Secrets of Magic 3: Happy Halloween

secrets of magic 3 plays exactly like the first and second games in the series, so my review will be very similar as well.
this instalment is what one would call a filler episode in a tv show. not that an amazing amount of story happened previously, but the whole setup here is that victoria, having retired from adventuring, is now a magic teacher and she's busy decorating the school for halloween. well, you're earning and spending the money, so she's more of a cheerleader or motivator. there's the occasional comment about a piece of decoration and that's it.
there's still very little difference from the first two games. typical match-3 action on 100 levels unlocked one by one, matching 4+ tiles creates various power-ups destroying stuff in different shapes, and there are chests and keys to bring to the bottom, the latter to unlock more of the level. even though you learned and upgraded everything in the first game, then again in the second, and you're an actual teacher now, you start with nothing and have to find all the spells/power-ups yet again. understandable from a gameplay perspective, not so much otherwise. and after re-unlocking all 4 early on, there's not much else going on, only a few typical mechanics get added to the mix. no spiders or imps this time was a pleasant surprise.
relaxed, challenge and timed modes, the middle means a move limit. the last one is new to the series, wonder who actually missed it. the 3-star rating is based on moves, but it's still not used for anything, just like completion time displayed at the end of a level (unless you're playing against the clock). there's a second layer of difficulty regarding the amount of obstacles and power-ups: casual has fewer obstacles and more power-ups, expert the other way round. the first game was pretty easy on relaxed, fine with me, but since moves determine the star rating even on relaxed, if you want to perfect everything here, might as well play on challenge mode.
same lovely and varied tilesets and backgrounds with fitting music (can't remember if it's still the same or not), separate volume settings, windowed mode, custom cursor, tutorial and match hint toggles and some languages.
since it's pretty much the same as the first two games, which are among the better match-3 titles on the market, I can only say the same about this: worthy addition to anyone's collection, unless you don't want more (or in this case somewhat less) of the same. also, be aware that sometimes the counters are off and the level has to be restarted. it's not too common, only happened to me once near the end, still annoying.

It's nice and cute and a Halloween-ish continuation, however, my decorations got stuck and I am unable to purchase them at all.
Still a pass, despite me not being able to decorate. :i
Which is the main goal of the game itself. Eh.

Another fun Match 3 in the series. However, this entry does make some changes to the formula. Gone are the spiders and imps, and the special abilities have been fine tuned. These changes make for a more enjoyable game in my opinion.
There are a couple of negatives though. There are no Steam achievements this time around and there is also a bug with the counting of steel plates that will require you to replay the level should you encounter it.

It's just as much fun as the first 2, BUT there are NO achievements. There aren't even any in the game, the goal is just to get as much gold as possible to decorate the school for Halloween. It's still fun, but I know lack of achievements is a deal-breaker for some.

It's an enjoyable drop down game that had some neat elements, and always luv a Halloween theme! ;) Glad they're still making these games! :) ...Only complaint is that I wish the rewards were better. After about level 60-70 (out of 100 levels) they didn't give any additional rewards to 'decorate your haunted house' (not even when you finish the game which was disappointing). 3 of the levels glitched out at the end and I had to re-do them, but not a big deal. It was still a pleasant game overall. Enjoyed it!

Cute game. A lot of levels. Good special mooves that you'll actually use.

Great relaxing game for Halloween lovers. It very addictive. Adults and kids will love it