Game: Another Case Solved

Another Case Solved is the follow-up to developer Ars Thanea Games' ridiculously engaging match-3-meets-city builder, Puzzle Craft.  Like its predecessor, Another Case Solved relies primarily on puzzle-matching objects that are used as building blocks for progress throughout the game.  Unlike Puzzle Craft, this progress is less cyclical and more monetary, wrapped in an economy that makes the noir-themed newcomer notably more challenging, but rarely malicious.  With a number of variations on gameplay packed alongside the primary puzzle boards, Another Case Solved manages to differentiate itself while still offering all the trappings that made Puzzle Craft compelling.This time around, you are not the mayor of a fledgling village, but a newbie private detective in a Prohibition Era-styled city.  Sugar, not alcohol, is the banned substance and everyone from crooks to cops can be put on ice for having a sweet tooth.  You'll occasionally run into cases involving sugar smugglers and donut blackmail, but as a no-name private eye, you'll also take on work that requires chasing kittens and tracking down missing documents."All of these assignments, no matter their gravity, follow a similar format split into two camps.  Minor cases you find in the daily newspaper are basic gigs that merely require you to play the match-3 portion of the game.  These can be played over and over and are used to earn cash (known as "detective bucks") as well as credibility that unlocks more involved story missions.  The story missions, or major cases, are brought to you by characters in need and are the meat of Another Case Solved.  They not only present plot points involving recurring characters you'll meet throughout other major assignments, but require you to complete four different types of puzzles in order to crack the case.