Parents' Guide to Diamond Diaries Saga

While this starts off as a simple, physics-augmented connect-3 puzzle game, it gets increasingly clever and inventive. In Diamond Diaries Saga, there's a large diamond in a tube full of smaller gems. You have to use your finger to link three or more of the same kind, which causes them to disappear, and the diamond to move downward, hopefully past the pearl necklace. Or, if the board is set up differently, you have to link gems that are next to the Russian nesting dolls of the same color, which will release the diamonds instead. You also aren't limited to just ones in a row, you can backtrack and link all that are close together. But while this game starts off familiar, and is often rather easy, it gets increasingly inventive as it progresses, adding bottles of perfume that make diamonds float upward, small birds that can smash barricades, and other clever mechanics. Sadly, the game isn't without its problems. For starters, when you press on a gem, it highlights all the nearby gems you can link to, removing some of the challenge. It also puts gold bars (which are used to keep playing) in your piggy bank as you play. But when the bank's full, there's a $3 withdrawal fee if you want the bonus you've earned for, well, filling the pig. Despite these irritations, though, fans of similar games will find Diamond Diaries Saga to be a puzzle fans' best friend.