start. The next capsule always waits above the neck of the bottle.
- Move the falling capsule with ← and → (or A and D), turn it with ↑ or X, and turn it back with Z. On a phone, use the pads under the bottle or tap the bottle to turn.
- Hold ↓ to drop faster, or press Space to drop it straight to where the faint ghost shows it will land.
- When four or more of one colour line up across or down — viruses and capsule halves both count — they flash and clear.
- A capsule half whose partner was cleared falls on its own. If it lands to make another line, that is a chain, and it scores far more.
- Clear every virus to cure the bottle. If a new capsule cannot get into the neck, the bottle has topped out.
- Stars count the capsules you used: one for a cure, two and three for curing it with fewer. Curing a level unlocks the next.
Tips
- Stack colours before you need them. A capsule half on top of a virus of its own colour is half a clear already; one of the wrong colour is a lid you will have to dig through.
- Turn twice to swap the colours end for end. That is often the whole difference between a clear and a buried virus.
- Keep the middle two columns low. Capsules enter only there, and a tower in the neck ends the bottle however few viruses are left.
- Watch the Next capsule and place this one to suit it. Planning two capsules ahead is exactly what separates three stars from two here.
- Use loose halves on purpose. Clearing the bottom of a standing capsule drops its top half straight down the column — aim that fall at a matching colour for a chain.
- A standing capsule against the right wall that has no room to lie down shifts one column left when you turn it. A lying capsule under a ledge cannot stand up.
- Higher speeds score two and three times as much per virus, and every ten capsules the fall gets a little faster on any speed.
FAQ
Is Pill Drop Cure free to play?
Yes. It runs free in your browser with no download, no install and no account, on a computer, a tablet or a phone.
How do you clear the viruses?
Line up four or more of one colour in a straight line, across or down. Viruses and capsule halves count the same, so an all-red capsule stood upright on two red viruses stacked one above the other clears all four.
What is a chain?
After a clear, any capsule half left without support falls, and a whole capsule falls if nothing is under it. If what falls completes another line of four, that clears too — a chain. Points double for each extra virus cleared off one capsule — on Low, 100 for the first, then 200, 400 and on up to 3,200 each — so one capsule that sets off a chain is worth far more than the same viruses cleared one at a time.
How many levels are there, and how are the stars decided?
Twenty. Level 1 has four viruses and each level adds four more, up to eighty, and from level 16 they sit higher in the bottle. Any cure is one star; two and three stars are for curing it within a number of capsules shown on screen. The three-star count for each level was measured from a careful computer player that plans with the Next capsule, so three stars means matching it.
Is the first bottle ever unfair?
No virus is dealt two cells from another of its colour in a straight line, so there is never a line of three waiting before your first capsule, the three colours are dealt in near-equal numbers (never more than one apart), and the top three rows under the neck always start empty.
What do the speeds change?
How fast the capsule falls. Low gives the most time to think, Med and Hi fall faster and score two and three times as many points per virus. On every speed the fall quickens by a step each ten capsules. The star counts are the same at every speed.
Does Play again give me the same bottle?
Yes. Every bottle is dealt from a seed, viruses and capsules both, so Play again and Try again replay it capsule for capsule. New bottle deals a different one at the same level.
Can I play on a phone?
Yes. The pads under the bottle move, turn and drop the capsule — hold ← or → to keep sliding — and a tap on the bottle turns it. The bottle is tall, so the game plays upright on a phone.