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All Caps=Recommended
Hover mouse over screenshots for commentary.
August 2014
 My avatar is on the left with the opponent on the right. Making matches fills up meters at the bottom of the screen, which, when filled, deal damage to your opponent. |  Skulls deal automatic damage to your opponent. |  Potions will heal your character. |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  The head-to-head screen. |
 Of course I did. |  |  |
 Skeleton of Death is one of many highly creative enemy types! |  Some enemies have strengths and weaknesses. For example, this lightning salamander is resistant to lightning damage. |  |
 |  Results screen. |  |
 The title/loading screen. |
The Treasures of Montezuma: Arena
TOM: Arena is a free "match three" game that plays more like Candy Crush than Bejeweled; that is, it rewards well thought-out moves rather than quickly executed moves. Each match builds a meter of the corresponding color, and when a meter is filled you deal damage to your opponent who is also trying to deal damage to you. As most aptly stated in "The Princess Bride," the first one to die loses. You can deal instant damage without filling a meter by matching sets of skulls. Matching four, five, or six of any gem will fill the meter more quickly or, in the case of skulls, deal more damage. Some opponents have strengths and weaknesses; for example, they may take more damage from red gems and reduced damage from skulls.
You can play through the main campaign facing CPU opponents, or you can face actual people. You do not, however, play against humans in real-time - you play against the CPU with the stats acquired by a human player. So that's kind of lame. Overall, I thought the game was more well-made than most "match three" games, but I didn't stay engaged for too long.