Booty Quest offers match-three gameplay in 90-second bursts on Facebook

While there isn't a shortage of match-three games on Facebook, or even those games that time you in short bursts (normally 60 seconds), Outplay Entertainment hopes to give the genre a "kick in the booty" via its pirate-themed Booty Quest, which is now live on Facebook.

Booty Quest challenges players to earn the highest score possible in 90-second increments by matching three or more jewels on a grid. By matching four or more jewels in a single move, power-up gems are created. For instance, a match of four creates the Bomb Gem which can be used to remove a square of nine gems from the board at once, while matches of five give you a Storm Gem that blows much larger sections of gems away. You can even activate Blaze Mode for creating matches in rapid succession.

While all of this sounds incredibly similar to the standard - Bejeweled Blitz - and it in fact is incredibly similar, there are some differences, aside from being given 90 seconds instead of 60. For one, the Blaze Mode allows you to clear entire rows of columns of gems while activated, simply by making that kind of a match (horizontal or vertical, respectively). In addition, your score multiplier increases over time, as you make more and more matches, rather than requiring you to destroy special multiplier gems. Of course, the quicker you make matches, the quicker your multiplier sores. These differences would seem to make the game easier for those who aren't as good at manipulating the board to create matches where they need to be (for those multiplier gems). Finally, the in-game level system gives you a bigger boost to your scores as you play more and more.

Unfortunately, you'll limited to playing just give games at once, with your "Lives," or individual games recharging over time as a sort of energy system. You can purchase additional games instantly for premium currency, or can ask your friends to send you those Lives for free (of course, that requires you to have friends that also play the game, which might be difficult in this early stage).

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Speaking of social features, you'll be able to compare your scores to those of your friends, and climb an overall leaderboard for a weekly tournament. However, there doesn't seem to be a real incentive to make your way to the top of this leaderboard, except for basic bragging rights (not that those aren't fun in their own right).

Add to all of this a series of achievements that reward you for tasks like activating Blaze Mode or reaching a certain multiplier level and you have a system that's as addictive as the other match-three games on Facebook. It's just unfortunate that there are so many of them out there already, which will likely hurt Booty Quest over the long haul. Still, if you've already made your way to the top of your friends leaderboard in Bejeweled Blitz, or are simply looking for a new game to sink your time into, Booty Quest is worth a look.

Play Booty Quest on Facebook -->

Have you tried Booty Quest on Facebook? Do you need another match-three game to play on Facebook? Which of these kinds of games is your favorite? Sound off in the comments.