You’re playing a mobile phone game and all of a sudden an ad pops up on the screen showing some idiot king in peril. What’s more, the player makes terrible mistakes in his or her attempt to save the king even though the solution is painfully obvious! Does this scene sound familiar? Well, I decided to give one of those “Fail Ads”-type games a go, and it honestly took me aback. If your Candy Crush binge is growing bland, Royal Match may change things up a bit for you.

Royal Match is your typical Match-3 game — you swipe, you match, you get points. Though the torrent of rewards it throws your way is where the game shines the most. Finishing levels, game modes, leftover moves, events, challenges, collections or goals earn you coins and stars. There’s even a “Butler’s Gift” mechanic that turns items into power-ups; you’re rewarded with them anytime you finish a level on the first try.

You can use coins to restart failed levels or buy some lives. The latter is comparatively a better option in most contexts. Failing one level uses up one life, out of a total of five (or eight, if you have a Royal Pass).

But don’t be fooled; you earn fairly low, and buying anything that costs coins is expensive. In most casual games, you’re left to hoard coins, soon losing any incentive to use them. In Royal Match, however, it’s a balanced experience.

Stars are earned when you finish levels; one star for each. Levels come packed with Areas, such as Garden or Dining Room, where you use stars to unlock decor and furniture to furnish them. This is how the progression works; you finish levels, earn stars and furnish areas, unlocking new levels and areas and mechanics.

This “renovation mechanic” adds a satisfying incentive to let players
enjoy a sense of achievement and agency. It’s a positive contrast against other games where nothing happens to contextualise the impact you make for finishing your levels.

My only pet peeve was that the game’s theme felt inconsistent, especially during the special events. Some come with graphics of the character(s) perhaps stuck helplessly in a rocket. Or in a science lab with coats on looking attentively at an upgrade object. Or skydiving off a plane. I suppose this is the consequence of the need to push out fresh new content in a live service product. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, this is largely an issue of preference.

But being a Match-3 variant, it’s hard to pinpoint what, if anything, Royal Match offers to players apart from being a “Reward Barrage” experience.

VERDICT: Solidifying the micro levels of the player experience is difficult, yet is the main driver behind Royal Match’s success, something many Match-3 games could learn from. I would rate the game a seven out of 10.