Clockmaker: Match 3 Games!

First Impression

I got this because my buddy Dave swore it was the only puzzle game he’d stuck with for more than a week. He knows I burn through match-3 games like cheap candy, so I figured why not. First launch? Pretty standard stuff. You’ve got your colorful gems, your gimmicky board obstacles, and a clock theme that feels more like window dressing than an actual mechanic. The art is polished—I’ll give them that—and the story tries to be mysterious with some cursed town and characters you’re supposed to care about. But let’s be real: I’m here to match, not read paragraphs about a watchmaker’s lost apprentice. After about twenty levels, I started noticing the difficulty spikes weren’t gradual; they were like hitting a wall. That got me intrigued, because easy games bore me. So I pushed through on a lazy Sunday afternoon, burning through my starting lives and wondering if the game was going to keep me hooked or just annoy me.

What It Does Well

The core match-3 loop actually has some teeth. Levels force you to think beyond just “match three of the same color.” You’ve got locked tiles, ice blocks, bombs with timers, and those annoying gear pieces that take multiple matches to break. The variety in level objectives keeps things from feeling like a copy-paste job for the first few hundred stages. I liked that some levels demand you collect a certain number of green gems while others want you to clear all the clocks before you run out of moves. The combo system feels satisfying when you chain a big explosion—the screen shake and particle effects give you that dopamine hit. Power-ups like the hammer and the bomb are useful but don’t break the game unless you stack them. Also, the daily events and special challenge levels break up the grind nicely. I spent a Monday evening fighting through a “Rapid Fire” event where moves keep decreasing faster than you can think. That was genuine fun. For a free-to-play match-3, the content is massive. Over a thousand levels is no joke. I’m at level 340 right now and haven’t felt a content drought.

Where It Falls Short

Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the clock tower. The difficulty curve here is a mess. Some levels are trivial, and then suddenly you hit one where the board is designed to screw you with bad luck. I’m talking about levels where the only way to win is to use a specific power-up or retry thirty times. I spent two hours last Tuesday stuck on level 247. That’s not fun—that’s frustration designed to push you toward paying money. And the lives system? You get five lives, each takes forever to recharge, and you lose a life every time you fail. So if you hit a cheap level, you’re either waiting or buying. The in-app purchases are aggressive. Pop-ups for special bundles hit you after every few failures. Want extra moves? That’ll cost you. Want a booster pack? Here’s a timer counting down to pressure you. It feels predatory, especially for casual players. I’m not a whale, but I’ve spent maybe $5 total on boosters when I was desperate. I regretted it. Also, the game requires an internet connection for most features. If I’m on the subway with spotty signal, half the game just gray-screens. That’s inexcusable for a puzzle game. And the clock-based puzzles they advertise? Barely present. It’s mostly regular match-3 with a clock aesthetic slapped on. Disappointing.

Is It Worth the Price?

It’s free to start, so “worth” depends on your patience. If you can handle grinding through tough levels without spending real cash, you’ll get dozens of hours of content. I’ve played for over a month and only hit a genuine paywall around level 300, where the difficulty spike made me want to delete the app. But I didn’t—I just played slower, waiting for lives to refill. For a free game, that’s not bad. But if you’re someone who hates waiting or gets tilted by unfair level design, you’ll end up spending money or quitting. I’d say it’s worth a download for the sheer volume of puzzles alone, but know that you’re the product. The game is designed to frustrate you just enough to open your wallet. I’m still playing because I like the challenge, but I can’t recommend it to someone with low tolerance for grind.

Developer & Support

I contacted support after I lost progress from a crash at level 198. I was on a winning streak, the app froze, and when I reopened, my level progress reset and I lost the boosters I’d earned. Not a huge deal, but it stung. I sent a ticket through the in-app form. Got an automated reply within an hour saying they’d look into it. Then nothing for three days. I sent a follow-up, and got a vague message saying “check for updates and clear cache.” That didn’t fix anything. I asked about compensation for the lost boosters, and they basically said they can’t verify in-game items. That felt dismissive. I’ve heard from other players on Reddit that support is slow and rarely gives anything back. Belka Games seems more focused on adding new levels and events than fixing bugs or helping users. If you run into a technical issue, don’t expect a fast or satisfying resolution. That’s frustrating for a power user like me who notices every little glitch.

Privacy & Safety

I checked the permissions when I installed. It asks for storage access, which is standard for saving game data, and internet for ads and online features. The privacy policy is the usual corporate wall of text, but they do share data with third-party advertisers and analytics companies. There’s no option to opt out of data collection unless you turn off tracking in your phone settings. The game itself doesn’t ask for anything creepy like contacts or location. It does sync progress via Facebook or Google Play, so if you link accounts, they’ll pull basic profile info. For a match-3 game, it’s about as invasive as any free app. Nothing shocking, but I wouldn’t let a kid play this without knowing that ads and data tracking are baked in. Also, the in-app purchase system is tied to Google Play, so that’s relatively secure. Just don’t expect privacy heroics from a company that pushes you to buy boosters every time you fail a level.