Detailed steps, unique tips, and video context for Match Factory Level 3987. Source video: Match Factory Level 4108.
1Quick Steps
- 1.Start by focusing on clearing the items on the left side of the board to create more space for potential matches in the collection bar. This will help you manage the limited space more effectively.
- 2.Look for opportunities to make matches that will cascade and create more matches, such as 'L' or 'T' shaped matches. This can help you clear multiple items at once and prevent your collection bar from filling up.
- 3.Pay special attention to the items that are obstructed by other items on the board. Try to create matches that will remove the obstructing items, allowing you to access and clear the hidden ones.
- 4.Prioritize matches that will clear items from the collection bar. If you have too many items in your bar, it can quickly fill up, making it difficult to make new matches. Clearing items from the bar can help you maintain space for new matches.
- 5.Plan your moves in advance. Since this is an expert level, you may not have the luxury of making many moves without thinking about the consequences. Take a moment to survey the board and plan your moves to maximize the number of items you can clear in a single move.
Still stuck?
Try a different opening sequence, focus on tray space, or consider boosters.
!Pro Tips
- •Avoid making matches that will only clear one or two items from the collection bar. This can quickly lead to the bar filling up, which will make it difficult to find more matches.
- •Be patient and don't rush your moves. This level is designed to be challenging, so take your time to find the best matches and avoid unnecessary moves that could lead to a loss.
- •Keep an eye on the timer. As you get closer to the end of the level, the time pressure can increase. Make sure you're making the most of each move to keep the collection bar from filling up and to clear the board before time runs out.
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Unlock Strategy→Complete strategy guide — level 3987
Match Factory Level 3987 is one of those high-tier puzzles that looks manageable at first glance but quickly reveals hidden complexity once you start moving pieces. Players who rush through the opening moves without a plan almost always find themselves with a full tray and no clear path forward. This guide breaks down exactly what you need to know to clear it efficiently on your next attempt.
Level 3987 in Context
Levels around 3987 are where Match Factory stops being forgiving about order of operations. Two players can make the same number of matches and end up in completely different board states, purely because one sequenced their clicks around the buried layer and the other did not.
What Makes Level 3987 Distinct
Level 3987 ships with 5 walkthrough steps and 3 pro tips — about 313 words of board-specific guidance. Reading those first is worth more than any general advice, because they describe this exact pile rather than Match Factory in general.
If you only remember one thing about Level 3987, remember the order of operations. The board is solvable; it is the sequence that players get wrong.
What Level 3987 Tests
- Rim control on Level 3987 — Outer pieces are the ones you can see but usually should not take first. Use them as a reserve so that when the tray needs a quick completion you already know where the third copy sits.
- Collection-bar economy on Level 3987 — The collection bar is the real clock on this level — not the move count. Every pick-up that does not move a trio closer to completion is effectively a lost slot, and slots are the resource you are actually managing.
- Move sequencing on Level 3987 — This step is about sequencing, and sequencing is what separates a two-attempt clear from a ten-attempt clear on a board like this.
How to Start: The Opening Phase
Level 3987 has a specific opening sequence that experienced players learn through trial and error. The key insight is that the first wave of visible items is a decoy — the "real" level hides under the surface pile.
In the opening, prioritize any clicks that reveal hidden items over clicks that just pick up already-visible ones. On most Match Factory boards, this means clicking items from the center-bottom of the pile rather than the outer ring, since central items are usually resting on top of others.
Spend your first 5 clicks purely on "excavation" — revealing buried items. Then take stock of what you can see and plan your first complete match. This two-phase opening (excavate, then match) consistently outperforms random clicking or greedy item collection from the start.
Tray Management: The Core Skill
Tray discipline is the single most important skill to bring to Level 3987. Unlike earlier stages where you can recover from a cluttered tray by matching your way out, this level's layout means a full tray is almost certainly a failed run.
Here's the key discipline to practice: commit to finishing one item type before picking up another. If you spot a green bottle and pick it up, your next two clicks should be hunting for the other two green bottles — not grabbing a coin or a red sneaker that caught your eye.
Also pay attention to how deeply buried certain items are. On boards like Level 3987, some item types appear mostly near the bottom of the pile. If you pick up one of them early but can't complete the trio for 10+ moves, you've effectively given up a tray slot for a long time. Prioritize item types that you can see at least two of before you start collecting.
Mid-Game Strategy
The mid-game phase on Level 3987 is when you need to shift from reactive clicking to proactive planning. You've probably got a rough sense of the board layout by now — use that knowledge.
The key mid-game skill is "look-ahead" — instead of clicking the next obvious match, trace 2–3 moves into the future. "If I pick up this yellow star now, what opens up? Can I complete the yellow star match in the next 2 clicks? What does that expose?" Players who think one move at a time in the mid-game almost always find themselves in trouble by the final third of the level.
Also watch for "dead end" item types — items where you can only see 1 copy and there's no way to know where the other two are. Avoid picking these up until you can see all three. Holding a dead-end item in your tray for 8+ moves while hunting for its partners is a classic trap on Level 3987.
Step-by-Step Analysis (5 phases)
- This is where the level starts to tighten: "Start by focusing on clearing the items on the…" The rim of the board is an information resource. Reading it tells you which item types are plentiful, and that read is what should decide your first committed match.
- The opening step sets the tone: "Look for opportunities to make matches that will cascade…" The collection bar is the real clock on this level — not the move count. Every pick-up that does not move a trio closer to completion is effectively a lost slot, and slots are the resource you are actually managing.
- The mid-phase step is the pivot of the run: "Pay special attention to the items that are obstructed…" Buried items are the level's pacing mechanism: the board deliberately hides part of each item type so you cannot finish a trio without doing excavation work first.
- This step is easy to misread as optional: "Prioritize matches that will clear items from the collection…" Outer pieces are the ones you can see but usually should not take first. Use them as a reserve so that when the tray needs a quick completion you already know where the third copy sits.
- The second phase narrows the board: "Plan your moves in advance. Since this is an…" Prioritising is the whole skill here: rank the visible item types by how close they are to a trio, then work that list top-down instead of clicking whatever catches your eye.
Booster Strategy
Because Level 3987 has no difficulty rating attached, the safest assumption is that it sits near the middle of the curve: beatable with a clean run, frustrating with a careless one. Boosters exist to convert the second case into the first.
If you decide to use one on Level 3987, pick the moment deliberately. The best windows are right after a completed trio, when your tray has room, or right before a cluster you know is blocking a whole item type. Both are moments where the board state is simple enough to evaluate the result.
Track what you spend on Level 3987 across attempts. Two attempts with one booster each usually beats five attempts with none, but only if the booster is aimed at the actual failure — otherwise you are paying coins to repeat the same mistake with a different layout.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Picking up items from too many different categories in the opening moves, filling the tray with unmatched pairs.
- Clicking the most visually prominent items (shiny, animated) instead of the strategically correct items.
- Forgetting that the physics engine can shift items. Sometimes matching one cluster causes buried items to roll out — watch for this instead of immediately clicking.
- Giving up before the mid-game reveal. Many Match Factory levels look impossible until the surface pile clears, at which point they become manageable.
Pro Tips Explained
The 3 pro tips above come from the failure patterns that show up repeatedly on Level 3987. Taken together they point at one theme — rim control — which is the skill this particular board is really testing. Read them as a checklist before your next attempt rather than as background reading.
Frequently asked questions
How many steps does it take to clear Level 3987?
The walkthrough for Level 3987 is broken into 5 phases, backed by 3 pro tips and roughly 313 words of board-specific guidance. An efficient clear generally lands somewhere in the 20–35 move range depending on how the pile settles, and runs that stretch well past that usually indicate a clogged tray rather than bad luck.
Does the item layout change every time I play Level 3987?
Match Factory uses seeded layouts with minor randomization between attempts. The overall board structure — which item types appear and roughly how many of each — stays the same, but the exact position of buried pieces can shift. That is why a strategy that "almost worked" last time is usually worth retrying rather than abandoning.
What is the best booster to use on Level 3987?
The Fan booster is the most versatile choice for Level 3987. Use it during the mid-game when your tray has two or fewer items and the board layout has turned unfavourable. The Magnet booster is the better secondary option when you are missing the third copy of a type that seems permanently buried. Never fire either one into a nearly full tray — the board changes and you have no room to react.
Level 3987 is beatable with the right approach. Take your time with the opening moves, keep the tray clean, and trust the step-by-step process. If you're still struggling after a few attempts using this guide, try leaving the level and coming back later — sometimes a fresh perspective is all it takes. Good luck, and remember: the next level is always just one smart run away.
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