Matchstick Memories isn't your typical text adventure. Instead of typing, you move through a series of memories of colored fragments that you swipe, light, and connect to collect. You've got to plan your moves carefully to avoid traps and collect the elusive matchboxes. While the levels are borrowed from puzzle standards, unique presentation and gameplay mechanics make this game a surprisingly compelling and tactile experience.
Block Legend is unfairly beguiling. We say this because it's so deceptively simple on the surface, yet its design allows for play sessions that never stop. And that's good, because you honestly won't want to. Created by Alvin Phu, Block Legend feels a lot like 10000000 mixed with Puzzle Quest (you know, back when it was good). It combines samegame with an RPG, allowing you to match tiles to attack, defend and level up. And it does so without ads, in-app purchases, or any other crazy gimmicks!
Pet Rescue Saga is a cute and captivating puzzle game that made its way from the world of Facebook to the mobile marketplaces. Created by King, the developer behind Candy Crush Saga, expect a well-tuned matching experience punctuated by a number of useful power-ups, all told through a shoestring story about rescuing adorable pets!
Underneath that rainbow of squares lies demons galore! Cool demons, though! Mamano Digger is a simple idea puzzler by Hojokama Games that makes the SameGame formula feel a little different. A minimalist gaming experience that probably won't have much replay value once you've beaten it, but you probably won't be able to stop playing until you do.
Vanilla, jeans, thunderbolts - there have been many variations and 'improvements', but nothing that beats the original. That also goes for many puzzle games and while people are less inclined to meet an old favourite during an adventure game, on their own they hit the sweet spot. That, more or less, summarises my opinion of Bomboozle 2. It might not break new ground or usher in the new era of 'pop the colors' puzzle games, but this take on a classic isn't broken either!
This crazy mash-up of RPG and color-matching puzzle is gorgeous, fun, and addictive. Destroy groups of blocks and rotate the puzzle grid to fight monsters by falling on them from above with your drill lance spinning. Bigger and better than the first Knightfall in every way, with a fleshed-out story, creative boss battles, and more ways to build your character, Knightfall 2 is what a sequel should be.
You'd think that being able to do magic would make things like running a magic shop a snap. Just wave your wand and POOF everything is taken care of. Well, turns out it's not all that easy, if Mystic Emporium is any indication. In fact, it's going it take all of your time-management skills to be a successful magic shop owner and satisfy the mystical people and creatures of the realm.
Puzzle Defence is a charming mash-up of the SameGame play mechanic with RPG elements. Scary, adorable monsters are attacking your castle, and the only way to defend yourself is to match them together, puzzle/strategy-style. You just want to hug this game and tousle its hair.
Bloody Fun Day is a refreshingly original turn-based strategy game from Urban Squall, built around the character of a cute little nihilistic, selfish grim reaper. Your objective is to score as many points as possible by reaping the Cuties, who populate their hexagonally gridded island like dense, colorful game pieces. Their crime is incessant happiness and adorability. Their punishment is a gratuitously violent death. Deceptively well-crafted and deep, Bloody Fun Day is a bloody good time.
A mash-up of casual gameplay from the match-3 and RPG genres, Knightfall plays like a cross between Mr. Driller, Same Game and Puzzle Quest. It's a well-balanced and well-executed game with a fun story mode and an unlimited purgatory mode to keep you coming back for more. Achievements add to the addictive quality that Knightfall will bestow upon you.
From the Gorillaz' website comes Tiles of the Unexpected!, a game which puts a new spin on a familiar genre. Like a cross between SameGame and Mahjong, the challenge is to clear all of the tiles from the board. Click on any set of two or more adjacent, identical tiles to clear them.
Jussi Kari at ooPixel has just finished a new update to his version of the classic game of the same name, Samegame. And while this is essentially the same game as Samegame, there are some improvements that make this version even more addictive than the original.
Three Degrees is a variation on a classic casual game, and it is played by clicking on groups of the same color to eliminate them from play. Of course, the larger the group the more points awarded. It is a very simple game to pick-up and play, a nice variation on a classic, and one that you will likely find yourself playing again and again.
SameGame (pronounced sah-meh-gah-meh) was created in 1985 by Kuniaki Moribe and has since appeared on devices as diverse as the Super Famicom, several Texas Instruments calculators and even home tv recording unit Tivo. This Flash implementation created by Jussi Kari plays very smoothly and the stripped down aesthetic suits it well.
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