Cradle of Empires: Match Three

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I would have given this game more stars but I am getting sick of all these “free” games that end up costing over and over. I would rather spend ten dollars on a game than having to buy extra coins, fruits, potions, etc. just to make it through a level. I don’t mind when the game is difficult and I have to try a level for a few hours until I can pass but after trying that and still having to buy things in order to make it to the next level just feels like you are trying to play me out of all my money on this “free” game which I guess you are. Maybe you should give people a choice between buying the game for one set price which will include all the coins and trinkets you will need to play the entire game or doing it the way you do now. I get it, you want to make money and it is a much easier to get people to pay tiny amounts many times than one bigger amount all at once. Remember though, some of us are parents and are not just buying for ourselves. You would get a lot more money out of me if I could buy the game for more money and not have to buy sets of helpers throughout the game. Elysheva Zalewski

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This is a game to play in spare time, and instead of focusing on completing collections, I would complete the puzzles within the areas of the village. Much more fulfilling and doable. I am beginning to believe the only way to complete the collections is to buy them, and not win them. And yes, it takes a long time to charge enough lives to play. Expect to let it sit for at least 8 hours to get almost, not all, 350 lives (my current stage). As you progress further, you will need to use the bonus chargers to complete puzzles. I found I have to use them 75% of the time, otherwise, you will use all the lives to play a puzzle, and most likely get no where. And, many times, after completing a puzzle, you may not get the reward hidden in it. You will have to play it and successfully complete the puzzle at least 3x more to get it. I like the game, but you do feel like the rewards are small when you win a lot. I agree with other reviewers too, you should not lose your lives if you win the puzzle. It takes so long to recharge, it would only seem fair since you cannot get the rewards easily anyway when you win. There really is no give in this game. Play when you can (I check in every day just so I don't lose the daily gifts which at week's end, gives something bigger), but do not buy anything. You will end up spending a lot for your frustration, and only have to spend more as you reach higher levels. Good luck!

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This game is mildly entertaining... but it has some major issues that make it more frustrating than fun. 1. As you go along, you may need a certain object to move ahead. And, you may be told you have to complete a certain puzzle to get that object. But that's not what happens. Instead you get either an object you don't need or a couple of points to extend your life (and I am talking 2 or 3). You can be directed to puzzle after puzzle for the object you want, but it may take 15 or 25 tries to finally get the right puzzle for the right object (once, it took me 26 winning attempts to get the object I needed). 2. To move forward, you have to complete object sets. But don't be fooled, you're also required to collect ancillary objects that you must stumble upon in play. You can click on "find" and you will be directed to a puzzle that will give you all indications that if you win, you get one of these ancillary objects, but it's a lie. In all the time I've fallen for this ploy, I have never once found the object needed to complete the set. So what happens? Well, if you're anything like me, you end up with scads of unfinished sets, and a thin hope that some day one of them will be completed. In the end, I've given up on making any real progress and have opted for the thrill of completing a puzzle or two. If you can adopt the same attitude, the game ain't bad.

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Let's start with the good: beautiful graphics, good music, nice logic puzzles that can provide a fun intellectual challenge in bite size chunks of time. Now the bad, which takes a little explanation: to advance and open up new puzzles you need to complete collections of items. You win items by completing levels. The problem is that there is no guarantee that you will get the item you played the level to get, even if you win. So let's say you have 11 of 12 items needed to complete a collection; the game tells you to play a particularly difficult level to win the item (I struggle with timed levels and hate the blitz setting); you win the level, but there is a greater than 50/50 chance that you don't get the item (you might even get a pretty much worthless prize, like a fraction of the energy you spent on playing the level, which just rubs salt in the wound). This robs you of the feeling of satisfaction that most games give you for winning the level. Of course, you can relieve the frustration by spending real money to buy the item. I assume that's what the developers designed for. But be careful if you do buy in-game currency. It's way too easy to spend it by mistake. Given the careful attention paid to design elsewhere in the game, I suspect that's also deliberate.

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I’ve been playing this game for years. It was fun and you didn’t need the power ups to pass a level in more than 3 tries. But this game has been awful for the past 3 years, getting worse each year. The developers have no interest in anything except making money. They are so focused on trying to force you to spend real money that they make it impossible to complete any event or task by forcing you to fail in the hopes that you will give in and purchase the crystals to get the power ups you must have to complete the quests. If you don’t spend the money then you are forced to play the same board 20 times or more to get the item you need. To make matters worse you can’t follow the storylines because the developers don’t care enough to make the quest items appear in order so that the stories make sense. Each board costs so much energy, & it takes so long for energy to regenerate, that you can only place 3 or 4 times. The developers do this in the hopes that you will spend money to complete the board or to keep playing. However spending the money does not mean you’re going to win the board, or get the item you were playing for. Developers don’t care because they have yet to correct or improve the game despite all of the feedback asking them to. Horrible developers! Horrible game.