Micro review - "Puzzle Craft" IOS

"Some villagers have started a new settlement and they've put you in charge. In Puzzle Craft you take control of an entire populace and must help them grow their settlement into a bustling city! To do this you will need to farm, mine, collect taxes, hire workers and more. Blending two forms of gameplay for the first time, Puzzle Craft is as unique as it is addicting."


I'm a bit of a sucker for match-3 games, bejewelled and such.  It's easy money really and the games are ten a penny, just swap the jewels for animals or even robots and I'm sold.  They're the ultimate time sucking 'casual' genre and I make no bones by the fact that I love a little time sucking now and again. A new title by mobile kings Chillingo has this evil factor and more in spades. Not only content with the match-3 element the cheeky monkeys add a second level of a time management / character upgrade system.  This combination is like some dark chimera that's sprouted extra heads.
At first glance the game looks like a cartoony, social farm building sim, but its more of an economy simulator that's powered by tile matching. You control every aspect of this haven you're trying to build, responsible for your little town from both the top level, choosing what to build and where to build it, and the very bottom rung, harvesting the grain and mining the stone to keep things running.  This is where the tile matching comes in, the items you match during these mini games are added as 'stock' when you complete each line. Wheat for bread, chickens, Carrots and coal from your mine all contribute to helping your village prosper into a town and beyond.  Watch out for that Wolf!

Retaining a decent bank balance can be tricky as buying cottages for your workers or erecting a new windmill can COST the earth if you don't have the right materials to build with in the first place.  I found on several occasions when trying to connect to the in game 'shop' to buy more coins it didn't work, stuttered and kicked me out of the game.  If I am to gripe this is my only real criticism for Puzzle Craft, this, and the fact that IT TAKES AGES TO MAKE A TOWN! Probably my play-style to be honest,  blow your load on lots of materials early on f*&k the consequences.  Still great little time waster and not bad for 69p....

http://itunes.apple.com