While Bejeweled Blitz may arguably be the king of the traditional match-three puzzle genre on Facebook, Qublix's Jewel Kingdom is a different take on the genre that's also pretty entertaining. Jewel Kingdom offers level-based play, with one of two different goals being present in each. You'll either need to earn as many points as possible within a specific time limit, or you'll need to drop keys to the bottom of the screen to collect them, with both being completed by making matches of three or more like-colored jewels.Each level is timed regardless of mode, with this time limit varying depending on the level and the complexity of the puzzle board in front of you. You'll fill a level bar by making matches, with a secondary goal of each level being to earn enough points to fill that bar to at least one star (with a maximum of three being possible). If you don't fill the meter to the one star level, you'll fail the level and will lose one of your limited supply of lives.
As is traditional for match-three games, later levels within Jewel Kingdom offer locked or frozen gems that slow down your progress, and you'll earn power-ups by making matches of four or more like colored jewels. These come in the form of star gems, bombs and hypercubes, destroying either small or large sections of the board when activated. A system of separate power-ups is also available for purchase, allowing you to add extra time to the clock, re-shuffle the game board's jewels, or unlock / break the ice surrounding jewels, just as a few examples.
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Technically speaking, Jewel Kingdom is quite pretty, with jewels that sparkle and shine and a fun medieval take on the overall level map (complete with flying dragons). You can even customize your game with new backgrounds and jewel sets, which changes the in-game music through a selection of relaxing tracks. Furthermore, while the possibility of microtransactions is definitely there in the power-up system, you'll start with 70 free Diamonds, which is quite generous and should be enough to last you quite a while.
The only major problem Jewel Kingdom contains comes when the game struggles to catch up to your actions. While most of the gameplay is fluid, allowing you to continue making matches even when other cascades are still active elsewhere on the board, if you're skilled at the match three genre, there is the definite possibility of making too many matches too quickly, and the game struggles to keep up. That is, the game simply won't allow you to make anymore matches, regardless of your score or the time limit on the clock, until it first completes every other explosion or match you've started on the board. This isn't a deal breaker, but it is an annoyance on those levels focused solely on earning the highest score possible.
Even for this problem, Jewel Kingdom is a really fun match-three game, that, while relatively simple, is a great addition to the genre on Facebook. If you're ready to try the game for yourself, you can do so below.
Click here to play Jewel Kingdom on Facebook --->
What do you think of Jewel Kingdom on Facebook? Which match-three game is your favorite? Sound off in the comments!