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PDAmill is a developer of games and applications for portable platforms including Windows SmartPhones and Pocket PCs, Palm and Symbian devices. Their products show consistently well thought out designs put together into polished final products.

The staff of Mobile Gadget News has been given the chance to review their latest offerings of games for the SmartPhone platform. These games are all jewel based games with different gameplay requiremnts. Jewel games have become like Tetris, in that many variations of the original game have emerged, and all seem to have a dedicated (or addicted) following. This series of games will prove to be just as addicting as their other titles.

Here is what PDAmill has to say about Stone Pilot:

The Swelling slope of the Melonchi caves needs to be cleaned. The Rubble and Pebbles are constantly being pushed and spilling out into the main caves. Harlfyn has had enough, and now that you have resigned as Jewel Master, he has dedicated himself to cleaning out.

Note: The screen captures in this review were made using Microsoft's ActiveSync Remote Display. They contain border window information not seen on the actual phone.

When the game starts up you are asked to put in your name:

The main menu gives you a few options:

The INFO section contains quite a bit of information including gameplay instructions and game story.

Here are the options for configuring game play. The volume and brightness controls are pretty self explainatory. The ghost gem makes it easier to see where you are lining the gem up to be dropped, and show grid makes it easier for older eyes to get things lined up!

And of course, every game must have a high score board!

Ready to play? Let's Go!

This game bears many similarities with Tetris. But... it isn't Tetris. The goal here is to keep the gems from piling up to the ceiling by matching 3 or more of the same color in connecting positions. Once you get 3 gems of the same color together they disappear. Simple huh? Well that isn't all of it. Every few seconds a new row of gems pops up from the bottom, pushing your gem pile higher and higher. You better be fast or they will take over.

The game does "try" to help you out. Occasionally you will get a bomb that you can drop where you need to clear out a lot of gems. But there is a catch. The bomb isn't lit. At some point later on you might get a flame which you can drop on or next to the bomb to light it causing it to explode and take out a whole bunch of gems.

The object is to not let the gems reach the ceiling. Clear off enough gems and you advance to the next level. Fail to keep the gems from reaching the ceiling and you will find yourself starting all over again.

This game was one I really enjoyed. I didn't really care for the seperation of the bomb and flame, but it did add to the challenge. It is easy enough to play the first time you pick it up, but quickly becomes a game requiring tactics, quick thinking, and the ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions. In other words, I am not very good at it yet. But I am sure that will change

This is yet another example of the eye candy PDAmill produces. And the gameplay is smooth and easy to understand. The game is well designed and has an interesting objective. I have given it a 4.5 out of 5.

Buy it at Handango