Gem Master is a free-to-play puzzle game from Morning Light Inc. This is a match-3 game where the player is tasked with clearing out the gems in a stage. You move gems into the area below and whenever you make a group of three gems, they are cleared automatically.

Aside from being a good casual game, Gem Master also offers the opportunity to earn real-world money. However, it has been the subject of user concern for being too tedious and at times, unreliable. It’s like a mix between Survey Junkie and Candy Crush Saga.

Remove all gems on the board

When you play Gem Master, you are greeted with a board filled with gems. Unlike other match-3 games, however, this one features stacks of gems. You’ll need to remove the topmost gems before getting to the bottom of the piles. You do this by moving tiles to a row at the bottom. Be careful, though, as filling the bottom row ends the game.

The game has an energy system that lets you retry the stage you’ve failed. There are also multiple currency systems. Diamonds serve in-game purchases such as upgrades and powerups. On the other hand, green money is convertible to real-world currencies and can be withdrawn to a linked digital wallet. This earning potential adds an incentive to playing the game.

However, the same earning system has been the source of user reports. It turns the game into a series of rewarded tasks such as registering for an account and inviting other players to install the app. Furthermore, the game is filled with ads that make it virtually impossible to enjoy its puzzle-solving section. These issues offset the otherwise enjoyable approach to match-3 this game offers.

Fun puzzles, tedious earning system

In conclusion, while Gem Master offers a unique twist on the classic match-3 formula with its stacked gems and earning potential, its heavy reliance on ads and reward-based tasks detracts from the overall experience. The energy system and in-game currencies provide incentives, but the overwhelming number of ads makes it difficult to fully enjoy the puzzle aspect of the game. With improvements, it could better balance fun and rewards.