With a breathtaking interface and smooth visuals, this match three game reflects the Celtic culture and the enchantment behind the storyline. As king of the butterflies, you fight an evil wizard who has captured 16 butterfly friends and taken most of the king's power. Those familiar with Big Kahuna Reef will recognize it here.

While the idea of flowers as the object of the matches sounds cheesy, it's not. I don't try to raise my kids as in boys play cars and sports while girls dance and play with dolls. But my eight-year-old is all boy and he liked checking in on the game giving me the occasional help. No, "Ew! Flowers! That's for girls!" comments.

The flowers resemble confetti or pieces of origami when matched. The artsy effect adds to the game's magical and awe-inspiring setting.

The game awards different powered bombs depending on how many items you match and what combos you create. On occasion, the flowers cascade creating a big blast almost lighting up the whole board. "Cool!" I said as my face widened in excitement. It’s not often a game compels such a reaction from a soccer mom with its effects.

Then the frogs appear. Matching three frogs means trouble. However, if the frogs "fall" in place, you earn bonus points. The level started with two or three frogs, no problem. That didn't last long as within a moment, ten scared me as I tried to prevent them from teaming up by using the Flower Popper to kick them off or shooing them in opposite directions.

Once you survive the frogs, the boards get tougher as they get narrower, making it hard to match objects with only one side to reach them. Every level comes with a title, which can hint at what happens in the level or describe the game board.

Like most games, this one comes with one hour of free play, just enough to give you a taste of its beauty and experience. Unlike most games, this one has an unobtrusive clock to let you know how much time you have left. It ticks away when it's reading time — only during matching time. More developers should follow this game's lead especially those that have the clock counting down just for having the game open.

Those growing tired of match three may find renewed energy with Monarch: The Butterfly King especially with relaxed mode available. Based on other reviews, it sounds like Monarch: The Butterfly King isn't as challenging as Big Kahuna Reef. Whether or not that's the case, the game entertains, stimulates and surprises.

The game has more than 100 levels and long playability. Plus, you can download more levels free after you've played all the levels in the game.

System Requirements

• Windows 98/ME/000/XP/Vista
• 733MHz or faster Processor
• 256MB RAM
• DirectX 7.0 or higher