Hello everyone... I'm a big puzzle game fan. I play Drop7, Frenzic, and Brain Thaw quite a bit. I'm not normally into match-three games but after playing the smiles demo I've decided I want one (but only one) for those times when I want to look at massive chain combos and feel *partly* responsible. So what does everyone recommend? I really liked the smiles demo, and Montezuma looks great, but I tend to pick games based mainly on the graphics (oh so shallow). I'd love to hear from the people who are really into the matching games... Thanks for your help! EDIT: Grid has been collecting a list of these apps for us: Aurora Feint (tetris attack gameplay, board moves upward, adds "gravity" device rotation & RPG elements) Azkend Ballz Bejewled II Big Bang Big Booty Bling: Touch Fever Block Chaos Bomboozle Campaign Trail Candy (story mode, different board shapes) Chain3 (no movement constraints) ChocChocPop (adds "gadget" powerups) Chocolate Shop Frenzy Chop Sushi Crazy Sushi (uses the Yoshi’s Cookie “slide a row” game mechanic) Diamond Twister DQ Craze (dairy queen themed... surprised they're charging for it) DropOut (match any like-color groups (not just in a row), slide-a-row mechanic (horizontal only)) Elasticity Fricki Tricks Frupon (looks a lot like the DS game where you have a square 2x2 that you can rotate to make matches) Gem Spinner (add “shape constraints”, background “clearing”, rotation) Gemlogic Gemmed (pac-man like “monsters” mechanism, different powerups for each monster color, achievements) Gems Glyph (looks to be a lot like Jewel Quest) Hex (match a given set of color patterns) iGem iShift Jewel Quest II (added background “clearing”) Juicy Match Line Shift (achievements) Mighty Charms Mix-A-Dot (adds color "mixing") MiZoo MM Park Orbitsu (weird gravity...) Pinch ‘n Pop (free form, pinch pieces together to match them) Popcorn! Puzzle Quest (RPG elements) Quartz 2 Deluxe (diagonal board, Multiplayer) Samurai Puzzle Battle (RPG elements, Puzzle Quest knockoff?) Slida (uses "slide a row" game mechanic) Sliders (uses “slide a row” game mechanic) Smiles (swap with a "current piece" (outside of the gameboard)) Smiley Puzzle (looks pretty standard, but who knows) Snowed In 7 SuperNova The Treasures of Montezuma Touch & Go! (lets you touch the pieces) Triplet (looks to add tilt, and some kind of morphing features) Trism (triangular pieces and board, uses "slide a row", various special piece types) Tweezzle (adds gravity) Witch's Workshop Feel free to post suggestions for the list but please bear in mind the following: If I get time I will add links at some point but its a lot of work!
Blackbeard's Assault Puzzloop Firedrop All three have lite or free versions so you can give them a try before buying.
Maybe trying Bubble Bang (Lite)? Lite download: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=297176521&mt=8
I know it'll be brought up at some point but you should try out Puzzle Quest. It isn't the best port but for me it probably has the best gameplay of any match 3 game. The adventure/roleplaying elements really work and the main gameplay is very strategic. It can be very frustrating at times though when the computer manages a huge chain. PS: There is a lite version so no reason to try it out.
I really like Bomboozle. Instead of matching 3 of the same, you draw a line over the icons of the same kind, when you let go they explode (if there's three or more). There's a lite version as well. Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZuH2XEufLo The best Match 3 since Zoo Keeper, imo.
I thought it was a remake of Bombuzal at first and was getting excited. Bomboozle looks like a good game though. I'll have to try the lite out!
Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'm definitely not a fan of the balls on a path game a la blackbeard, and I never really liked Puzzle Quest, but bomboozle is fantastic. I played the online version and just downloaded. Thanks for the tip truthlaser! I think I'm probably going to go with smiles and as it seems to be the best looking and offering what is essentially two games. Wish there was a lite version of montezuma though. Any other suggestions?
I would recommend Gemmed as someone else had mentioned which has been pulled for now until they fix the update. Another one is Orbitsu which is match-3 using rotating orbs and various powerups.
Sliders - Match 3 is nice because it allows you to "plan" your moves, which is something I don't think any other match 3 game does. There's a pretty decent thread about it on TA as well. Crazy Sushi (formerly known as Sushi City) is also a lot of fun. It's colorful, and it actually has bonuses that "go bad" after a while, which is a bit different.
I would go with mighty charms it is my favorite match 3 game. I have gemmed! too and i like that but mighty charms is just better i think i play it a lot more it can be casual and competitive
No one has mentioned Crayon Ball yet... I guess it is technically a match 4 game. I am also pretty biased since I helped make it, but game-play wise it is one of my favorite matching games. Otherwise my favorite match game is Chuzzle...I don't think it is currently available for the iPhone, but knowing PopCap I am sure it will eventually make its way over. also, I think Van Gogh mode in Crayon Ball is super duper pretty. </ plug>
Bubble Pop by Bapsoft has a different and interesting approach: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=8180
Trism Trism has more depth than all the rest of these games combined. It's the best match-3 game on the app store thus far, IMO.
Gemmed gets my vote too. They have a lite version you can try first. Plus, its not purely about matching three... the objective is really to clear a path (by matching 3+) for the cute monsters to get home. An interesting twist and adds alot of personality to a otherwise faceless game.
Each to his own I suppose. I've got Trism... Didn't like it at all. The games lasted too long for me and I found the puzzle mode too hard, plus I couldn't get the tilt function to do anything strategic. I'm pretty much an uber-casual gamer and prefer the slightly simpler games I guess. Thanks for the suggestion though