Best Fiends - Match 3 Puzzles
reviews and complaints

The game is really good I got it by the YouTube named Sam and Colby please give me mind me of a really fun game that me and my mom we really like this game everyone should really enjoy this it’s like a really fun game everyone I recommend this to you because it’s really fun to play it’s a really easy it’s really cool it’s really funny and you can unlock really cool fends and it’s so cool that you complete every level the way you want if you didn’t create this app I don’t have nothing to do after school I would be doing is just doing homework and playing other boring apps because if you made this now I have something else to do and now I don’t have to just sit on my phone doing nothing with with just watching my phone doing nothing it’s really fun really really really a lot because it’s really fun and no one nose this app I think it will be a fun app for kids and I don’t even even if your door is still really fun because you do you do fun things and really cool than that you can cut the colors that match with the the things and then you give it is double times two and another one is if you get to do this challenge that you and the achievements are really got one you can do a 24 hours free VIP Nother one free feed it’s really cool I really recommend this to adults and kids even if you’re a ten
it’s so much fun even if you don’t like going on your phone A lot it’s really fun even if you’re older even if you’re younger it it’s like amazing it makes me feel relaxed after doing school like makes me feel like a decent day and I will never have to feel like this again like because it takes me off my mind off everything that has happened and couldn’t have anymore is a make me feel like no one is judging me at when I play this game and other games do you like here you do that you do this you get nothing if you do that and this app it’s like if if you do this you get something in return not like other apps

This game starts out fun. Addictively so! It’s kind of all over the place and there are a lot of little things you can do. Some of the events are entertaining too. The critters are adorably cute. All that said- The constant bombardment of ads is one thing, you get used to that in any “free app” I don’t mind buying the occasional pack/item/tool to make the game go easier or more fun; and usually do at some point. Can I tell you how much I am NoT inclined to buy any app that has the sales tactic of forcing you to look at it in the middle of a different game for 20-30 seconds and adding the difficultly of making it go away is enough to make you crazy. Then the first time you login, especially if it’s been awhile there are a ton of pop ups. Between that and the fact that it takes an tedious number of tries to beat a level, more so when the are “generously” gifting unlimited play/energy- all under the guise of gently coaxing you to purchase those things you will have to buy eventually to beat the level and still have fun. (You can put it down and when it’s not on unlimited play for that limited time you might have a better chance.) I put it down for a year. Now I remember why. Another one bites the dust. So sad it used to be fun.
update- thank you developer for taking the time to respond to my review and to point out that I’m obviously not smart or patient enough to beat level 678, clearly it’s just me. (I popped back on BTW to find that level and had to go through about 12 -14 taps/clicks- one of which is the stupid “wheel” and that’s where it gets you with the aforementioned dreaded 30 second ads, no warning! But I remembered this time!)
I get tactics. I get sales. I have no patience for ads that I can’t make ao away, AND aren’t doing anything. It’s trying to trick you into playing the game, it’s not a game it’s a demo. It just sits there urging you to click/tap it, and if you do, you’re going to be redirected. Just say no.

3/30 The game doesn't have to be easy, but it seems like it has been programmed to block everything every time. The pieces with arrows, or other 'joining' pieces are gobbled up too quickly for me to use them. It's often a choice between using a joining piece or using pieces next to the blocks filled with roiling black crap. If I use the joining pieces, the black crap eats other pieces. If I use the one next to the black filled blocks, the black pac man things eat the joining piece. Oh, another gripe- the special, joining pieces aren't put in play until late in the game, sometimes right after the game is lost, just when I have to choose to end the game or purchase another 5 tries, often ALSO nowhere near where it could actually be used, even if I choose to purchase the extra moves. I have made purchases, but I can't spend nearly as much money as would be helpful on a regular basis.
I'm going to stop playing for a while. Not forever, just a while.
3/28 I love this game, but is it really necessary to have the black cloud things eating up the pieces AND 9 of the black pac man things going around making sure every path is blocked and all of the pivotal pieces are eaten!

I loved the game on my Samsung galaxy. I had to switch to an iPhone. The game is very different on the new phone. But starting over when I had gotten so far, is very frustrating. Plus, my friend downloaded it because I said how much I enjoyed it, but it froze up her phone. I'll push on, though. I may lose my mind, but I won't quit! Yet
I've been playing the game on my horrible iPhone. I've gotten past where I was with my Galaxy and I've been enjoying it immensely. My gripe is that often those stupid slugs spit out the black pac man looking things. I counted once. There were 7, and quite often they target the things that help collect more fiends(?). The names escape me, but if you play the game, you'll know what I mean.
Other than that, I love the game.

I haven’t played this game for too long, after quitting a similar game for awhile, so I headed back over to Best Fiends.

Something that I really like about the game is the fact that it’s not hard to finish off levels to progress the game, the fact that when you lose a level, you still get something afterwards and when you win, you get 3 keys to open up these “crates,” to get more things to help build your monsters/fiends as they call them.

Something I’ve noticed about this game is that it gives you a tip to help you finish a level, which is something not many mobile games usually help you do and how many chances that the game gives you to get something done (a level, event or things to help your Fiends grow), which is astounding because that doesn’t mean you have to necessarily spend money to keep playing which is always a great plus.

While this isn’t my most favorite game out there, I have a feeling that it’ll probably be one of them soon enough as I keep playing on.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
I did a bit more digging around and I didn’t realize that Best Fiends (Edward) is teaming up with Malaria No More, which only makes me feel a lot more appreciative of the founders of the game itself and how they’re spreading awareness towards how malaria can affect millions of people each year by a Fiend.

This is fantastic, especially given that this is a “children’s game,” and can be used for good ways like this.

LAST (third note) NOTE:
I didn’t notice this, but even without paying for the game, it’s not that hard to become a VIP member, which is great to keep playing without using any of your energy (infinite energy) with the appearance of events as you keep playing and there’s a select number of them, but they can be pretty easy to complete as long as you continue playing and it’s not so long (even if you aren’t VIP) to get energy to keep playing.

