the first in rokaplay's [i]5-star resort[/i] series, this is an average match-3 offering, not bad for what it is. as mr. rich's daughter, you're tasked with building a huge, profitable holiday resort, and just like in real life, your main income is earned by playing one match-3 level after another, for a total of [b]96 levels[/b], though once the last building is bought, there's no more 'story'.
there's a choice at the beginning between [b]casual and normal[/b], and the game tells you the former means 25% more moves, but if you switch to casual mode while playing a level, it says there won't be a move limit at all. slightly confusing, but the point is, [b]the move limit is optional and there's no timer[/b], just the way I like it. I still started this on normal and managed to finish it without switching to casual, with the occasional restart to get 3 stars on every level for no reason at all.
if you play a level on casual, you can only get 1 star, but the rating system doesn't matter, it's only +50 coins for each star, based on how many moves you have left by the time you're done.
money is only used for erecting buildings, and only a few of them provide an actual bonus by unlocking power-up possibilities on certain levels. once you build the first batch of five, the next five become available, and so on. I had all of them built by the time I finished level 75, so there's no need to replay levels dozens of times for money.
because of the resort management theme you're not simply matching various tropical items, but also serving guests, so your goal on top of removing various tiles from the levels is to do it by matching stuff the guests yearn for. some levels have so-called impatient guests, but it doesn't mean their needs are timed, instead you need to match 4 of the same thing to satisfy them.
if there are only regular guests around, there's no real reason to concentrate on matching more than 3 of anything, except [b]matching 4 oranges to create explosive orange juice with quite a range[/b]. there are other power-ups, destroying a single square, an entire line, a bigger area, or everything in all four directions, but these have to be moved to the bottom of the level before you can use them. not my favorite mechanic, but there you go, and [b]unused power-ups can be used on other levels[/b], so it's a good idea (and I think absolutely necessary) to stock up on them to make shorter work of some annoying layouts.
speaking of non-favorite mechanics, there's water and hot chocolate on some levels that slowly spread around, creating more removable tiles, and yes, they're just as annoying as in other match-3 games, but this is the only case where it's best if you act quick.
a basic [b]solitaire[/b] is also part of the package. a bunch of buildings let you play, but I think it could've been utilized better. different game types for different buildings, or playing other card games against different staff members of varying difficulty, for example, but as it is, it's the same basic +1/-1 solitaire every time, you can earn extra undos and money you won't need, so it's just a completely optional and unnecessary minigame.
the graphics are fine, I found the music mostly irritating, but the sound effects are okay and there are separate volume sliders, full screen and windowed mode, plus a jumping coins toggle. trust me, turn it off.
a couple times I ran into a bug where the level wouldn't finish after doing all that was necessary, but found that alt+tabbing or pausing the game and continuing fixed the issue somehow. I also would've liked a 'next level' button on the level complete screen instead of having to go back to the map first.
on the whole, it's a bit of a mixed bag, the last few levels were especially frustrating, but nothing seriously wrong with it and it's better than most attempts, and no timers and optional move limits are always a plus (and in my case, a must), so it can easily find a place in a match-3 lover's library, but I think it's a bit expensive, so grab it on sale.
