Empires & Puzzles

Empires & Puzzles showed how elegantly two seemingly completely unrelated genres can be combined – classic match-3 token matching and turn-based RPG combat. Battles work by having the player charge their heroes' special abilities by matching colored tokens on the board, after which the heroes attack a row of enemies; the color of the tokens directly corresponds to the element of the given hero, so even classic matching of triples and quadruples at once gains a deeper tactical dimension and requires thoughtful turn planning. Between individual battles, the player also builds and gradually upgrades their own castle, giving overall progress a tangible and visible visual foundation.

Small Giant Games struck gold with this combination – the game managed to appeal both to longtime fans of the puzzle genre and to players craving character collecting and upgrading with genuine RPG depth and a strategic dimension to combat. The diversity of dozens of available heroes, elemental battles based on a rock-paper-scissors principle, and regularly added special events kept the player community active for many years after the original release, which is a rarity in this oversaturated genre.

Monetization is based on a gacha system of drawing new heroes for in-game or real currency through so-called challenges and portals, a typical and honestly acknowledged way of earning money for this type of game; collecting rare and legendary heroes is also the main driving force of long-term playability and repeated player spending.

Why play it: Suitable for players who want a proven puzzle mechanic enriched with genuine strategy and RPG hero collecting, with the understanding that the strongest and rarest heroes are firmly tied to random gacha draws.