I HIGHLY recommend this game if you want a long-lasting game that won’t disappoint!

i’ve had this game on and off for years! i recently got back into the game again and in the past 8 or so months that i’ve had it, i can already tell that with every update, this app gets more money hungry.
- you used to get VIP on the 25th day of collecting daily rewards, now it’s just unlimited energy (forcing you to actually pay to be a VIP). very upsetting considering the fact that i don’t have money to waste on a mobile phone app!
- i’ve also noticed that after completing a level, you can’t just press continue. if you do, you get an offer that says something along the lines of “don’t miss out! watch an ad to earn two free keys” or something. this is a small change, but it’s very obviously a way to try to get more people to watch more ads, earning the creators more money. can you say “cash-grab?” smh!
- the new interactive ad format is also extremely annoying, as it requires you to watch three 10 second ads and click through them every 10 seconds (with extra seconds when there’s a delay in loading time!) which just shows that this app is becoming less about enjoyment and more about promotion.
- another thing i noticed that i even see other people complaining about is the fact that you now have to purchase epic fiends ($30 with REAL MONEY) when you used to be able to save up enough gold to get them.
- (a small complaint i have, you guys seriously underestimate the amount of moves needed to defeat slugs. how am i supposed to kill 7 slugs in 28 moves? that means i need to kill an average of 1 slug every 4 moves. FOUR. are you guys even considering this stuff?)
all the things i just mentioned are just a few things i’ve noticed over the course of some months while having this game. i’m a dedicated player, i play every day! but these changes are a cheap way of showing your users what you really care about (and here’s a hint, it’s not the users). it’d be a shame to watch another good game go to trash by getting greedy. do better!

I would love to give this game five stars. The graphics are awesome, it's fast, and you get small rewards even when you lose.

However, there are a few fatal flaws that prevent me from having a fully enjoyable gaming experience and instead frustrate me into writing this:
-The slugs are more powerful than any of your own fiends at every stage of the game. They're meant to slow progress, but they often bring it to a complete halt. No matter if you get rid of their blocking powers, you still get more every turn. These inhibitors SHOULD behave like the chocolate in Candy Crush--get rid of one chocolate, get a move where the chocolate doesn't grow. Best Fiends' inhibitors are not like this, so they become unmanageable and unruly. I can understand the slime covering the power-up I need to win--that's part of the challenge. But when I spend my last six moves JUST to clear the slime because it keeps coming back to that very power-up every single move, it's frustrating and rigged against me rather than challenging. It's apparent that my skill doesn't matter here--I will win when the game allows me to.
-Powering up the fiends get more expensive as the level gets higher, but you earn roughly the same rewards every level from beginning to end. Add that to the impossible levels later on, and you find yourself wasting four rounds of energy on one level because you can't advance any further or power up so that you have a better chance of winning. Once you reach this standstill, there's not much you can do other than pray, because it's completely out of your hands. The solution for this would be to automatically advance the fiends' levels as they are played more, rather than it being a transaction.
-You get an energy every ten minutes, yay!...right? Except for the fact that you need three energy to play a level (it's 2 at the first few levels, but it quickly upgrades to 3). So you're still waiting a half hour to get enough to play one level. For how hard this game gets later on, there should be unlimited gameplay.

I love this game! It’s starts off kind of easy (of course) then new challenges and helpers are added/rewarded. I’ve been playing for a little over a month and I’m on level 194. I have spent a few days on one or two levels, trying different strategies but most days I can complete a few levels at a time. I like that it get you to think out of the box on how to connect all the pieces to get a “slimageddon” (sp lol).
I really like that you are rewarded simply for playing (even if you can’t beat a level you still get to pick a box for trying).
And, when I’m frustrated with a level, I can keep playing the little side challenges to keep earning and keep my helpers get stronger.
GREAT GAME!
UPDATE! I’ve now been playing this game for over 150 days and I still LOVE it! I’m now on (and waiting for) level 1051!
I’ve completed 363/900 HERO levels and I still truly LOVE LOVE LOVE this game!
My 8 year old daughter absolutely loves it too! We play next to each other in the mornings when she comes in to snuggle and talk about our plans for the day (she has it in her iPhone as well).
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR CREATING THORN! I was just telling my daughter, last weekend, “there’s a space available for a new blue fiend and I think he should be 2 arrows going north and south, opposite of my FAVORITE fiend RASCAL (purple), her special bomb goes east and west.
Freddie’s Lost Souvenirs has been so much fun! We were both hoping there would be another challenge like the Easter Egg Hunt!
Every once in a while I come across a glitch... where there are 2 items of different colors in one space, just an FYI to the makers. And even with that I would still give this game 10 stars if I could!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(Oh look, I can! And I just did!)
10/13 Today makes 279 days of playing this game and I love it more and more each day! I have completed 1190 of the regular world levels and 604 of the Hero levels. And today is Saturday so new regular world levels have opened for me to conquer!
The to makers: keep up the great work!

Got Best Fiends on a whim and loved it instantly. It's got the perfect combination of strategy with just a little luck. I like the generous rewards, especially compared to many other games. I see a lot of complaints in some of the other reviews about the cost of in-app purchases, but I've found this game balanced well enough that you can advance without having to spend money; it takes patience and willingness to repeat the more challenging levels. I also really like the themed challenges that give very generous and worthwhile rewards, unlike many other games I've played. If you choose to spend money for extra stuff, I think the many options (like doubling rewards after completing a challenge) for only $1.99, up to $99.99 for lots of gold- and tons of price points in between those extremes-is a vast improvement over many other games. I love this adorable game because it's got a great variety of difficulties, cute graphics, many types of play, more strategic depth than it seems at first, and you can actually progress without spending money. I've gotten through all the earthworm quests, fiend quests, and reached well past level 1000 with careful playing, not money. Did I have to repeat levels? Yeah, of course; and sometimes I got really frustrated by especially hard levels that seemed like I was never going to be able to complete all the requirements. But I did. Have I purchased anything? Yeah, but not because I felt it was the only way to progress; I chose to spend money because I hate watching ads, and I love the VIP extras. Anyway, Best Fiends has become my favorite mobile game. I love that they keep adding to it; the developers clearly pay attention to the feedback; it's not pay-to-progress; and I find the play/reward loop wonderfully fun. I've suggested it to all my friends, and my only wish is that I'd known sooner about the collectible challenges because I would've saved levels to play. Love this absurdly cute game, and the animations are hilarious. What I really want now is enamel pins of my favorite fiends at the "evolution" I like best. ❤️❤️❤️

I haven't been getting any of the performance issues other users have complained about, so I can't comment on that. However, there are a few changes that need to be made to balance the game.

