Puzzle Domino is a new game for the Apple iPhone from 415 Games. It’s basically Tetris meets match 3 gameplay and it works remarkably well.  Dominos float down a traditional Tetris-esque grid and you spin them around to match 3 numbers either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. After a while, the new pieces will switch from white to black which are incompatible with each other as well as the traditional faster fall rate. The game automatically highlights the relevant numbered blocks that correspond to the ones on the falling block which helps immensely. Plus to mix it up, you’ll occasionally get a bomb or a wild block. The bomb will blow up all adjoining blocks whereas the wild block will cycle through all the numbers and requires a precise slam to get what you want. The wild block is really cool and adds some nice tension to the game. This is all presented with some nice 2D graphics and won’t kill your battery.

When you start up the game you are presented with a tutorial but it’s not needed. The controls are great and very intuitive. If you want to spin the domino to the left, tap on the left of it and the same idea for the opposite direction. You can hold the domino and freely drag it left or right. If you got it lined up with how you want it to fall, just slam it down with a drag down gesture. It’s so easy to play that I almost wish the tutorial was easily skippable but it takes only a minute to teach you everything you need to know and then you’re off to the fun.

There are not many options or extras. What you see in the screenshots is what you get. There are no difficulty levels for the advanced to jump in at a later stage. There is no leaderboard other than the top score and most combos. There is no save function for if you need to quickly change applications. On the plus side you are able to listen to your music while playing the game and doing so will automatically mute the decent in-game music.

Puzzle Domino is a really solid game. It doesn’t make any outlandish claims or spread itself across tons of modes. 415 Games focused on a single thing and made it great. The largest issue is the price of entry, which currently lies at $3.99. It doesn’t have some the extra options to call it full featured and it’s only a single mode. If you love these types of games, it’s an easy pickup but if you’re just a casual admirer, you might want to wait for a price drop.