Match-3 games are a standard when it comes to casual puzzle apps. An easy learning curve, along with a wide selection of themes and gimmicks, make these apps a hit to players of all ages. Most of today's tile-matching apps are found on mobile, with a few for PC. Players have no trouble finding a suitable game to fit their aesthetic tastes. Also, communities for these games are some of the most popular and active around. For example, Candy Crush's popularity is relatively timeless.

But what makes these apps so popular with hardcore and boomer gamers alike? Let's look into a brief history tour behind one of the most successful casual puzzle games.

Although many of present-day match-3 game mechanics are learned from card games like Solitaire, and geometric puzzle games such as Polyominoes, the origins of match-3 apps rest largely on the Soviet-era Tetris and the Japanese game Chain Shot. Falling shapes and removing like-colored blocks on a grid? Those read nothing like the modern match-3 app. While this is going to be a rather long-winded answer, there is more to this that eventually arrives at full circle.

Come 1989, Columns was released. This combined the previous two games' properties – in the form of falling 3-stacks of gems. From here on, various puzzle games with removal themes were brought to gamers. 1989 saw the colored pill-matching virus killer Dr. Mario and the gem move-and-match puzzle Puzznic released. 1994 had Bubble Bobble: a shoot-to-match blaster.

What's considered the origin of the modern match-3 puzzle appeared in 1994. This took the form of the little-known PC Game Shariki. While this did not make it to big fame, its spiritual successor, 2001's Bejeweled, made history as a successful and influential puzzle game with over 350 million downloads. Its developer, Popcap Games, created several iterations of the game in the following years. It even became the inspiration for other amazing derivatives like Jewels Blast.

From Bejeweled spawned several modern-day variants of the match-3 puzzle. Starting in 2007, tile-matching games with simple RPG elements blended in and made waves. Puzzle Quest, and the 2012 free-to-play mobile app Puzzle & Dragons were some of the most-known games of this type. Also in 2012, the most popular match-3 puzzle of its time, Candy Crush Saga, began its journey to 2.7 billion downloads to date.

There's a wide road ahead for match-3 games. There are plenty of casual tile-matching titles with world-building narratives, design elements from simulation games, and story-focused apps suitable for practically any gamer. Some games have even integrated match-3 mechanics as a minigame. In case a return to the basics is desired, a player can try out something like Tutti Frutti Match.

For match-3 and other casual games, there's one site to rely on when it comes to video games for boomers. Of course, there are countless options and sites you can play in, but, of course, it would be best to dive into aggregators that let you drop in and play right away.