The game
- Match three and they refine. Three copper ore become a bronze ingot; three ingots become a forged blade. Build the pieces each level asks for and clear the creatures crawling across your board.
- Over 10,000 levels across 334 chapters, with tougher gold-ringed elite creatures in later chapters, and a solver proves every one can be beaten without boosters or purchases before it ships.
- No lives, no energy, no timers, and no ads in this release. Lose a level and try again straight away.
- Plays offline, with Google Play Games achievements and cloud save if you want them.
On iPhone or iPad? A version is planned after the Android launch, with no date yet. A closed playtest for it will be announced to our news list first.
If you are already a tester
- Nothing changes. You keep your place in the test, and our emails about it keep coming.
- Please stay in until the test ends, even if you stop playing for a while.
- Tell us what you think. Anything helps: what you enjoyed, what confused you, and anything that broke. Reply to our emails or write to support@thegreatcloudgame.life.
- To leave the test, reply to any of our emails or write to the same address. We remove you and delete your details straight away.
Our thank-you
When the game launches on Google Play, every tester who stayed in the test until it ended and sent us some feedback gets codes for a paid board theme and a booster pack, free. Codes are redeemed in the Google Play Store, and the items appear in the game.
You don't need to rate or review the game to get them, and please don't feel you have to. Codes depend on Google Play being available in your country, and each code works once.
Sign-ups have closed
We are not adding new testers before launch. Here is what you can do instead:
- Hear when the game launches. Join our news list for all our games, below.
- Test on iPhone or iPad. A closed playtest for iPhone and iPad is planned, with no date yet. It will be announced to the same news list first.
- Writing about the game or making videos? Email support@thegreatcloudgame.life and tell us where you publish.
News from all our games
Launches, playtests, offers and major updates across all our games, as they happen. Confirm your email to join; unsubscribe any time. This list is separate from the playtest.
Secure sign-up by Brevo; see the website privacy notice. Form not showing? Open the form in a new tab ↗
Privacy notice for the playtest sign-up
Version 1.3 · 5 November 2026 (sign-ups closed on this date; this notice still covers everyone who signed up before then. Version 1.2, the same day, named The Great Cloud LTD as the data controller; see “Who we are”). This covers the sign-up only. The game itself is covered by the Aether Refiner privacy notice, and our newsletter and website by the website privacy notice.
Who we are
Who is responsible for your data. The data controller is The Great Cloud LTD, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 17522895; registered office: Unit A, 82 James Carter Road, Mildenhall, IP28 7DE). It is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator, under registration number ZC275593, which you can look up on the ICO's public register. Contact: support@thegreatcloudgame.life.
The Great Cloud LTD is the developer of Aether Refiner on Google Play. Until 31 October 2026 this data was looked after by the sole trader who traded as The Great Cloud. The company, which the same person owns and runs, took over on that date. What we collect and how we use it did not change.
What we collect, and why
- Your email address, which must be the Google account you use on your Android phone, because Google Play only lets that account into the test.
- Your country, because Google Play only offers a test in the countries we choose, and promo codes don't work in every country.
- Your first name (optional), so our emails can greet you.
- Your confirmations that you have an Android phone, are 13 or older, and agree to take part.
We use these only to:
- add your Google account to the test's tester list in Google Play Console;
- email you about the test: your invite link, updates, requests for feedback, and, at launch, your thank-you codes.
We don't add you to any of our newsletters and don't send you marketing. If you'd like news about all our games too, sign up for it separately here.
Legal basis
Your consent, given when you ticked the box on the form. You can withdraw it at any time by emailing us or replying to any of our emails about the test. We then remove you from the test and delete your details.
Who else handles it
- Brevo, our email provider, stores the sign-up and sends our emails, on our behalf (Brevo's privacy policy). The playtest sign-up form was Brevo's. The news sign-up form now on this page is Brevo's too, shown in a frame; Brevo may set a cookie in that frame to protect the form from bots. This page sets no cookies of its own.
- Google receives your email address when we add it to the test's tester list, and knows that you joined the test. Google handles that under its own privacy policy.
We never sell or share your details with anyone else.
How long we keep it
No later than 60 days after the game launches on Google Play, we delete your sign-up from Brevo and your address from the Google Play tester list. By then your thank-you codes have been sent. If the test ends without a launch, we delete them no later than 60 days after the test ends. If you leave the test or ask us to delete your details, we do it straight away.
Age
The game is rated for ages 13 and over, so you must be 13 or older to sign up. If you're under 18, please ask a parent or guardian before signing up.
Your rights
Under the UK GDPR and the EU GDPR you can ask to see, correct or delete the data we hold about you, restrict or object to how we use it, or receive a copy of it. Email support@thegreatcloudgame.life. You can also complain to your data-protection authority; in the UK that is the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint).