Help a kid build a pirate themed amusement park for his pirate friends in Match Three Pirates II.  I’ve never played the first game so I don’t know what’s improved or changed in the sequel, but it’s your typical match three puzzle game like Candy Crush or Bejeweled.  It’s available on Switch, PC, and mobile devices but reviewed on Switch here.

The gameplay is what you’d expect.  Slide two pirate themed objects and match three to clear them.  Match four or more and get a power-up to clear out more.  Each level has different objectives.  You may have to clear out enough of a certain object, clear out tiles underneath, open a treasure chest by matching things around it, etc.  Completed levels earn you money that you can use to build more attractions for your amusement park, or you can buy booster items to help you out in the levels.  Sometimes the pirate characters will talk about the park between levels, but it’s not very important.

It’s a serviceable match three game, but I’ve played way better ones.  Some of the problems include the annoying pirate themed music that only Popeye the sailor or Mr. Krabs would love.  You can play it on the TV or handheld mode on the Switch.  On the TV you can use an icon to move things around, but it’s easier to use the touch screen in handheld mode.  But the text is very small to read in handheld mode as well.  Also I couldn’t figure out how to go back and replay levels, so once you run out of money you may not be able to bypass a tough level if you can’t buy any more power-ups.  And the game gets hard pretty quickly, too.  I got stuck around level 13 without any way to buy more stuff so I lost interest.

Kid Factor:

Nothing violent or objectionable here.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, and younger players may find it too difficult or repetitive.  Match Three Pirates II is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews