Hi,

Some of you might have noticed that we’re currently in the middle of a competition in the game Tap Jewels over at Amigans.net. That inspired me to write a review of the game.

For this review, I’ve played the game on a Sam460LE. It should work on most AmigaOS 4 configurations though.

Tap Jewels was developed by the German team called Entwickler-X. They have released many games for AmigaOS 4. Examples are the well-known shoot’em up game M.A.C.E., the platformer Spencer, and Swamp Defense, a turret-defense game.

To get the full version of Tap Jewels, you’ll need to purchase it. It is currently available at Alinea Computer for 9,95 EUR as a download. After you’ve bought it, you’ll almost get immediate access. If you want to try it out before you buy, you can download the demo version from OS4Depot.

Installation is easy. Download the archive from Alinea Computer, unpack it to your hard drive, and then double-click on the icon of the game to run it.

Once it has loaded, you’ll be presented with a login screen. There you must enter a name and password, even though you will be playing offline.

You will notice that the graphics are pretty, colorful, and well-drawn. The sound effects and music are also good, creating a fitting atmosphere for a game of this kind. I play it in a window on the AmigaOS 4 desktop, which works very well.

Tap Jewels is more or less a three-in-a-row game. The difference from other similar games is that you don’t have to drag the jewels to a new position. If you find three in a row, click on the cluster, and the jewels will disappear.

Instructions for playing the game can be seen in the image below:

There are, as you can see, three modes of play:

Puzzle Quest:

You need at least two identical jewels to remove it from the playfield. Find three or more identical jewels to fill the playfield with new items. The more you can remove at once, the more new you get. The game is over, if there are no more matches.

Time Challenge:

Match 3 or more identical jewels, and be fast to get more time to play, because the time goes by. The game is over if the time is up.

Survival:

Play without a time limit, but your live energy decreases if you match less than 3 identical jewels. Try to match 4 or more identical jewels to get new live energy. Remove 1 or 2 similar jewels to change your playfield for better matches but be careful with dropping your energy. The game ends if your live energy comes to an end.

The game is easy to get into, and it won’t take long until you are familiar with the controls and the mechanics. That said, it is definitely not easy to get high scores or to get far in the game. Practice makes the master.

If you like games of this kind, I recommend trying out the demo version of Tap Jewels to see if it is for you. If it turns out that you enjoy it, then you can buy the full version.

All in all, Tap Jewels was a positive gaming experience for me. It is a fun puzzle game that you can pick up and play at any time. This is especially true due to the different modes of play available. If you are short on time, a time challenge might be a good solution. 🙂 It has colorful graphics, and nice audio, and its price does not break the bank. I’ll give this a thumbs up, and if you decide to play it, I do hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

That was all for now. Thanks for visiting my blog, and for reading this review. 🙂