1) Leveling up needs to not be so prohibitively expensive. Either up the rewards you get in the level for clearing obstacles from single to double digits or the rewards in the "rescue" screen need to be increased significantly, with no less than 500 yellow and 100 blues mites in each square.

2) Make obstacles more random, meaning make it so that obstacles like teeth, sludge, and the chompers do not automatically go for EXACTLY the worst place they can go. I'm sick of having great combos destroyed by AI algorithms intent on trolling me by placing an obstacle at the middle of a great combo or having my combo bombs eaten because your program decided to put it in the worst possible place, refuse to give me the matching pieces to set it off, and then take it away often after ONE TURN of having it. If this happened occasionally it wouldn't be a problem. But it happens almost every. Single. Time.

3) Starting on level 122, you have an obstacle generator that spews out random obstacles every turn. This in and of itself isn't a problem. However, putting four unbreakable barriers around it therefore necessitating bombs to kill it while having it spew the aforementioned chompers that immediately eat the bombs is extraordinarily annoying. On top of that, once the obstacle spout is killed, it only stays dead for a couple of turns before it revives, necessitating more bombs than can feasibly be generated in a short amount of time.

These three things have made the game go from pleasantly challenging to infuriatingly frustrating in short order. Cheap, unfair AI and ridiculous obstacles are not challenging, they're mind-numbingly frustrating. You, the developer, can either rise above the fray of exploitative BS games that only seek to exploit its players for as much money as possible, or you can become one of those developers that has made mobile gaming an increasingly pathetic joke. You have a great game concept here. Don't ruin it by falling into the Candy Crush trap.

I love, love, love this game! If "Angry Birds" and "Bejeweled" had a baby, it would be this game! The characters are absolutely adorable, and you collect them throughout the game. I get so excited each time I find a new one! :-) There are even some "Super Rare" characters that you can find along the way if you're really lucky. You can purchase the "Super Rare" characters for $9.99 if you don't want to try to find them yourself. You can also purchase extra gold, diamonds, energy, etc. if you want to get ahead in the game faster. Personally, I prefer to save my real-life money and just earn everything as I go along. You can even spin a little wheel and get free stuff two times every 10 minutes. I often keep the game open while I'm doing something else, and I just spin the wheel every chance I get. The developers even have special events all the time. Like right now, every weekend they're giving us something extra on the weekends. This last weekend, they doubled the amount of diamonds you got. So if you won 7 diamonds when you spun the wheel, for example, you'd get 14 diamonds. The weekend before that, you got more energy, which allowed you to play longer. The longer you play, you do lose energy, and when you run out of energy, you have to wait until you get more energy to play again. Like most other things, you can win energy by spinning the wheel every 10 minutes. It doesn't cost anything, not even energy, to spin the wheel.

This game has a mix of easy vs. challenging levels and obstacles, so I don't ever get bored. Sometimes it's a fairly mindless game - something I can play while watching TV - but sometimes it requires some strategy, concentration and brain power. I like to play a few other games on my iPhone (I'm not a big gamer), but I haven't played them in a while due to my "Best Fiends" addiction. :-) There are hundreds of levels, and they add more all the time.

I'm in my 30s, and I am totally addicted to this game. I think it's appropriate for any age. I actually discovered it through some videos I saw some YouTubers, probably in their late teens/early 20s, playing and recommending it.

If you like games like"Angry Birds", "Candy Crush", "Bejeweled", etc, you will love this game. I highly recommend this game, but be prepared to get addicted! :-)

I’m warning you about the good and bad things about this game.

UPDATE: really really disappointed. I know these games are all about making money but it seems like this one just sold out. It used to be if you worked hard in the challenges you could save up enough gold to get really good Fiends. HOWEVER, in the name of the almighty dollar it seems the developers have decided you must pay $30.00 for one Epic Fiend. And you WILL need these! So, as it stands you are in for a minimum of $150 if you want to chance at beating the game. Notice in all walk-throughs they use the Epic Fiends. And even then it’s tough. Really really sad. Fun game, but when it becomes all about the money I start losing interest.

Overall it’s probably the most addictive game I’ve ever played. And the graphics and creativity are just so unbelievably creative and impressive. The act of solving the puzzles is compelling enough, but they take it up a notch. They have Special Events going about 85% of the time where you can earn gold, VIP Membership, Exclusive Fiend Styles (you do more damage and look cool), etc. Definitely worth playing.

However, be prepared for some frustration. It’s not an “every scenario is solvable” game. I can usually tell 3 or 4 moves into a puzzle if it’s going to give me a chance or not. They want you to play the entire puzzle anyway and tempt you with a crate at the end for your effort. The reward is minimal and it’s usually better to just turn the game on and off and restart. Takes up way less time. You’ll want to earn hours of VIP Membership in events. Because every time you lose or quit and restart a puzzle you’ll lose power.

The reason you want to win VIP is also because you’ll have to spin a wheel to get hoodies or power back and you’re subjected to a video ad that you have to sit completely through to get your goodies. TONS OF ADS in this game. TONS!

Lastly, be careful purchasing “Epic Fiends” with your real money. I purchased Bam, who shakes the whole board. He’s great! But... 90% of the puzzles I need him for he’s unusable. Certain colored fiends often sit out of puzzles. And his color seems to be benched in the ones he’d be useful in. If I’d known I might have saved some money.

