It features asymmetric gameplay, and uses specially printed chips in place of cards.

Over the course of the game, a player's bag can contain many different sorts of chips: Every non-gem chip has a banner-color which helps categorize it, and may have certain symbols on the banner, such as a red fist to indicate an Attack (played to put other players at a disadvantage), or a colored shield to indicate a Reaction (which can be played out-of-turn in certain conditions).

Puzzle Strike: Shadows is a stand-alone expansion for the game, providing ten new characters (previously featured in the second edition of Flash Duel), and twenty four all new puzzle chips.

It was initially funded, along with a third edition of the original game, through a Kickstarter campaign.

They were originally included with the Puzzle Strike Upgrade Pack.