Playrix said the latter was the only tool to move on in the storyline and was not the core gameplay, adding that a player’s goal was to follow the storyline and restore and decorate their house or garden though different mechanics. It said the games contained a number of elements: an unfolding storyline which involved the renovation of a house or a garden, 'mini-games' as featured in the advertisements, and 'match-three' style games. In response, Playrix said their games were far more complex than 'match-three' type games. Upon download, users will realise that the advertised gameplay is not as common in the actual game, and that the actual game is fundamentally based on a 'match-three' style game. The advertisements for the games, developed by Playrix, included videos of problem-solving scenarios where users decide which pins to pull first to achieve the game objective.

According to the authority, it had received seven complaints about the paid-for advertisements for these two games, of which the people who complained believed the advertisements’ content is misleading and not representative of the actual Homescapes or Gardenscapes games. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK has banned the two ads for mobile games Homescapes and Gardenscapes.

Reddit gardenscapes ads