One good Cubis game deserves another, which might be why the series has been around for more than a decade, way before the match-3 craze started sweeping mobile games — and before mobile games were even a thing, for that matter. …
One good Cubis game deserves another, which might be why the series has been around for more than a decade, way before the match-3 craze started sweeping mobile games — and before mobile games were even a thing, for that matter. In Cubis Kingdoms, you’ve got a bona fide reason to clear those cubes from the board, as evil gargoyles have put a curse over an otherwise lovely land, and only the elements contained with the cubes can lift it.
Well, that and some good thinking on your part, of course. It is indeed a match-3 exercise, but it’s not quite like most other games you’ve played because of its unique board layout and game mechanics. Cubis Kingdoms is one part match-3 and one part mahjong with a little Tetris thrown in just for good measure.
Every quest needs a guide, so let us fill that role for you. If you’re just getting started in Cubis Kingdoms, our Tips, Cheats and Strategies will help you have the best shot at clearing the fog and returning the animals to all the land. And we’d all like to see that happen.
On (almost) every level of Cubis Kingdoms, your goal is to clear enough cubes of one or more colors within a certain number of moves. On each move, you can shoot one cube onto the board. Simply find the cube on the perimeter of the board and slide it into the row or column where you’d like to place it. Then tap it and watch it do its thing.
The object of every shot is to have the cube settle where it joins with three or more cubes of the same color to make a match, which results in all the cubes being cleared from the board and counting toward the totals for that color. Cubes that are adjacent on any side, horizontally and vertically, count toward the match.
While the basics are pretty straightforward, there are two important things to keep in mind. The first is that sliding a cube onto the board will cause it to stop once it hits a row of cubes. However, if it runs into a cube with an empty square behind it, both cubes will be knocked back one square. This is vital to keep in mind, because it can ruin a match that looks possible. It can also work to your advantage, as you might be able to bump a lone cube into others and make a match — and some later levels depend on you doing just that.
The other tool at your disposal from the very start of the game is the option to switch between two different colored cubes. In the bottom-right corner of the screen, you’ll see a circle with two cubes in it; simply tap it to switch between two colors. This comes in handy if you’ve got lots of one color out on the board but another color queued up, though sometimes you will see both cubes are the same color and not be able to swap.
On most levels, clearing the needed number of cubes isn’t all that difficult. But the real goal you should always have in mind is to clear the entire board before you run out of moves.
The reason why ties into the story of Cubis Kingdoms. You can unlock new areas of the board and roll back the fog brought on by the curse simply by piling up enough of the right kind of elements. But you can also bring life back to the restored areas by means of a special elixir, one you can only earn by getting three stars on a given level.
The only way to do that is to clear the entire board. With that in mind, you may want to go back and replay levels you’ve otherwise beaten until you’re able to secure the elixir.
It wouldn’t be all that much fun if all you had to worry about was making matches, and Cubis Kingdoms throws more curveballs at you as you go. Here’s a quick overview of the first few you’ll encounter.
Many levels have cubes that will appear after every move you make, complicating your efforts to clear the whole board. The game does you a big favor, though, by highlighting exactly where these cubes will appear and what color they will be. Look for the colored outlines on specific squares on the board, which will tell you exactly where you’re about to get extra cubes.
Stones are gray-colored cubes that don’t move when hit and can’t be destroyed via matches. You just need to work around them, though they can be destroyed by a Phoenix Egg, which we’ll discuss in just a bit.
The gargoyles responsible for the curse in Cubis Kingdoms pop up every 10 levels to torment you with boss battles. These levels grant you no elements but do bar your progress until you can pass them. Generally speaking, you’ll have very few moves in which to solve a boss battle level, so be sure to study the board carefully before making your moves.
With more obstacles being thrown at you during your quest to reverse the curse, it’s only right that you should have a few more tools in your cube-matching repertoire as well. Here are two you’ll find very handy:
Distinguishable from normal cubes by the flashing lightning contained within, lightning cubes clear every cubes of that color when incorporated into a match. Unlike other match-3 games, you don’t need to do anything special to create them; simply look for them on the board and take advantage of them whenever possible.
First introduced after level 10, Phoenix Eggs can take the place of a normal cube by tapping on the icon on the left side of the screen. Sliding a Phoenix Egg into a row or column clears every cube there — including stones.
The catch, of course, is that you only have a limited supply of Phoenix Eggs. So use them sparingly, and only when you are out of other options.
Cubis Kingdoms is published by iWin, which also owns Gamezebo. iWin did not contribute or otherwise have any input into the content of this article.
