There are Challenges, which are matches that earn Souls and the chance to level up characters. There is the Quest/Story mode which presents a number of levels culminating with a boss fight. At each Kingdom stop along the way, there is a choice of game modes. Players move over a large map with seventeen different Kingdoms to eventually unlock and visit over the course of the game. Characters level up but their specific skills don’t change. If all four members of the team are defeated it’s game over, but as long as one holds on there is chance to win. The goal is to build an army of leveled-up warriors, mages, and other specialists, up to four of which can be played at a time and freely switched between as their powers become available. Like Puzzle Quest 1 and 2, Gems of War layers on a role playing component.

Matching four or more gems earns all-important extra turns so there’s an immediate strategy of trying to plan moves ahead and look at the board defensively as well.

It’s played on a compact 8×8 grid and there are various colored gems that represent fire, magic, health, earth, attack and armor and of course by matching them the player scores points against the opponent. Gems of War is a familiar type match-3 game with a robust outer layer that helps give the game a nice, substantial feel. So it’s always cause for at least a minor celebration when a good, free-to-play puzzle game comes along that has some depth and still satisfyingly scratches the casual game itch. For lots of folks, casual games like Puzzle Quest are as deep as they ever go into gaming, but the fact is that even so-called hardcore gamers often have a secret passion for them too.

Gems of war map