It seems like there are a lot of new and different match 3 games lately. Hey, I’m not complaining. In fact I’m happy about it after going through a whole slew of hidden object plays. Mac game Geisha – The Secret Garden is one of those new types of match 3 games. It took me awhile before I got used to the play, but it was well worth the effort to learn this new game.

Natsumi a geisha will guide you through 4 seasons of play while you create a beautiful zen garden. The game play is different from any match 3 I have come across. In order to make matches of 3 or more like items, you slide the mahjong like tiles horizontally and cannot move up and down. As a match 3 player this is frustrating at first because you feel like your hands are tied, but you learn to think differently and play this unique and fun game in just a few short levels. In addition to making the matches either vertically or horizontally, there are goals you must meet to complete a level. They are located at the bottom right of the screen. You can also slide a tile across more than one tile. The tiles also replenish slowly moving up the board and not down. You must keep making matches so the tiles do not reach the top of the screen. If there is a gap or empty space a tile can fall down the open slot.

There’s plenty of time to strategize your next move even with the timed mode, but if you want to really relax, try the untimed. Some levels will throw blocks like snow, ice and stone at you and will not let you slide your tiles. Most of the time you have to make matches below these blocks and cause them to break apart so you can continue with your sliding, but snow is different you must click on it several times to make it melt away. When you create a chain of 3 or more you create magic and produce helps. They are Steel, Fire, Water and Wizard. They will clear from 1 to many tiles. Money will be collected from making matches with colored circular icons. The coins will earn you stars and the stars will unlock the colorful dragons. The first dragon will cost you 20 stars. The coins will buy you the items needed for your beautiful zen garden.

The garden you create will start out very sparse and can grow into a amazing and gorgeous place. You can upgrade your items 3 times, move items around or delete things. I’ve seen some pretty awesome gardens made. Mine not so much but that play isn’t really my thing, but I appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the scene when done right. You’ll also get a fantastic wallpaper to use on your computer.
I eventually enjoyed playing this new type of match 3 game. I said eventually because it took a few levels before I got comfortable with the sliding aspect of it. It is addictive and fun so try it out.

Features of Geisha – The Secret Garden:
-80 Levels of Matching Fun
-16 Bonus Levels
-The Secret Garden

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

A great drought is forcing you and your tribe to leave your beloved homeland. The Elders consult the Shaman and is told the bones have the answer. It is to leave this land and start over somewhere else. Your tribe must travel across the ocean to the land of Kalevala. Heroes of Kalevala is a match 3 and build a village simulation game. The Kalevala is a Finnish national epic work from ancient oral poetry, this mac game is based on this important piece of literature.

The match 3 part of the game is to swap items to make matches of 3 or more of the same objects to clear. Making matches over the yellow tiles will change them to blue. When all the yellow tiles are gone, then the level is complete. However, you must do so before the evil crow sent by the wicked witch Louhi flying the perimeter of the puzzle burns the entire board forcing you to start again. The puzzles are easy for a few levels and will begin to increase in difficulty and blocks like the icy tiles or double locked chains as you go higher. When you make matches of 4 or more, you will get bonuses like bombs to clear your tiles. You have the powerful Finnish gods to help you fight off the malicious blocks to your game. Il Marinen will throw fiery hammers that incinerate tiles and the god of sea, Ahti, will raise the water to flood and take away tiles. More helps will be unlocked as you advance in the play. At the beginning of each level you choose which god you would like to help you, but be sure to make the right choice for an ultimate experience.

The match 3 games will earn you cash to help build a town. The faster you complete the puzzles, the more money you will get. Once you get some structures up, it will attract people to your village. The people themselves will let you know what they want and what will make them happy. You use the shop to buy houses, trees and other things for survival and happiness. After building your first village, you move on to build more towns. There are medals you win for accomplishing different things.

Heroes of Kalevala has a lot to do from its match 3 with loads of bonuses to the sim play and additionally the interesting tale about Louhi, her crows and the ancient gods. The artwork is great especially the beginning of the story and the beautiful backdrops, and the music are interesting. There’s hours of playability and fun for all ages. Just keep in mind that the levels are challenging after about a dozen puzzles. Give this game a try and have an entertaining time.

