Cubis Kingdoms

Cubis Kingdoms is a fantasy-themed puzzle game that combines match-3 mechanics with town-building elements. Players launch colored cubes onto an isometric grid, clearing them by forming rows of three or more. As they progress through levels, they collect resources to restore a fallen kingdom, encounter various obstacles, utilize power-ups, and face challenging boss battles at the end of each region.

Cubis Kingdoms: A Regal Evolution in the Match-3 Pantheon

In the vast and often repetitive kingdom of casual puzzle games, where countless titles vie for a player’s attention with familiar mechanics, a true sovereign must offer more than just a fleeting distraction. It must build upon a legacy, innovate within its constraints, and present a world worth saving. Cubis Kingdoms, the 2017 installment from Boomzap Entertainment and publisher iWin, does not merely rest on the laurels of its esteemed Cubis lineage; it seeks to expand its empire, weaving a narrative tapestry and strategic depth into its uniquely three-dimensional match-3 foundations. This is a review of a game that is both a refinement of a classic formula and a bold, if sometimes quietly executed, step into a more ambitious realm.

Development History & Context

The Architects of a Kingdom: Boomzap and iWin

To understand Cubis Kingdoms, one must first acknowledge its pedigree. The Cubis franchise, conceived by FreshGames with design input from legendary adventure game designer Steve Meretzky (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), had been a staple of the digital puzzle scene since the early 2000s. Cubis 2 (2004) was particularly successful, finding a home on Windows, iPods, and J2ME phones, praised for its addictive, three-dimensional take on matching.

By 2017, the franchise was in the hands of Boomzap Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based studio with a formidable reputation in the casual and hidden object genres, having developed titles like the Awakening and Sally’s Salon series. The development team, led by Executive Producer C.J. Wolf and Creative Directors Sarah E. Daniels and Christopher Natsuume, brought a wealth of experience in crafting compelling casual experiences. This was not a team new to narrative-driven puzzle games, and their influence is palpably felt in Cubis Kingdoms‘ new direction.

The gaming landscape of 2017 was dominated by free-to-play mobile titans and live-service models. For a premium, downloadable PC and Mac title—also released on iOS and Android—to compete, it needed to offer a substantial, polished experience devoid of predatory monetization. Cubis Kingdoms arrived as a complete package, a Collector’s Edition by default on platforms like Big Fish Games, offering a curated, premium experience in an era increasingly defined by endless scrolling and microtransactions.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

A Curse, Cubes, and Conservation

For the first time in the series, narrative is not an afterthought but a driving force. The premise is elegantly simple yet effective: a once-vibrant fantasy kingdom has fallen under a powerful curse, draining the land of its color and life. The player is tasked with being the realm’s restorer.

The story is delivered through brief inter-level dialogues and the core gameplay loop itself. The seven different colored cubes you match are not arbitrary; they represent precious elements required to dispel the curse. Each successful match is a small act of reclamation. This mechanic brilliantly ties the core puzzle action to the overarching narrative goal, providing a tangible sense of purpose beyond a high score. You are not just matching colors; you are gathering the fundamental building blocks of restoration.

Further deepening this connection is the elixir, a resource earned by clearing an entire board within a strict move limit. This elixir is used to “restore life” to regions, which the Gamezebo review astutely notes likely means encouraging displaced creatures to return rather than literal creation ex nihilo. This adds a layer of strategic replayability, as players may revisit levels to perfect their run and earn more elixir for the kingdom’s revival.

The antagonists—gargoyles encountered in special boss battle levels—provide a tangible foe to overcome, breaking the pacing and offering a distinct challenge. While the story remains, as reviewers noted, “a little bare bones,” its integration into the gameplay is seamless and meaningful. It’s a light fairy tale, but one that perfectly complements the puzzle action, giving a heart to the game’s mechanical brain.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

The Royal Decree of Depth

At its heart, Cubis Kingdoms is pure Cubis. The gameplay is a sophisticated twist on match-3, played on an isometric grid. Unlike flat, grid-based games like Bejeweled, here the playing field is three-dimensional. Players do not swap adjacent pieces; instead, they launch cubes from two edges of the board, sliding them into a row or column before firing them into the existing stack. Matching three or more cubes of the same color in a row or column clears them. This simple premise belies a surprising depth of strategy.

