It's been a while since I've written anything about gaming, which in my case means mobile gaming. After a long hiatus I picked up Candy Crush again for a few months, played way too much, quit, and decided to sample a bunch of different games from the app store to get a better idea of what was available. The goal was to try other gameplay that wasn't just using the match-three mechanism that "Bejewelled" and "Candy Crush" and "Disney Emoji: Blitz" all have.
The first games I tried were "Match Tile 3D" and "Triple Match 3D" - made by different companies despite the similar names. These are games where you have to sort through a pile of 3D objects and match them up. I liked the gameplay, but not the fact that the levels were timed, so it was the opposite of the kind of relaxing, stress-free experience I was looking for. And as with all of the newer games, the amount of ads was oppressive. Every single level required watching an additional ad. I don't mind them in moderation, or when the ads are attached to bonuses, the way they are in "Candy Crush," but this was too much.
"Tile Connect" was next on the list - another puzzle game where you have to connect tiles on a grid based on matching pictures, but the tiles have to share a common border or be accessible by a connecting line that can only have three angles. However, the gameplay was too simple for me, and I lost interest quickly. Some of the levels had tile patterns that were beautifully designed, and others were terrible, that looked like someone had used random theme emojis. Again, there were ads after every single level, and a timer on the gameplay that got to be too oppressive after the first few rounds. These ads in particular were terrible - mostly for other mobile games that required multiple clicks and timers to complete.
However, the game that I found with the worst prevalence of ads was "Tap Away 3D." This was actually my favorite game that I tried out, because it actually had more challenging gameplay than the others. Each level gives you a 3D formation made up of blocks that can only be moved in one direction, and you have to remove them all piece by piece. The formations become increasingly complex and challenging, but there's no timer so you can work at your own pace. However, the ads were tied to the amount you played - usually the number of pieces that were removed. That meant multiple ads interrupting the gameplay on every level. The notorious Playrix ads continue to be the most annoying, and the app was rife with them. I briefly considered buying the game, but the reviews point out that this only removes some of the ads rather than all of them, so I just abandoned ship.
I saw multiple ads featuring a matching game that sorted through shelved items, so I tracked down "Goods Triple Match 3D." However, the gameplay wasn't the same. The ad showed the shelves collapsing and disappearing in the game when you made a successful match, while in the game this doesn't happen. I played through fifty levels just to make sure that this wasn't something that was only available at the higher levels, and the shelves never moved. This was very disappointing. What was even more disappointing was when I discovered that the original ads weren't even for "Goods Triple Match 3D." The ads were specifically for "Match Tile 3D" and "Triple Match 3D," which don't even feature shelved items. Are we sure they're made by separate companies? I know Playrix got into some trouble for featuring "Homescape" and "Gardenscape" ads that featured gameplay that didn't exist in those games, so I thought we were past this kind of nonsense.
Finally, I wanted to try a hidden object game - essentially a game with gameplay similar to children's "seek and find" puzzles. Nearly all of these are mystery themed, with detectives interviewing people as a framing device. "June's Journey" is one of the most popular, with few obnoxious ads and no timers on the gameplay. The puzzles aren't too challenging, though you occasionally have to confront the fact that you have no idea what a sconce looks like. The one aspect I don't like is that part of the game involves a second type of gameplay - building a grand estate on an island with your earnings from passing each level. It's a home renovation game similar to "Homescapes." Still, this isn't the main thrust of "June's Journey," and mostly serves to keep players from progressing through levels too quickly..
To date, it's the only one of these games I haven't deleted.
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