Overall though. PLAY THIS GAME! Just be prepared to pull some hair out!

A very fun and polished match-3 game along the same lines as Candy Crush, though I find this game more rewarding and consistent. The color themed items you are matching are flowers, water drops, mushrooms, leaves, and strawberries in keeping with the garden motif. Power-ups are generated by the bug fiends you collect and upgrade throughout the game. The enemy are the slugs who you often need to beat to advance, although the requirements change with each level, with new obstacles introduced over time. The difficulty level advances but never at a pace that is jarring. There are Epic Fiends (power-up bugs) you can buy, and other helpful purchase offers, though they aren’t necessary to game play. In fact, they may make the game less fun if you purchase them too early on.

There are always several fun events running that offer in-game rewards if you accomplish the set tasks. These rewards are in the form of a variety of game tokens needed to upgrade your fiends. Thankfully the events are not often team-based, and when they are you are automatically assigned a “team” for that round of gameplay. It is more of an abstract idea of a team— for example you may be assigned to Team Temper or Team Whisper (bug fiends). That’s not to say that you don’t have friends, or that they aren’t useful, as they can gift you daily, randomly bestowing you with a little bit of one of the types of game tokens.

I really enjoy the quality of the game, as well as the well-thought out mechanics of the game play and the creative story of bugs versus slugs for the good of the garden. I play daily and though I know purchases are not required I do buy the rare 80% off discount packs. They usually occur when a new fiend is found or when new areas are opened, and although I say rare I feel like I get these offers 1-2x daily. I am a bit put-off, honestly, by the stated value of these packs as the assessed original value seems quite arbitrary. When I compare the stated value with other regular packs it just doesn’t add up. All in all I do feel I’ve been a sucker for the “special discount”, and would warn you to be mindful of that. That being said, I like this game a lot and definitely recommend this if you like match-3 games. This is one of those games that family members will pick up your device to play, whether you like it or not.

I very much enjoy this game, it's a refreshing take on the "match 3 or more" formula. It's definitely worth checking out, but there's also a very serious problem with it: the game outright cheats. Example: there is a slug that spits chomping things on the board, and they jump around to random spots, erasing the color it lands on. However, it's not exactly random. The game knows when you have a power up on the board, and these things actively target them. It's not chance, it's happened every time, without fail. This normally wouldn't be a problem with large chains, but any that don't take a power up from you will break up any large chains before you can use them. Oh, and this slug has far more hp than you can whittle down in the paltry amount of turns you get. There's difficulty, then there's artificial difficulty, and most players hate the artificial stuff.

Now, I'm no fool. The devs are out to make money, and there needs to be some form of difficulty or people won't fail and buy new moves. The problem is they create this artificial difficulty in which the game actively works against you in an attempt to force you into buying moves. This is a very poor money making strategy as it only serves to frustrate and alienate your players. Finding a way to make losses more fair, rather than programming a disadvantage to your players, would be far more effective and keep everyone happy.

Now, it's very possible to complete levels without buying more moves: my brother is about 15 levels further than me, while I remain stuck on 80 for the aforementioned "cheating" reason. It may take a very long time, and it's quite frustrating to see the game purposefully work against you(this is called bad game development), but it's not impossible to win. Perseverance and refusing to pay them for trying to force you to open your wallet should hopefully get them to tone this down.

Really, the game is lots of fun overall. But cheating me to get my money isn't going to work and I fear I may stop playing until a balance tweak happens. Take a peek at the game, see if you like it, but I highly suggest not giving in and buying more moves. It will only encourage them to make it harder to complete without paying every other level. It DOES deserve money, I value it at about $5 if they tweak it, because it's quite beautiful and the few music tracks are great, and again it's just lots of fun, but they way they try to make money is insulting.

Gold bars are hard to earn but to easy to accidentally use! My toddler loves to play along with me but always accidentally uses the gold bars I am trying to save up! I can get stuck in a board all day also - but not shelling out a ton of money for a fiend who gives extra moves. Need a better way to save up bars earned. Don’t like that each board can’t earn you at least 2 carriers per play to help grow baby - like you have to win the board , all or nothing. Same with jail fiends running more boards away - the chest doesn’t do that so when I finally get there is get partial rewards with the chest even if I don’t get all 4 pieces. It jails and baby days are just a waste of play if you can’t beat the board. You should also be able to keep what rewards you earn in baby’s at the end of the day - sure you stay in to grow baby but if you can’t get that next set of carrots you lose it all. Forget the jail days- all or nothing there. It’s not like I am complaining at level 35 - this is level 415! I got real diapers and babies to feed to make daily aps purchases. Super cute, love the holiday challenges worked super hard to get the box costume and now the ski challenge came out - like dang give me a week between the challenges to catch up on cleaning me real house! Guess I am a true “fiend” and want a bit more to keep me engaged at this point. Might buy the piggy bank but want more info before spending the money - does it actually hide my newly accrued gold bars from my son spending it!? Or it’s just a one time bank of bars that is easy for him to waste on extra moves!? Did not obtain Eleanor fiend thru the key boxes also - have the fiend listed after her tho? Maybe because I need to complete the one fiend sub-challenge for level 300 to get her? I have open sub-levels board for the 300 and 400 level one fiend challenges. Guess I am lost because the hints are only available when you open the games and flashes so fast I often can’t read it all. Maybe a pop-up hint (aka direction) should also display when you get your daily rewards. Or even a hint/direction tab one can access. If I close out and reopen to try to see the full hint, I get a new hint. So I can’t get back to the info I missed. Four stars cause hey you keep me engaged for two months and I probably spent less then 40$ is becoming a bit to hard without spending and the directions on proper way to play to earn the fiends between all the new features/give always/ sub-boards aren’t clear. And I hate losing my reward level cause I didn’t get all 10000 present by end of time and I lost the preant too

