Caves and Castles: Underworld

A short but good match 3 with a twist. There's a barebones story, something about restoring the castle to it's former glory because the peasants all moved away. So they need money to build things and they get that by delving into the caves, where you play the match 3 games. There is also another currency, spirit or something like that, and that's used to buy special bonus things like remove 5 pieces in a cross formation anywhere you want on the board (useful for those things that you have to drop off the bottom of the board), and remix the board when you can't find any matches, and a red dragon that I never figured out what he did. You can also use spirit to make her run faster in the caves. The caves start out simple but gradually get complex and bigger so that you can't see what's down a corridor or shaft. The goal is to get all the treasure before you find the exit. One time I took a wrong turn and ended up at the exit before I had gone everywhere. ANd there's no do-overs. You can't replay a level. You have one chance and that's it. Your character travels in a direction until she hits an obstacle (blocks, doors, etc.). At intersections there are arrows and you choose w…

an intro or something would've been nice, guys. as it is, in medias res, girl arrives at random castle to return a bird to some bloke, which costs 200 of her 4400 gold. then for trying to help the blacksmith open the gate, SHE has to pay again. what the ♥♥♥♥? it's a somewhat less typical match-3 game otherwise. flipping method, can do it while matching animations are happening, the board shuffles automatically if there are no more moves, but the girl is part of the levels too. well, she's standing on the side, ready to traverse areas as if it were a sidescroller, while you're matching stuff get rid of obstacles and whatnot. each dungeon has multiple caves and each cave multiple boards with branching paths, extra loot and the like. pretty cool. suggested moves come fast and can't be turned off. not that intrusive but [b]suggestions ignore tiles that can't be moved[/b], and while the game thinks there's a valid move, it won't shuffle on its own. the '?' icon gives more info on all the possible objectives, with the one for level 1 on page 3 for some reason. find the exit, open more doors by doing side objectives, remove all special tiles, bring keys to the bottom, and [b]occasionall…

Aww... The main screen has the saddest looking animal... I bet it's there so you can't leave and must continue to play the game. Although I gotta say... You kinda save the animals in the beginning pretty much... It's the castle/people who need lots of saving. XD The game 's not bad! Match-3 may have started off slower than I am used to, but then once you get into the rhythm of things... It all works out! There are skills you can use in battle and out of battle you can speed up your character. All require a certain amount of matches of gems or purple orbs to activate. Majority of the time you walk around the dungeon and get loot, while playing Match-3. There are 50 levels and when it reaches the end level, you will see the same levels again, so you can get the rest of the money necessary. Or I guess you can trade your purple orbs for coins too... On the castle screen you do tasks and collect purple orbs, which recharge after two minutes have passed. Overall, the game is fair and I had no complaints... Apart from that really sad animal in the beginning... Sigh... Regardless, it was fun, so thanks you! :D =) :3

Really cute match-3 game. Nice concept with the dungeon crawling aspect. My only complaint is that it's not long enough. I hope there are more chapters to come!

Caves and Castles: Underworld is a relaxed, puzzle-focused adventure that blends familiar match-three mechanics with light progression and a gentle fantasy theme. Rather than aiming for complexity or high difficulty, the game is clearly designed to provide a steady, low-stress experience where small victories accumulate into visible progress. From the outset, it frames its puzzle gameplay within the simple goal of descending into underground caverns to uncover treasure while gradually restoring a ruined castle above, giving players a sense of purpose that extends beyond individual puzzle boards. The core gameplay revolves around match-three puzzles that feel immediately accessible. Players swap adjacent gems to create rows or columns of matching tiles, clearing obstacles and generating resources as a result. What makes this system more engaging than a purely abstract puzzle game is how each successful match ties directly into exploration and advancement. Clearing certain tiles opens new cave paths, breaks through stone barriers, frees trapped elements, or unlocks chests, creating the illusion that each puzzle is physically shaping the underworld beneath the castle. This connection…

Rating partly based on the price. It's a simple enough match 3 wrapped in a vaguely unique story idea and a concept of clearing the gems/blocks to allow a character to move through. If it's super cheap and you love match 3 games it might be worth a look.