The match-3 puzzles in Royal Kingdom totally rule… and so do you! As King Richard – younger brother of Royal Match’s King Robert – set sail across the sea to establish your own domain. When you’re not clobbering gnomes with dynamite boosters or summoning a plane to shake owls out of birdhouses, you’ll build lavish additions to a sprawling palace, such as a dinosaur museum and a breathtaking statue garden. It’s good to be king!

What we love: Battling bad guys. Every fifth level pits you against the Dark King; make matches to fire colourful blasts of energy at castle walls and stone golems before they can smother your board with ivy.

Quick tip: Giant statues found on some Dark Kingdom levels can only be damaged every other turn, when they’ve shifted their shields to the side. Don’t unleash powerful items while statues have their guard up; instead, use that time to create boosters to activate on your next move.

Meet the creator: Founded in 2019, Dream Games crafted a blockbuster with Royal Match (2021), its very first release.