Cavemania Review

Do you ever feel that you're having difficult time choosing what genre of game to play on your phone? Well, thanks to Cavemania from Yodo1 Games and BonusXP, you can kill two prehistoric birds with one stone! This match-three puzzle games also blends in some turn-based strategy to flesh out the experience. Have we found a match with Cavemania? Or should we plan for a strategic exit and abandon it completely?

In Cavemania, you follow the story of a Chieftain trying to reunite members of his tribe after a catastrophic event. To do this, he must travel across the land, gathering resources and joining up with other members of his village. But these cavemen must take care in their travels because there are plenty of dangers that would stop them in their tracks. What kind of dangers? Well, dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers and environmental hazards, of course. But luckily, the catastrophic event that sent his villagers sprawling away also unearthed Power Crystals that help the Chieftain and his crew perform special abilities.

You'll go across several levels on a map, each with its own set of objectives. These objectives can range from collecting a specific amount of a resource, defeating a certain number of enemies or performing an action. Collecting resources is as easy as matching up three of them. There's gold, stones, wood and food to collect in the field. If you match four of these, then you are granted a Power Crystal. If you're really lucky and match up to five resources, you get a special gift box with random items inside.

Now, each level in Cavemania has a set number of turns. This means that you have a limited amount of time to complete the given objectives. What's more is that enemies will often show up to hinder your progress and attack your villagers. The only thing to do when beasts show up is to take them out. You can move each of your villagers one space per turn in order to get close to a monster. Once you're within your unit's attack range, they will trade blows at the start of each turn. It's important to train up your units so that they can take as much damage as they can dish out, because you'll have to go up against beefy enemies like dinosaurs and saber-toothed cats every now and again.

Upgrades to your characters can be purchased with the gold you collect. Don't expect to train all of your units into unstoppable warriors right off the bat, as some upgrades take a lot of coins to purchase. But if you're patient and learn how to play with a bit of strategy, you'll be able to collect enough coins for the necessary augmentations to your characters.

Training up your villagers is highly recommended because they'll be able to use their special abilities with more powerful effects. Sometimes, this can mean the difference between ending a level with 10 turns left to go and barely scraping by with only one turn remaining.

Since Cavemania is free, you should expect that it will have some in-app purchases available for you. A lot of the time, these optional purchases are very powerful items that can help you out immensely in battle, but they often come at an equally premium price. But really, you should be able to successfully play the game without having to spend a lot of money, as long as you play smart.

Cavemania's got great visuals, a fun soundtrack, and two awesome ways to play all rolled into one experience. If you like match-three puzzle games and light, strategic role-playing games, then Cavemania should send you into fits of elation. It's free, it's fun and it's got cavemen bonking dinosaurs on the head. Give it a download. What are you waiting for, another ice age?

App Store Link: Cavemania for iPhone & iPad | By Yodo1 Games | Price: Free | Version: 1.0.5 | 78.9 MB | Rating 9+