A classic game .. this is the game that invented the swapping match-3 genre.

This is another Bejeweled style game. It has a nice twist in that in order to complete levels, you have to swap keys with chests. There is 1 key and 1 chest on the playing board and you have to try to move them towards each other by swapping them with other pieces or making one fall towards another.  A nice innovation is that you can rotate the playing board using your mouse wheel. This helps in maneuvering them.

The game also has magic spells that you can buy and upgrade.

I found playing the game to be a pretty pleasing experience. If you haven’t had enough of swapping games, then you might want to give this game a try.

This game introduces a new twist to Bejeweled style games in that instead of trying to change the background color of all tiles to gold or something like in Jewel Quest, you have to collect “artifact pieces” by getting them to fall to the bottom. So most of the time you are trying to get a match under the artifact pieces so that it falls downward.

Though it is a nice idea, it doesn’t change the gameplay from other Bejeweled style games much.

The game has some very intense particle effects that kick in when you use special items. The graphics and overall production are pretty good with animated cutscenes in between stages. While the production quality is good, somehow I feel that the game is missing something. I think maybe its the feeling that the game is taking itself a little too seriously to the point that it forgot about being “fun”.

Just compare it with Cradle of Rome and you might agree.

This game is similiar to Jewel Quest but with some very nice and innovative ideas. In addition to matching pieces and passing levels, you are also taking part in the building of Rome. After each level you are able to construct new buildings each of which provide different advantages. These buildings require resources such as gold to construct. You can get the required resources by playing the color matching part of the game. For example if you match gold coins, you will get gold that you can use to build buildings.

Some of the buildings give you more resources so that you can build more buildings faster while other buildings give you bonuses that you can use in the matching part of the game.

Another cool mechanic in the game is that you can get helper items by matching them. For example if you want a hammer bonus item to destroy a hard to reach block, all you need to do is match some hammers until the “hammer gauge” fills up at which point you will get a hammer bonus item to use.

If you like matching games such as Big Kahuna Reef 2 or Jewel Quest 2 you will most likely love the innovations in Cradle of Rome.