I'll keep it short, because I really want to get back to playing: best game in the App Store, bar none. I've tried many so-called "free" game apps, but there's always some kind of hook attached where they're trying to get your money from you, and it's patently obvious (I'm looking at you, Sims "so-NOT-Freeplay" ). Sooner or later, I delete such games and am left with a bitter taste in my mouth for their developers to this day (the greedy, money-grubbing, soulless lot that they are... ). But Seriously is different. They seem to have the unique combination of a brilliant game offering and the professional integrity to keep a free game free. Seriously. There's a way for you to watch ads, but you're always rewarded for it with free meteorites, diamonds, or extra lives. It's also a neat way to break things up when you're stuck at a hard level, which does happen. That's my one point of annoyance, actually: ever since a few updates ago, the algorithms will have the game pieces fall in a ridiculous fashion, and sometimes it's really aggravating. But with perseverance, eventually you get through every level—for completely free. And Seriously teamed up with WWF, which was beyond cool. They just seem like really awesome developers who've developed a really amazing game. I get the impression they actually listen to their reviewers and adjust accordingly, something almost unheard of on the App Store. And the ads they show are often meaningful and relevant. I've found many a new game because of them, although I always end up coming back to Best Fiends. From the music to the graphics to the plot, this game is beyond my capacity to gush over, really. (For all you music buffs out there, something about that fourth line, where they change the notes ever so slightly, just pulls together the whole composition, and I never get tired of hearing it.)

But with all of that, this is the update that finally got a review out of me. It has bothered me for a really long time that I was stuck with the appearance of fiends after their powers are upgraded, to the point that I've repeatedly held them back to keep them looking the same. (For example, Howie's shadow trajectory indicated he was going to turn into some kind of warlock, so I refused to upgrade him at all. I'm not into the whole warlock thing.) This conundrum made it harder to work past levels, adding to my frustration. I actually took a break from Best Fiends for a little while, but when I came back, it had only gotten better. Now, it's pretty nigh perfect, and I'd give it 10 out of 5 stars if I could. Well done. Seriously.

#BestGameEver

(Heh, looks like I didn't succeed in keeping it short after all. ☺️ This is why I hardly ever write reviews, and is just further testament to how good a game this is.)

If you’re like me you’ve played hundreds of games on iOS. I’ve played easily dozens of the match3 genre. If you think this game is money hungry then try puzzles and empires. There was a sister game of it that is to my record no longer on the App Store that was a MMO puzzle RPG. Candy Crush is also another good example of a bad game. A lot of match 3 puzzle games don’t regenerate the board after a losing game so you end up having to do everything by practice memory which gets boring really fast. Best Fiends and newer match3 games have gotten smarter in keeping the game entertaining even when you are on a losing streak by randomizing the board and making it about dynamic strategy than practice memory and knowing how the particular board is. At times the game can get annoying but when it gets to that point it’s clearly time to switch to another app and come back later. Just like a slot machine after you’ve hit Best Fiends enough for Metermites they’ll start to clamp down and give you terrible boards. It’s really a matter of feeling the RNGs ways and knowing when the RNG is hot or when the RNG has gone cold. Rule 1 in gaming: ALWAYS BLAME THE RNG!

Unlike some other Match3 games the story line here is pretty deep, characters are cute and attractive to play with rather than ugly beasts. Slugs although pests are more like average household pests than things that’ll leave you with nightmares. I’ve played some outright horrifyingly decorated puzzlers that have left me with permanent scars of their design. This is a game I’ll happily come back to, and have. I remember having an old account with my old FB before I deleted it and that was long before Apple login was a thing in games. A well respectable game. The developers make this for free so of course they’re gonna expect you to grind a while to get a level to give you a good board or get annoyed enough you buy extra moves to polish it off. Just like every game it’s a test of strategy and patience. The patient ones will simply go for another ticket and try a new board, the impatient ones will spend their money. The semi impatient will leave it for a few hours and let the RNG cool it’s temper. I’m of the latter. If you tick me off I’ll blame the RNG and walk away from it for a few hours come back and boom, it drops a good board on me and I can get past an annoying level. This game has been in editors pick, it’s been highly rated for a long time, it’s been advertised on TV and that’s a rarity in the iOS apps world. Only the best of the best games make it on TV especially long term and Best Fiends has been around TV for a while and has also kept its self up in the top 100 on puzzles for a long time. So if you’re sick of Candy Crush and their non autoregen boards then you probably will want to give Best Fiends a go.

For a minute, I thought this game might be different than those like them such as candy crush, etc. But...it's not. This game is somewhat unique and *couldbe fun IF it was developed with the consumer in mind as GAME to play and NOT for the sole purpose of making money. When you get so far in to this game (just like all the others) you have to know that there is NO skill required. The developers do NOT give you whatever it is you need to collect for the level. You just have to keep failing at it until they let you win it, and it will not happen without you failing MANY MANY times - for days...even weeks- and then they will bring you to the point where you get SO close...there's only 1 left and no turns..."oh no! I will have to spend money...I may never get this close again!" That's what they hope you will do - they studied the psychology of this and this game and others like this, simply do very little more than take advantage of people's lack of will power after THEY caused them to lose over and over and over.

This game and others like it are NO different than playing a slot machine. The game will eventually let you win a level after it has tormented you to pay probably well over 50-100 times. then, it will give out and let you win so you don't come here and post bad reviews and call it "challenging instead".

These games are a fad and will die a slow death eventually. Why? Because the only real success that exists in the world are when people's INTENTIONS are pure and good - such as a game developer who develops a game mostly on whether or not the customer will enjoy playing it. Lasting success can never be achieved by developing something with the intention of taking advantage of people's weaknesses to make money - they create a game with extreme frustration leading to impatience and then lead to the customer spending money when the level they couldn't beat wasn't because of any lack of skill - but only because the developer won't let you win it without testing you over and over and over to get you to spend money. For example...do you have to collect 40 purple pieces? You can't pass the level? The purple pieces aren't THERE for you to collect no matter how "good" you get at this game. But watch what happens when you play it over and over and over...suddenly more purple pieces start showing up! THEN after already having failed the level 50 times, they bring you to having only 1-2 left...and you can see that if you spend 99 cents, you can finally pass the level! This pattern holds true in almost all games like this. It's sad that there aren't many developers out there just developing games so that people can have fun with their creation... There's nothing about games like this with the customer in mind. it's created solely as a "get rich quick" scheme. Don't feed them...

