Puzzle Craft

Release Date: July 16, 2012

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Puzzle Craft is a PC-based mix of match-3 mechanisms with economic strategy. The player is cast as the mayor of a modest village, and the task is to collect food and raw materials and expand the infrastructure, which he does within the mini puzzle game, where he manipulates objects on the map in a way that allows to obtain strings of at least three of the same type.

Puzzle Craft is an ingenious hybrid of economic strategy and logical game. The production was developed by the Polish studio Ars Thanea Games.

Mechanics

The game is devoid of any plot and focuses exclusively on gameplay. The action takes place in the Middle Ages, where the player takes on the role of the leader of a small village. Our ambition is to transform it into a vibrant economic center. To achieve this, it needs resources and money which we use to construct buildings and tools. We use them to get more resources and gold, and this loop mechanic causes the village to slowly reach higher levels of development.

All this is a standard for economic strategies, but in Puzzle Craft, the way we realize these actions are very different from typical strategic standards - we obtain raw materials during a match-3 mini-game. Various objects are randomly thrown on the boards counting several dozen fields and our task is to combine them into sequences of at least three of the same type. All this is adjusted to the type of activity. For example, in mines, we move ore deposits, in fields, we move the types of cultivated plants. These combinations result in the creation of a new, more valuable item. For example, three blocks of grass produce grain, three grain give us three carrots, and three carrots give one piglet.

Our achievements in match-3 mode have a direct impact on the functioning of the village. They fill granaries and treasuries and serve to satisfy the needs of the population. Miners, farmers and other subordinates won't work with an empty stomach or without proper payment. It is also necessary to buy tools to make it easier for them to perform the tasks assigned to them. Money is obtained by selling products and getting taxes, and efficient management of the village requires an appropriate balance of income and expenses.

Last updated on October 28, 2019

Videos and Screens

[0:51] Puzzle Craft trailer