Stones of Rome Reviews

I can only give this one a thumbs up as a puzzle game, but not as a match three. Yes, the puzzles are solved by matching three, but it simply isn't the same core game mechanic. It is a puzzle mechanic. The core game play involved having some cubes of assorted colors in the middle of a grid, with cubes all the way around the outside. You can click on any cube, and send it out in to the grid, so long as it will be stopped by another cube before it reaches the far side. Sadly, for me, making larger groups does not provide anything special, another way in which this isn't much like a standard match three game. I am only about a dozen levels in, and the number of colors keep going up, which adds to the complexity of the tiles. I am still uncertain about the details as to what you need to do to complete a level, it happens, but why? It's a mystery. Tiles shot in to the middle retain a small white arrow showing the direction they were (and are) heading, as they seem to retain momentum and fly off the grid if a path should clear in front of them. So the cubes around the outside are assorted colors, and as you fire a cube, it is pushed to the front, and a new randomly(?) colored cube fills in behind. I question the randomness, because it feels like a puzzle game where careful play will always result in victory, and that there isn't a pre-set pre-determined course of action you must take to win, but I am also not sure of that as well. The look is nice, the controls fine, and the music pleasant. It isn't the casual experience I look for from a match three however, as it does require thought, and intense scrutiny of the options and possibilities. It claims sixty levels, but the first few are used as the basic tutorial, so really closer to fifty-five. No biggy. So an easy thumbs up. ADDENDUM: Got about three and a half hours of fun out of this one. I didn't finish it, but it simply got too hard and monotonous to keep struggling with. Still, got my moneys worth.

Even if it's an original match-3, possibilities are too limited, so i get bored after 1 hour.

Although quite cheaply produced, this is an engaging and therapeutic puzzle game that works pretty well and just needs to be given a bit of a chance. It is not a match 3 in the traditional sense, where you swap adjacent tiles, but where you drag tiles from the sides to fill the inner grid. The colours, that get ushered in gradually, are bright and very well-chosen. The game-play is a step-up from the automatic and (sometimes) brainless moves required in a normal Match 3 and actually requires a bit of thought. It's quite a nice companion piece to the also neglected T-Kara Puzzles which offers another innovative twist to this (sub) genre.