Jewel Master; Egypt
Ages: Everyone

I played Bejeweled and still do, to unwind. Let my eyes be charmed by the jewels and ears satisfied by the sound of tiles falling. Since the game industry discovered that "match three" could involve higher level strategie and that the rewards could be more that top score, there are new renditions every three or four months. Cradle of Rome (Destineer) had you build Rome with tiles depicting food, gold, and building supplies. This game has you building an Egyptian dynasty. As in the Rome game, tiles represent various resources need to build. Other tiles are helpful in simply playing the game.

This game increases the complexity by requiring players to remove all the blue squares from the board, which means that they have to be encapsulated in one of the match sets. Only then can players move the scarab tile to the bottom of the screen. If that isn't enough to twist your brain, the game seems to relish in creating strange shaped playing boards with narrow passages, broken spaces. No two are the same, and forget about getting a leg up playing a round again - everything is different. And the game is timed.

To get the Egypt dynasty built - you need the help of Imhotep - builder and high priest.

Fun Factor: A mind bender.
Female Factor: Not applicable
Player Friendly: Could use a non-timed option.

Reviewed by: Editor - 02/10