Features of Heroes of Kalevala:
-Over 140 Levels
-Match 3 and Sim Plays
-Based on Oral Finnish Poetry

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Chinese mahjong has been around for thousands of years without much change to its play and look until now. Changing a classic game is a tricky and not always a successful transition, however Mahjongg Dimensions Deluxe has updated this ancient game without losing its’ addictive appeal, calming effect and beautiful tiles. Its improvement of the 3D twist and cubed tiles are interesting additions to a play that has been done on a flat surface with flat tiles for ages.

The first difference you notice about this game is that the tiles are cubes and you can rotate the blocks so you can see from different angles. By pressing the arrows on either side of the screen, you are able to see behind or the sides of the cubes. You need to do so because you get more options for matches. The rotating mechanisms will get easier as you use them. You need to match 2 of the similar cubes to clear them from the board. The cubes you click on must have 3 sides free to make a match. After clearing your board, you proceed to the next puzzle.
There are many power ups to be found among the cubes and blocks. If you match 2 red gems, the entire board will be changed to blue blocks for a few seconds so you can easily match 2 cubes quickly to gain a lot of points. If you are fast when matching the cubes, you will get a bonus multiplier to increase your score. There are other bonuses like the slowdown tiles, freeze blocks and bomb blocks.

You can view your completed levels at the bottom of the screen. From the map you can view the available puzzles you can replay for a faster time and increase your medals. There are 2 modes of play: Normal and Hard. In addition, you can play this game either timed or untimed for either exciting or relaxing play.

Mahjongg Dimensions Deluxe is a beautifully drawn game and with its relaxing music and untimed play can be almost Zen like game for anyone wanting to take it easy while enjoying a pleasant game. Of course, if you are in search of an exciting, fast paced play, you can do that also by playing it in the timed mode and seeing how high your score can go. Overall this is an enjoyable, fun game to spend an afternoon or evening playing. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 for an awesome time.

Features of Mahjongg Dimensions Deluxe:
-3D Twist
-Over 60 Levels
-Achievement Awards

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Kwazi’s kingdom is under attack by 3 ferocious and merciless dragons in Mahjong Quest. Help Kwazi bring normalcy back to his homeland through 12 different locations with help from spirit guides and special tiles. This mahjong Mac game has more twists and turns to the basic play and will bring pleasure and excitement to occupy your time.

The basic game starts by clicking on 2 matching tiles. You continue to do this until the game board is cleared. If you are stuck, you can utilize the hints located at the bottom of the screen. If there are no more matches to be made and the board is not cleared, you must undo tiles or start over. There are 3 modes in this game. The Classic, Kwazi’s Quest and Puzzle modes all have 5 different play options. The Classic mode has 80 classic styles. Within the Classic mode is the Classic option using the standard rules. The Speed is when all visible tiles can be immediately matched and done so quickly. The Scramble is when the tiles randomly move or when you take too long to make a match. This is a fun choice to play. The Memory tiles are completely blank and the face of the tile will appear only when the cursor hovers over them, but take care because once you click on them the tile face disappears. The Ghost play will make the tile visible but will slowly fade out. Quite a challenge, won’t you say?

Playing Kwazi’s Quest mode will give you more of a storyline while playing mahjong. The simple characters and artwork, although well done, is a contrast to the beautiful Chinese background of landscape (farmlands, rivers, mountains and pagodas). It is your job to play the puzzles and continue on the many levels to save Kwazi’s land. The third mode is the Puzzles. The layouts are untraditional patterns and surprisingly challenging.

I found Mahjong Quest very relaxing with the Chinese type string instrument music and fun to play. I also enjoyed the different twists to this game such as the blank, shuffling and new patterns. The blank tiles are more than a challenge since you must look at Chinese characters to remember. The story of little Kwazi and the evil dragons is an amusing tale and did not distract from the play.

Features of Mahjong Quest:
-Fun Storyline
-Hundreds of Different Layouts
-3 Modes

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Mahjong Adventures has 3 modes you can choose from and play the way you want. In Classic you customize features to play what you like, Layout you can design your own game and in Adventure you play the story. The story is about an eccentric uncle’s prized treasure. If you go to each of the 18 sites and uncover two golden tiles buried in each puzzle, you can reveal the treasure.

