Pawn'd

Pawn'd is a great variant of the match-3 game with chess pieces. Instead of matching three identical pieces to take them out of the board by moving them to the sides or up or down, you have to match chess pieces by making the moves those pieces are allowed. The game is easier to understand and play if you know how to play chess, but the help screen does a great job of explaining the game and the moves allowed. There are six pieces: King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight and Pawn. For example, the Pawn can only move in the direction its icon is pointing. The Queen is the best piece because it can move in any direction.

The pieces are nicely designed and the game is smooth. You will notice a relaxing song playing in the background. It helps to put you in the medieval setting of the game.

There are three different game modes: Clock'd, Pawn'd, and Poison'd. The first one gives you a short time to make matches. The second mode is perhaps the most interesting one. You start with 8 pawns, and when you make matches of three pieces you lose one. If you manage to make combo matches or matches of 4 or 5 pieces you get to keep your pawns. When you run out of pawns, you lose the game. In Poison'd, you are told what piece you have to make matches with. If you can't, you lose one point from ten. If the counter reaches zero, you lose.