Jewel Island

Editors' ReviewDownload.com staffOctober 7, 2009Many puzzle games fall into the trap of becoming repetitive and boring. You play them for a while, and they're fun, but eventually they're just not that interesting or challenging. Jewel Island solves this problem by making puzzle-solving part of a larger journey; you're not just solving puzzles for their own sake, but to move to the next step in the search for treasure.The object of Jewel Island is to solve progressively more difficult puzzles in order to move to different points on a treasure map, eventually reaching the treasure and winning the game. We've seen this type of puzzle before; users must move jewels around to form three in a row, which then disappear and turn their spaces on the board gold. If you can turn the entire board gold before time runs out, you advance to the next level. As users advance through the game, they earn extra tools and bonuses that can help them. The program's instructions are somewhat vague, but this seems to be in the spirit of allowing users to discover things on their own.Overall, we were quite impressed with the quality of the game. The graphics were quite good, and we liked the catchy island music that played while we solved the puzzles. The puzzles were challenging, even in the first few levels, ensuring that users will really have to work to win the game. We think this is a great choice for puzzle lovers. Jewel Island has a 70-minute trial period. It installs without issues but leaves a folder behind upon removal. We highly recommend this game to all users.