Please people. ..do not waste your time and especially your money on these types of money-stealing games.

Other players, have you ever thought about what if King Slug HAS BEEN WALKING ALL OVER YOU SINCE THE BEGINNING? Temper’s smile, the key store, what if the King Slug leading the slugs is a CLONE!? The real King Slug having shrunk himself down and TRANSFORMED INTO A FIEND , how did Temper come up with the idea to infiltrate the slug camp disguised as King Slug, and WHY DOES TEMPER HAVE A KING SLUG COSTUME?! Or King Slug is the fiend running the Gold Store!? If so, King Slug has been secretly laughing at you in his head the whole time!

The money is more than they need for fix errors, bug, and other things that make the app more of a SLUG. The company is likely spending it on sports cars, gourmet food and drinks (including alcoholic beverages). As well as fancy houses, mansions, decor, highly priced and advanced drones. And most likely of all of these things, one of the things they are probably spending the money on is, yes it what you think I about to say: beautiful women in bras and bikinis or as the developer devils would say, “ You mean these gorgeous sexy breasts!” Yep they are likely filling rooms with “breasts” or swimming in “love”! If that grosses you guys out, I’m sorry, but what else could they be spending all that money on! Because seriously, IF THAT’S WHAT SERIOUSLY IS SPENDING THE MONEY ON, THEN THEY ARE SERIOUSLY IMMORAL, AND EVENTUALLY SOMEONE IS GOING TO SLUG THEM IN THEIR GREEDY, CHILDREN OF SCROOGE FACES. Because are you Seriously, going to let SERIOUS slam these troll TORDS ALL in your robbed faces. If this SERIOUS POTTY MOUTH GANG OF PUNKS continue, eventually SOMEONE IS GOING TO CLOG THEM UP WITH TOILET PAPER. THEY’VE made your frown and make you feel down! SERIOUS MAYBE THE S AND BUT YOU, fellow gamers,are the RINGMASTERS! So if that skull kid is starting to be a Ganondraf, then you will should drive that Master Sword through him and end his rampage. There has to be a punishment for a crime. When Bowser abducts Princess Peach, that eventually will cause Bowser to have Mario’s feet to come down on his king Koopa melon. THUD! When the coyote tries to catch the roadrunner, the coyote goes injured! And readers of this, save your money, Splatoon 3 and Luigi’s Mansion 4 are coming out next year. As Porky Pig would say “ ttttthat all folk!” And serious, the fact that there are OVER 100,000,000 players, bringing the price down would not hurt, being its NOT LIKE there’s only 100,000 or 900 players, prices are as if there’s only 900 or even only 100. As donate the extra money to the Wounded Warrior project or an animal shelter, translation: Use the money to help those in need, and not to please you own reproductive organs. Also you should not be lemmings to Nintendo, I know one of the reason for the dirty tactics, is following Nintendo, Nintendo is not completely the saints they were! Also during the month of St. Patrick’s Day, temporarily add golden slugs and or slugs in leprechaun hat that drop two gold each, St. Patrick’s Day, Leprechauns, Luck, and Gold or LLG!

Don’t bother buying power ups. You’re not going to win until the game decides it’s time for you to win. The average level ends with you needing only one more move to win. That of course is so that you’ll spend gold bars to buy the extra moves. When you need say 50 of a certain color you’ll generally get much much more of all colors but that one. I took screenshots of several games so I have solid proof. When you need to beat the large slugs @250,000 points, you’ll get matches of 3 to 5 pieces at a time. When you don’t need massive amounts of points you can get 50,000 or 60,000 points in one move. The slugs that spawn seem to always go to the spot where I’m moving my finger to play. When it starts spitting out colors they’re always going to areas where the most interference will be caused by their location. Example 7 reds in a row, the game will spit a blue in the middle and break it up. If I need an arrow dynamite to blow up a row and it’s there I won’t get the pieces that go with it so I can use it where I need it. And speaking of dynamite, re: the explosive detonator that you need to make three matches near. When one is told one must detonate X number of dynamite the only way to detonate them is by making a match near the detonator or hitting it with a rocket. The game will not give you the matches you need. You’ll have to replay the level until the game decides it’s time for you to win.The game is blatantly irrefutably rigged in order to cause people to either spend massive amounts of money or to play levels over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. If you found that sentence boring then this game is probably not for you. HOWEVER if you have a lot of time to kill and you don’t mind repetitive levels which you must play over and over and over and over etc., then this game could be for you. It wouldn’t be so bad but as I said power ups don’t matter. I’ve used all three at one time to start a level and I lost, repeatedly. Skill doesn’t matter. Luck doesn’t factor in at all. You will win when the game algorithm decides it’s time to let you win UNLESS you spend lots and lots of money. Don’t bother watching commercials either. Why should the game company be rewarded for a rigged game? I will make a few suggestions to improve gameplay and make the game entertaining. Add some power ups that actually work. Example: a broom or a pick or a mini piece of dynamite to blow away a specific piece. A paintbrush or something like that to change the color of a piece. A piece of dynamite we can place where we want, either in a row or in a square or circle. Also for pieces which need X number of matches near them, a small number counting the total matches necessary which decreases as matches are made would be very handy so we can plan more efficiently. Oh and before someone says that I did not play enough levels to decide, I completed 289 grueling and painful levels.I don’t know how many total levels I played since some of them took more than 10 or 15 reps to beat. I’d guess 2000, easy. The only reason I did it was because someone dared me to because they thought that I wouldn’t keep on grinding through the boredom and monotony and frustration.

