The main gameplay of Bejeweled 3 like previous installments in the series involves swapping two adjacent gems to form a line of three or more gems of the same color. When this occurs, the gems disappear, and new randomly generated gems fall from above, with gems above being affected by gravity, potentially creating a chain reaction. Unlike previous entries, the player can now swap other gems while other gems are still falling. If the player cannot find a match, they can use the Hint button to find a match. Unlike previous entries, there is no penalty for using the Hint button, although there is now a cooldown.