The controls are impeccably simple and intuitive: drag a cube into position and tap to launch. The game’s genius lies in its subtle mechanics:
* Dual-Cube Choice: Players are almost always presented with a choice of two different colored cubes to launch, allowing for strategic foresight and planning several moves ahead.
* The Kinetic Nudge: When a launched cube hits another, it can knock it backward one space (if empty), enabling clever chain reactions and combo setups that are deeply satisfying to execute.
* Tetris-like Forecasting: The game shows you which tiles new cubes will appear on, a crucial piece of information for planning and avoiding game-over scenarios where the board fills up.

As you progress, the systems expand elegantly. Obstacles like immovable blocks, portals, and frost-covered cubes are introduced. Power-ups, whimsically designed as turtle shells and phoenix eggs, provide explosive solutions to tight spots. The boss battles against gargoyles change the rules, requiring specific strategies to defeat them.

The meta-progression is where the “Kingdoms” part truly shines. The elements collected from matches are currency used in a light town-building mechanic to restore the kingdom. This provides a compelling carousel of action and reward: play puzzles to collect resources, spend resources to see the world map regenerate and new areas unlock, then tackle the new puzzles that appear. It’s a loop that expertly marries the satisfaction of puzzle-solving with the enduring gratification of world-building.

World-Building, Art & Sound

A Canvas Restored

The isometric perspective isn’t just a gameplay feature; it’s the cornerstone of the game’s visual identity. It creates a tangible, diorama-like quality to each puzzle board, making the cubes feel like physical objects in a small world. The art team, including Jeff Liang and Gregorius Martinus, delivers a bright, colorful, and cohesive fantasy aesthetic.

The visual direction is clean and appealing, with a distinct charm that avoids feeling generic. The restored areas of the kingdom are lush and green, starkly contrasting the cursed, desaturated zones, visually reinforcing the narrative impact of your actions. The character designs for allies and creatures are cute and engaging, fitting the game’s fairy-tale tone perfectly.

While the source material is light on specific details regarding sound design, the overall presentation points toward a standard competent for the genre: satisfying audio cues for matches and combos, and likely a gentle, melodic soundtrack that complements the relaxing yet focused gameplay without becoming intrusive. The atmosphere crafted is one of peaceful restoration—a puzzle game that feels like a journey, not a chore.

Reception & Legacy

A Critic’s Quiet Coronation

Upon its release, Cubis Kingdoms was met with positive, if not widespread, acclaim. The most detailed contemporary review, from Gamezebo, awarded it a solid 80/100, praising its “3D twist on match-3 gameplay,” integrated narrative, and replay value, while only critiquing its light story.

Its legacy is twofold. Firstly, it represents the apex of the Cubis series’ evolution. It took the core 3D matching concept established in Cubis 2 and refined it with modern sensibilities, deeper mechanics, and a meaningful meta-game. It proved the franchise could adapt and grow beyond its origins.

Secondly, it stands as a prime example of a premium casual game in a mobile-first world. It offered a complete, narrative-driven experience with a beginning, middle, and end, at a time when the market was shifting toward endless, service-based games. For players seeking a curated puzzle adventure without strings attached, Cubis Kingdoms was and remains a compelling choice.

While it may not have shaken the industry to its core, its influence is evident in how it successfully blended genres—puzzle, light strategy, and town-building—a trend that continues in the casual space. It is a respected and highly polished entry in the puzzle genre’s history.

Conclusion

Cubis Kingdoms is a testament to the idea that innovation need not be revolutionary to be effective. It is a game of elegant evolution. It takes a rock-solid, unique puzzle foundation and builds upon it with a purposeful narrative, strategic depth, and a rewarding progression system that makes every match feel meaningful.

It is not without its minor faults—the story is simple, and its quiet release meant it flew under the radar for many—but these are quibbles in the face of its overwhelming competence and charm. For fans of the series, it was a triumphant return. For newcomers, it served as the perfect entry point into a more strategic dimension of match-3 puzzle games.

In the final analysis, Cubis Kingdoms earns its title. It is a regal, polished, and deeply satisfying experience that reigns supreme within its own niche, a worthy successor to its franchise and a shining example of how to do a premium casual game right. It is, without a doubt, a puzzle game fit for a king.