i was digging this game as it was nice to play for free, so many different places to play with challenges but i got stuck on a level-464 and seriously sent me a youtube link soi could see that others are able to pass it but what i saw was more moves to start than i was getting. i reached out but have only recvd canned response or doubletalk. i went back to check how many others doing videos got to start with and there was such a difference usually 3 or 4 extra moves that i feel rather duped for spending a measly 15 bucks on gold to get past levels. i dont mind paying to pass particularly hard levels like in bejeweled but it was getting every single game attempt got down to one or two left. imdont mind paying to get extra moves occasionally but not every level...still waiting for response as to what is to be done about this lack of moves i am getting. just email saying they looking into it karin wrape mineola texas

I left a detailed review with examples of how the game is rigged (how many obstacles/enemies needed to be overcome, how many moves were available, what colors were needed and how many of that color was offered), and my review has since disappeared. It’s a horrible, rigged game, and I actually played long enough to spend real money in an attempt to keep up. Expect to pay lots of money per week once you hit a certain level in order to win. I see the developers’ responses to other reviews complaining of the impossible levels, saying they’ve tested the levels and that they’re winnable, although difficult, and that is a COMPLETE lie. It’s a cash grab. I’d love to play if it were a pay once kind of game, but it’s not, and could end up costing you hundreds of dollars if you don’t bail. I’m also shocked that these outrageous pay-to-play games rate 4.5 stars or more when you can see there are so many reviews by players who’ve invested a significant amount of time and then give an educated 1 star review.

It made me realize that life has meaning. I was literally about to do something I would regret when I heard the soft sweet whisper of this game, gently caressing my soft underbelly, saying: “Taylor, play me.”

Immediately I knew I was in for a life changing experience.

From the first moment I started up the game, the bright colors and carefully crafted characters drew me in like a bear being lured by flowing rivers of golden honey.

After having played the introductory level and experiencing what the game truly had to offer, I had to set down my phone, if only for a moment, to let the truly awe-inspiring experience of what I had just witnessed sink in.

My family, my job and my relationships with others quickly fell by the wayside, making room for the time I would spend with my new found love. I stopped feeding myself, only being fed by a small tube I had inserted myself into my stomach. Sleeping became a mundane task, as it wasted precious hours I could use to play this magnificent title.

If you do one thing in your life, download this game and change your life forever.

I used to love this game and spent a whole lotta money playing it but now am deleting because it has to be rigged. Playing along when all of a sudden the board is useless and you’re gonna lose. Used to be able to keep crates you’ve accumulated but now you have the number of crates you have keys to open. Used to be able to use diamonds to offset quantity missing in meteorites to upgrade. NOPE! Not any more you have to spend gold bars which are ridiculously expensive and almost never free. All the emphasis is on is lining their own pockets instead of providing a cool little game that many people can enjoy. Time to delete this travesty. Greedy developers big time that will never see a penny from me! So sad. We should all block the games this developer adds to App Store. Pretty clear it’s about the almighty buck. I get it that this is their livelihood but with the way of the world right now and just how successful this app has been they shouldn’t have made these changes. Why not offer a break? Clearly taking advantage of Covid when people are under quarantine and trying to not become bored. ridiculous.

Stop It WITH THE “ Gift Sending...” Stupidly and Seriously RIDICULOUS! I’ve paid way more than I’d ever expected on this game*** Now I have to “ GIVE” my purchases and spin wins away to accept others *** So Called Gifts *** I come out with way less than before! Great Concept Devs... STUPID! Thank GOD I’ve only accepted for 2 days. Otherwise Good Lord, I’d be left with nothing! So either let me be able to NOT ACCEPT ( which I can’t find ) or you all won’t have a satisfied player, AT ALL, plus a deleted and NEVER, EVER SUGGESTED GAME TO ANOTHER SOUL! Hating this update and this feature! Despising it all furthermore as one cannot play the game in peace. Always a tournament or something of the like! Would really like to play for the “playing” of the game. NOT THE TAKING OF MY EARNINGS/PURCHASES! Thanx Alot
Coulda been a gr8 game*** til now!
Really Crappy Update
Also there’s no way to opt outta the challenges...
Kinda like to play just to play for the Love of God and All That’s Holy! O well*** Yet another game Ima have to put on “Stay-Away” until it’s back to as it shoulda been! Yee Haa
Have a great evening

I've written numerous reviews, rated this game multiple times. Come back a few days later and my review is gone.

Each time you clear a level, you will be asked to spend money 1 or 2 times. It doesn't matter if you've just made a purchase. The frequency of the prompt doesn't change. How much money is enough?!

When you win timed items, wands, bombs, etc - the animations of the win take at least 10 seconds off the timer. Couple that with other popups (do you want to spend more money?), and you end up with much less time to use the item. It would be nice if that was changed. You do not have a choice when these pop up, or when to use them. The timers do not stop when you exit the game, be prepared to lose the items.

There are items that interact with the floor of the game. Eggs, bombs, triggers. They do not work if you have more than 1 lined up. 2 items should trigger 2 results.

I refuse to watch ads, especially if I've made a purchase. None of the ads appeal to me, no interest in any of the other games.

I have played this game off and on, for several years. Paid over a thousand dollars. Eventually I'll becomes annoyed enough to quit for another 6+ months. Comments show others feel the same way.

This game is totally rigged. Of course in the beginning, to get you hooked it lets you win all the easy levels, but as the levels increase, it purposefully makes you lose consistently. Then after several attempts, you suddenly win only to go back into the same cycle of loosing. There is no logic to how you win or lose. Even with strategy, the game will screw with your setups so you lose. I can tell just by looking at the layout of a level whether it’s going to let me win or not because the layout never looks the same even though it’s the same level. And my predictions are right every time. For instance, whenever I lose, the setup of charms are so scattered that it’s nearly impossible to create chains for a higher hit and I think to myself I’m never going to pass. But then after losing several times, the layout will suddenly not be scattered and have a bunch of charms already set up for a big blow making it super easy to win all of a sudden. That makes this game very questionable. This is not random, It’s definitely a pattern. It is as if the outcome is predetermined before I even start playing. I will continue to play this game to pass the time but the novelty has definitely wore of real quick with this realization and eventually I will delete.

