It is pretty safe to say that I am a fan of puzzle games, and like a lot of you out there I have seen my fair share of match three games. Some stick around as timeless classics and others just kind of fade away into oblivion. Boomlings, from developer RobTop games, tries to change the tried and true match three formula just a bit and presents us with the overly cute title Boomlings.

First up, the main, not quite so drastic change, from the ordinary match three style is that Boomlings is a match four type puzzle game. It also does you a favor, somewhat, in that the board doesn’t start out totally and completely filled (a la, Bejeweled style) instead opting to add playing pieces to the board after each move that you make. Playing pieces that each try to bring their own style to the game in the form of cute and somewhat adorable blocks called, oddly enough, Boomlings.

The game starts out simply enough, taking you through a basic little tutorial that covers everything you need to know about playing Boomlings. To move a block from point A to point B, you can either attempt to drag it there or - much easier - tap to select each point. If the block is able to complete the match then it will do so and clear out some much needed room. As is described in the tutorial, not all block styles are usable to complete a match and you will find as you progress through the levels more and more different styles of blocks. Your basic block has nothing more than just eyes and a mouth, sitting there looking either all happy or frumpy. It is the only kind of block that you can utilize to clear out groups. A similar block style has a mouthful of vomitous goo, with which it will use to change the colors of its target area once it’s been moved into place - a very useful block indeed. The next type isn’t really a block, it’s a bomb, and when it is used in a color match it will explode and destroy the surrounding blocks with it no matter what color they are. Bombs can also be used to create large chain reactions, so place them strategically. Next up is the freezer not-a-cube,;when these appear on the playing field they come with a countdown timer and if you don’t get rid of them before the count reaches zero then they explode and freeze the surrounding blocks leaving them immobile. The last Boomling is the skull of death, and similarly to the freezer it comes complete with a countdown timer. If it reaches zero then it’s game over.

As you make your matches and progress through the level you fill up a progress meter at the bottom of the screen. When that fills up you get to move on to the next level. After every move you make the game will add more blocks and objects to the play area, things get a bit more challenging the further you progress through the levels. Game play stops either when you can no longer make a move, or when the previously mentioned skull counter reaches zero. Things can get very interesting indeed when you have more than one of those on your screen.

Boomlings does have a store where you can purchase power-ups and other items that are largely used to extend the countdown timers and destroy like-colored blocks. This also means, naturally, that there are in app purchases as well. As per usual with games of this type, I really don’t see any dire need to make purchases of coins to buy needless stuff; the game is really there to just pass time and it does that excellently. However, if you felt the need to buy other blocks or whatever the option is there.

The game graphics are extraordinarily cute, colorful and very well done. Even the in-game music and sound effects aren’t all that bad; they give a nice whimsical quality to the game and don’t make me crave to turn it off. Boomlings is available for free from the Google Play store, so if you or some member of your family have a thing for puzzles or match games then you should give this a try.

Boomlings is available for free on the Google Play store