Help Alfred the crab restore his home after being devastated by a passing storm

Play challenging match-3 games to earn gems so you can complete tasks

Create power-ups or use boosters strategically to get through the tougher levels

Undersea: Match & Build is a match-3/building game that is set in the once-thriving town of Rocky Bottom that had fallen on hard times ever since it was devastated by a passing storm. However, with your skills at solving match-3 puzzle games and Alfred the crab’s handyman skills, both of you may just be able to restore the town to its former glory.

Undersea: Match & Build uses the same game design as many match-3/ building games. This basically means that you’ll need to play levels after levels of match-3 puzzle games to earn gems. Gems are then used to complete tasks. Naturally, some tasks may require more than a gem to complete. Most tasks are done on the spot, but for some, you may still need to wait a certain duration. This, however, doesn’t mean that you can’t do other tasks while waiting… playing more match-3 games, for instance!

Like some of the more strategy-oriented match-3 games, Undersea: Match & Build puts a lot of emphasis on the use of power-ups. Power-ups include every special item that you can get by making matches of 4 and above. Interestingly, you can double-tap on all your power-ups to activate them as opposed to having to make a match or even swap them with any piece on the game board. These power-ups can also be combined to produce a much greater effect.

Every level you play will have its own objectives which you’ll need to complete, be it collecting all yellow shells or freeing seahorses, along with a fixed number of moves that you can take. There are also obstacles, including but not limited to sand tiles, seaweed and crates, that you’ll need to overcome as part of the level’s goals. You’ll get a Hard level every 10 levels or so as well.

The levels of match-3 puzzle games that you’ll be playing vary in terms of difficulty and challenge, but there’s a general theme across all of them - A wrong move may sometimes mean that you won’t be able to complete a level. Your first few moves are often most critical and if you do find yourself failing a level, make sure to change up these first few moves or you’re certain to fail again.

Although these levels don’t exactly reward you with stars, the number of coins you get reflects your performance in the game. Every successful (normal) level will reward you with 20 coins, but if you have any extra power-ups or moves left, you can get around 1 bonus coin for each one you have. However, if you do run out of moves, you can decide to spend 900 coins on 5 more moves or you could check to see if there’s a booster that can help.

Undersea: Match & Build offers quite a range of boosters that you can buy using coins. These boosters are rather expensive, however– they are priced at 1900 coins per piece. Due to this, sometimes, it might be financially wiser to simply fail the level, lose a life and start all over. After all, you can get more lives for free simply by pestering your friends for gifts.

Progression in this game also feels a lot satisfying than usual mainly because it’s no longer focused so much on the match-3 levels themselves but on the progress you’ve made in restoring Rocky Bottom’s many buildings piece by piece. Thus, it just doesn’t feel as “linear” as before.

Of course, the game currently has no ads whatsoever and that’s a huge plus in my (and many others’, I’m sure) books. However, this may change once the game moves out of early access and into launch.

In short, Undersea: Match & Build is among the many brand-new match-3/building games that are on the rise, both on social gaming platforms and on mobile. It is frankly not outstandingly unique, but the gameplay is engaging and challenging enough to keep you coming back for more.