This game is meant to nickel and dime you slowly. Just like any other predatory free to play game, it’s just not free. This game relies heavily on RNG (Random Numbers Generator) in later stages. “Difficulty” is simulated by the board providing you with poor matches. You won’t notice this in the first 100 or so levels, but the “difficulty” ramps up decently every 100 levels. I’m half way through the 400’s and it’s to the point where every other level is extremely “difficult.” This difficulty is just simulated by RNG and luck. Keep in mind, I’m not giving in to buying more moves because I find this mechanic extremely predatory and “pay to win,” literally. If you want to spend the money to keep buying moves, you can and the game won’t stop you. I’ve probably spent around $20-$30 on this game and I’m just done. It’s money grubbing and not worth the money I’ve spent. It’s not rewarding in any sense.

Note to the Devs:
I’ve seen support try to convince players that every level has been tested and can be passed with the number of moves given. This is only true when RNG is on the player’s side which is way less often in later stages. I find this statement by the devs untruthful and this claim should never be made in a game that uses the same logic a slot machine does.

This game is fun and addictive, but it constantly spams the user with “sales” meant to make you feel like you earned it or its for a “limited time” however, neither are accurate. When one ends another just as good pops up.

While many of the levels are easy and fun, they feel more like a respite to keep you from leaving then anything else, the vast majority of levels are designed for you to fail, so that you’ll buy more lives, gold or resources to level your character. It’s the laziest way to make a video game, rather than a balanced well thought out game at a flat price, you aim for random difficulties with addictive additions (flashy win screens, low payouts, special sales, etc..) that encourage the users to spend money. Think of a Vegas slot machine and that’s pretty much what this is, only more interactive and no payout.

This game is a genius of marketing though, it’s characters, YouTube videos and colorful animations are all aimed at kids.

Which (whether deliberate or accidental) breeds an addictive mindset and encourages the spending of real money on imaginary items, while be targeted at an audience that generally lacks impulse control and cognitive reasoning to understand why they shouldn’t.

In my opinion it’s the equivalent of marketing cigarettes to children!

I was at a 5 star! BUT, hold on to your money, I got up in the 400 level and this game is rigged just like slot machines! I on a particular area and I need green and blue like let’s 80 each. I was able to get the green with no problem. Oh, also you have to knock off 5 different times a character chosen by the game. So you can get that down as well but you have think things through. Anyhow, to continue on if you are not able to accomplish this task in let’s say 20 moves. If you can’t, you can receive 5 more moves for 10 gold. You can’t get gold unless you purchase it. And you better purchase, real money by the way, gold before you actually run out, otherwise you can get 20 gold and some other stuff for 4.99 or buy 150 gold for 9.99. Do the math, what would you do. Ok, in order to beat this one level, I had to use my gold 10 times which is a 100 gold. WHY? I could not get any blue items! If you did get some they would give you one or two at a time! You have to have three in any combo: horizontal, vertical, diagonal. So that means it took 50 moves to get 15 blue color items. This happens all the time! Save your money don’t make these game developers get rich! What a flipping joke. It was a blast for a long while. Not any more! Just deleted all my games! Hello world! NO MORE GAMES FOR ME! ALL LITTLE $1.99, $4.99, and $9.99 ALL ADD UP!

I downloaded this game 3 years ago and played daily…in the evenings, waiting in a waiting room, etc. It was great and the expectations were reasonable. I would count down the days until the next update.
Then things started to change.
I didn’t mind so much when they took away the ‘Baby Slug’, ‘Jail Break’, and whatever the other event was that happened on Wednesdays (the rewards were amazing, but took more work). I still played even though the event format was changing. It was ok when there were two events per update. You didn’t have to play NON-STOP for days on end to get somewhere.
Now…if you miss a day or two, why bother? You won’t have a chance at winning the current event, sometimes even with Megaboost. I have spent hundreds, if not a low number of thousands (sadly-and I’m a grown woman) on this game. All I can say is that I’m glad I poured money into it in the early years. I have all the Epic Fiends, but paid for them early on. I was religious about playing for a new Fiend, but couldn’t find the motivation to play for Zaha. We’ll see how much she costs later. I have 1200 gold bars banked from stocking up. Like others have said, it would be nice to be able to gift gold to a friend. Just not motivated to play anymore. I used to buy at least one or two ‘VIP deals’ a month at $25…now I don’t buy anything. I am subscribed to VIP time, and I’ll give it a little longer…but likely cancelling that soon. This used to be great for fun and daily ‘unwind’ play. Not anymore.

I have been a player since day one, unfortunately that’s coming to a end soon if things don’t change. The events have became a job, not a game. When it first started we got events here and there with 10-20 levels to complete. Then it moved to two events going on at the same time one would be 20-30 levels and the other 10-20 levels to complete. Now it’s two events at the same time both wanting 40 levels to complete and events literally run back to back with zero break between. Well the events that you collect x amount of items is fine no complaints but the other event that runs with them events are awful. The request for them are insane it used to be 1-3 baby slugs now it’s complete 5. Then complete 2 stars on worms when you have all the start beside hard and up it insanely hard to do. Now beat x amount new levels in the world map or use these fiend to beat new levels but once you get high in levels it might take weeks to finally beat one levels. They ask these request multiple times during this one event every event, so it’s never ending frustration. Plus if you finish a part it’s behind a timer so you literally might have to wait 3 days to get the next part. The game use to be fun but they have taken the fun out sadly.

I really wished they would just go back to running the collecting item event only. So the people playing since day one can go back to having fun again. The other event where beating new levels is way to hard unless you’re a newer player. This is the first time I want finish this event because I need 5 baby slugs and stuck on a new level forever now. I’ll want finish this event 39/40 and it’s disappointing because they made it this hard. They’re asking way to much from people that have a life and job.