Ruby Blast Adventures offers a new way to play on Facebook

If you haven't played Ruby Blast recently, you've missed out on a major gameplay update to Zynga's match-three game, as the game has been almost completely rebranded as "Ruby Blast Adventures," offering a new gameplay mode in addition to the standard tournament mode that's been available since its launch earlier this year.

In the game's new Adventure mode, players start in Egypt, as they're able to complete a series of levels which focus more on digging to a specific depth rather than earning a high score. Levels are still timed, and the gameplay has been relatively unchanged, save for the fact that later levels gain additional colors, making them more difficult to complete. There are three stars available for each level, with stars being earned at specific depth markers (say, 40, 100 and 160 feet, for instance). The level automatically ends if you manage to reach the third star depth, even if there's still time on the clock, but if you can't dig that low before time runs out, you'll obviously receive less stars.

At the end of each level, you'll get a bonus chance to receive the "Mother Lode" as you can uncover one of four locked treasure chests for free. These can contain items like gemstones, energy or coins, and you'll also earn these in larger bundles by simply unlocking stars as you play. Some levels allow for the use of power-ups, while others don't, and once you play enough levels, you'll unlock different themed areas like the Easter Islands.

All told, this addition of Adventure play offers a lot more incentive for return visits to Ruby Blast than the standard gameplay did otherwise. If you'd like to try out this new way to play for yourself, you can now do so for free on Facebook or Zynga.com.

Play Ruby Blast Adventures on Zynga.com now >

Have you tried Ruby Blast Adventures yet? Do you think this Adventure mode is better than the standard timed tournament mode? Sound off in the comments!