There’s a journal full of fun facts about each location. You travel to each place to collect all the golden tiles. The map will show you where you will go next. Starting from Hawaii go to each exotic isle and play with tiles with pineapples, dolphins, palm trees and more. My favorite tiles are the yoga poses in San Francisco. I bet you can find your favorite spot with their own original tiles. In New York City it will take you to the subways and the Statue of Liberty.

The play is simple. Match 2 identical or similar themed tiles such as winter and summer to clear the board. If a tile is playable, when you place your cursor over the tile, it will have a yellow frame around it making matches easy and simple to do. Once you uncover the golden tiles, you can match the 2 and the level is complete. If you have problems making a good match, there’s an Undo, Hint, Restart, Shuffle button at the bottom to use. It’ll give you stats on how you do but it is not timed. The only time you’ll get is how long it takes you to complete the level.

Mahjong Adventures is an addictive and relaxing matching game with colorful tiles specific to each location like the New York tiles with taxis and subway signs to San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge. Also included at every site is your journal with facts about each place. There are many Mahjong games to choose from and many use the Chinese characters that you must decipher. The play is about the same so why not choose Mahjong Adventures with its fantastic tiles you can relate to with its many location specific tiles? Play Mahjong Adventures and get uncle’s treasure!

Features of Mahjong Adventures:
-Original Fun Tiles
-World Locations
-Interesting Facts about each Site
-Find the Fantastic Treasure

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Anyone who loves Scrabble (and who doesn’t?) will enjoy Bookworm Deluxe, a Mac game for all the lexicon gurus out there. For a word game there is a lot of action involved in playing this puzzle. So be ready to put your thinking caps on and go for an enjoyable couple of hours, because it will draw you into their mind bending brain exercises.

Lex, the green bookworm, at the sidebar, greets and instructs you at the beginning of this game, throughout the play he makes encouraging comments, and he warns you of the eminent danger waiting ahead of you. There are Scrabble-like tiles in 7 columns with either 7 or 8 pieces in each one. The columns are staggered so one tile can touch part of 4 tiles on the sides and 1 above and 1 below. At the most there are 6 directions to make a word. The letter tiles on the sides and top and bottom of the game board have less options.

The object of the game is to make the longest word possible by using the tiles that touch either up, down, and to the side. You link the tiles by clicking on each one to create a word. You can either click submit on the sidebar or double click on the last tile to present the word to Lex. If accepted, he opens his mouth and munches on the tiles. The replacement tiles will drop from the top to refill the 52 tile board. If Lex feels your words are too small, he’ll refill a letter with a fire tile. The fire tiles will be glowing and crackling like it is on fire. If you do not use this tile right away, it will burn through the letter below it for each word made. If this fire tile reaches the bottom of the game board, it will burn the entire library and ending the game. The funniest part of this disaster is Lex’s stunned, incredulous expression. It’s worth playing this game just for that scene.

Like Scrabble each letter tile has a different point value. The dots or lack of one located at the lower right hand side of the tile will show that J, Qu, X, V, and Z will earn you more points. Some words will produce the dictionary definition on the sidebar. However, with concentrating on producing new words, you tend to ignore reading the definitions you already know. The color tiles will get you higher points, and so will the bonus word given by Lex. You need to strategize a little to maneuver letters around to be able to make the bonus word. This will garner you more points toward getting to the next level or rank. You will be amused by the different cartoon characters you are labeled as when you complete each level.

When you are stuck and can no longer create a word, you can click on Lex the bookworm to scramble the letters. However, use caution with this move because it will create fire tiles to hinder your play.

Bookworm Deluxe has 2 modes to play, the untimed and Action games. The untimed is still challenging but it is nothing compared to Action. Action is just that. There are more fire tiles and they move down the column much faster and are animated or seem like they are constantly in motion.

Bookworm Deluxe reminds me of the Mac game Flip Words but is a lot more difficult and fun. Lex is entertaining and supportive of your play, the fire tiles add a challenge that enhances your game, the graphics are brightly colored and clear, and the sound effects are perfect even the burping from Lex. This game is for everyone, it will sharpen your word forming skills, and strengthen your mind. On top of all that, it is just plain fun. Try not to get burned.

Features of Bookworm Deluxe:
-Untimed or Action
-Bonus Words
-Burning Tiles
-Reward Tiles
-Lex, the Bookworm
-Hall of Fame

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars