Cradle of Rome review

Cradle of Rome is another puzzle game distributed by Big Fish Games.


In each level you have to destruct all the dark blu plaques in order to go to the next level. You destruct them by swapping a tile with and adjacent one to make it match with a 3+ tile row/column of the same type. It's easier playing it rather than trying to describe it :) When you destroy tiles, new ones will drop from the top, possibly causing random chain reactions.


Your side job is to collect as much money and resources from the level, so you can build your cradle of Rome. After each level you can upgrade your town and add buildings.


You also have to race against time to get the level done. Later on, a plaque needs to be destructed twice. From light blue, it gets to dark blue on the first destruction. Also you will be getting special one-time actions during the game when you destroy a certain amount of a specific tile. E.g. if you destruct a number of axe tiles, you will get a one time action to destroy a tile of your choice. The possible actions are found at the bottom of the screen, and when an action is available it is filled up with a colored graphic, ready to be used whenever you want.


Some tiles cannot be moved since they are chained. To unchain them you have to destroy a row or column of the same type of tile adjacent to it. The chain would then be removed, ready to be destroyed normally. If it's floating in the air like in the above screenshot, the tiles would start to fall down vertically, as if gravity is acting on them. The effect is more like when you have sand is falling in a sand-clock, i.e. in the above case you end up with a pyramid-like pile of tiles.


I don't know why you have to keep upgrading your town really. But it starts getting bigger and bigger after the first set of levels. It sort of keeps you hooked to see what the next upgrade will look like.

The graphics and backgrounds are polished. Even the music is good, starts with a tribal kinda music. Also for the beginners it gives hints when you are stuck. They hints are a minor highlight over the game board. To make your eyes focus on the area where you have to click next.
A tip I found helping me when I was playing it - work your way bottom up. I.e. start destroying the bottom plaques first. That would maximize the possible random chain reactions.

Download Cradle Dof Rome