The giveaway period is over.
At 23:00 your server time???

Looking at a few other comments before mine...........

The new wrapper. Yes, I had a lot of problems with that one. Quite accidentally, I discovered that if I install *without* unzipping anything, then every game giveaway from here always installs fine. This I have done for the past year and a half and it always works on whatever computer I use. I have no idea why that isn't recommended right off. Besides, the zip goes in the dustbin as soon as the game or app is installed anyhow! Why not just keep it simple and don't bother with an extra unnecessary step that is, for me and a few fellow gamegiveawayrs, nothing but problems.

Startup issue with The Great Pharaoh.... I should have mentioned this in my previous comment. Every time I start this, it throws errors about the ogg sound files not loading, then crashes. However, it always started second time for me, including this morning. My advice is start the game, put the kettle on, and by then simply start it again and it will be running in 30 seconds. I reckon its just my windozzz$


..............................Moderator Comment................................

Thank you for both your comments. Hopefully your fix may help. :)

Hi this game is great. I had it installed before. I love Stars Ashes games since I first heard of them in 2009. Cheers Stephen for the great review. Thumbs up!

Doesn't work. This is the 2nd prog I've downloaded from this site which turned out to be a dud.

.........................Moderator comment.......................

It’s more likely that something you have installed is interfering with the game, causing it not to work. Have you tried running it with admin privileges, or changing the graphic options or in compatibility mode? You’ll find details in the FAQ’s found in the Game discussion sticky section.

Silly me, I should've just looked at what I was getting into.
I finished the first 5 levels and to be honest was bored out of my mind. If you're looking of a terrible version of bejeweled, or candy crush... then this is for you. I had hoped it would have some variation in some way, but no, just regular bejeweled. Brutal.

PS. How is this game a giveaway when MUCH better games are always free, and not a special giveaway.

my two cents.


.............................Moderator comment........................

Hi Beckinstien,
If you are referring to games from sites lile MyPlayCity and Jenkat games; they aren't actually free. The developers of those games are paid by MPC and Jenkat games. The reason we get them for free is because every time you visit their sites to download games they get income from advertising, also, if you accidentally install their toolbar they get paid, if your browser is redirected they get paid. Every time you shut one of their free games down, it opens up to their web pages and they get paid. Of course there are thoudsands of genuine freeware games available that are excellent games and have no adware or other annoyances included, just take a look in the game discussion forums and you'll find links to thousands of free games; some are previously commercial that the developers have converted to free ware, some are abandonware and others have always been freeware.

i downloaded this game and clicked setup but what next on windows 8, how do you download game to windows 8? any info would be appreciated thanks


...............................Moderator comment...............................

Hi,
Once the download has completed, go to the download folder (you can find his by clicking on my computer (if you can't find My Computer, open the search menu by clicking on settings, then type in my computer. Open it up and click on the download folder. Unzip the game and then click on the set up file (the orange one with a key symbol). Make a note of where it is being installed to. (I've included the path in my review in comment number 1). Find the installed folder then create a short cut from the executable file.

Thanks, Whiterabbit! And a special thank you for the heads up for tomorrow!

Hi Whiterabbit--
I rarely try to download the games any more--they never seem to work with the new wrapper. But I just wanted to say I hope you're feeling better. You're one of my favorite people '-)


...............................Moderator Comment.........................

Thank you for your pleasant comment meadowlark. Have you checked the FAQ's posted in the game discussion forum? there are some fixes tha should hopefully allow you to start enjoying the game giveaways again. Let me know. We can try and work through to sort the p[roblem out. I'd also post in the forums where more community members are likely to see your comment.

I have this, it is not a bad game at all. I wanted to let others know if they are looking for some of the pop cap games like bejeweled 3, bookworm, plants vs zombies, zumas revenge, and also the two peggle games you can get them all with the Humble Bumble for 6 bucks or more if you want to donate. 100% of the proceeds go to two cancer foundations. Very awesome.

Hope you are doing well White Rabbit. Wishing you and everyone else a great weekend!


..........................Moderator comment..............................

Thanks Pixiey. the pop cap games are a bargain. Peggle is worth the $6 on its own.

You'll find a link to the deal over in the game discussion forum. As it's a humble bundle. You get Steam keys, Origin keys and drm free download links for all of the games.

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/100253/page/4

pay $1 to get:

Peggle Deluxe
Bejeweled 3
Bookworm Deluxe
Escape Rosecliff Island
Feeding Frenzy 2 Deluxe

Pay $6 or more to unlock three more games!

Plants vs Zombies GOTY Edition
Peggle Nights
Zuma's Revenge!

Just me but have tried this couple times prior and while it plays ok Win 8.1 x+5 Pro I just don't care for the game play. Maybe it's the stealing by mummies or just the use of black frozen areas. I play a few levels and it doesn't stay with me compared to other Match 3. Maybe if a relaxed mode or bit 'easier'. Thanks anyway. Fans will probably appreciate the reappearance. 7.75/10 for fans.

I've had this game for some time (from a previous giveaway) and it's an OK game. Not the best and not the worst of Match 3.

This game is also available under the name "Mummy Puzzle" from Gametop at any time.

Good game. Nee more time, this one is too short especially touch window instead of mouse , usung Window 8.1

Only Match-3 Games every Week! Another game like Garden Scapes or something similar was good. But that- I have 4 of this Games! But DRagon keeper was cool.

...........................Moderator Comment............................

I probably have over a hundred match three games; most of which are pretty good games.

I would like to know how to edit this game for it not to score more time. For turn it a "relaxed mode" game.


..........................Moderator comment............................

Try posting your question in the game discussion forums. One of our older community members (not in age), used to post frequently, but since he's been studying at Uni, he's not around much. He used to help with such questions.

I have downloaded and installed The Great Pharao, on win 7. No problems what so ever.

I like the game itself. It's not very graphically gorgeous, but it plays okay, and it's just fine to play away some saturday hours. ;-)

It's nice that there is an extra difficulty as in mummies stealing your gold if you are not careful ;-))

There are more beautiful games out there, but as giveaway for today, its a nice game.

Thank you


..........................Moderator Comment..................

Thank you for your feedback Freebird. (Ah, that song brings back memories of my hippy days) - though I wasn't into the bands politics.

Is the thame version
http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/the-great-pharaoh-4/


........................Moderator comment..........................

Yes it is the same version as the previous time it was given away.

I didn't realize there was going to be a giveaway today. At 3am this morning, there was no indication that we were going to get one, hence the late posting.

Todays giveaway is a repeat (several times). The last time it was given away was last July 2013. It's a basic Match 3 game with average looking graphics. I didn't bother scoring it previously. In my opinion it's not the best or even an average match three so would only score it a 5 or 5.5 out of 10. There is a more interesting game being given away tomorrow, A first time giveaway and different to the normal fare. :) If you downloaded this previously, htere's no need to redownload it as it's the same version.


The Great Pharaoh:

Installation

The Great Pharaoh downloads to a 52.7 MB zip file that unpacks to a read me and a wrapped setup file (the orange colored file with the key symbol), plus there's a setup file with security (setup.gcd) that's protected from being hacked


There’s no shortcut installed so make a note of where the game is installed to so that you can manually create a desktop shortcut. By default it installs to the following path:

C:\Games\The Great Pharaoh_game


Registration

Registration is automatically done when you install the game. You will require an active internet connection to complete activation. Once installed the game uses 82.8Mb of disc space.

Introduction


The game has been given away five times before;




July 2013 where it received a positive 61% out of 270 votes with 19 comments,
November 2012 where it received 65% positive thumbs up from 318 votes and May 2012 where it received 68% positive votes out of 294 votes, back in March 2011 and September 2011 it received positive votes of 62% and 75% respectively. You can read all previous comments made about this game

HERE (July 2013), HERE (Nov 2012), HERE (May 2012), HERE (March 2011) and HERE (September 2011).


Developers Introduction

From generation to generation, each new Pharaoh wanted to be more powerful than the previous one. One got his wealth by seizing the lands of others, another - in the fertile lands of the Nile. But there was another way to gain overwhelming richness... Legend says that in the abandoned temples of the City of the Dead, the treasury of Egypt ancient rulers was kept. Priests put the gold into magical blocks, guarded by those who were gone for eternity. Only the Great Pharaoh could take back the gold, gathering together the blocks and presenting seals. The seals were lost with time. There were no Pharaohs who wished to return ancient treasures, as the price for a mistake was great - eternal wandering in the dark world of the dead. Would you like to try your luck? Returning the treasures of the ancestors, you will build the City, the glory of which will live for centuries... In this fast-paced Match 3 game, the goal is to restore the temples of the City of the Dead, getting hidden gold. You can get the gold by matching 3 ancient blocks. At the same time you should keep an eye on mummies who can put a curse, stealing gold and freezing the blocks. You have limited time to meet your goal on gold and become the Great Pharaoh!

Reference accessed HERE 5th March 2011

The Game

This is a reasonable match three game with decent graphics and additional elements that add to the overall game experience. Game play is as you’d expect from a match three; that is you have to swap adjacent blocks so that three or more blocks of identical color, including those that are frozen line up in columns or rows. This destroys the blocks and releases the gold that is hidden within the block.

There are some original features that make it worth downloading such as the building of a town and the addition of mummies that steal gold from you as well as add a curse which freezes several blocks for a specific length of time. This occurs when there is a line of three similar blocks next to the mummies. If you can line up three of these mummies in a row or column you will get extra gold and destroys the mummies. You can see various symbols within each colored block, these have various values for example collecting 3 ankh’s is worth 120 gold pieces whereas collecting three squiggly lines are worth 250 gold pieces; collecting additional blocks such as a line of 4 or five gives you more gold. You’ll find 7 different values within the blocks ranging from 100 gold pieces to 250 gold pieces. (100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200 and 250). Destroying three mummies is worth 500 gold pieces. There are 40 levels broken up into eight different stages. Each stage ends in the completion of a specific Egyptian building or object such as an Obelisk, the Temple of Anubis, a city gates or the Pyramids. After each level you are awarded a part of a key. Collecting all the parts will unlock the next stage in the building of the town.

As you would expect levels start off easy with grids of 8x8 which increase in size as you get further into the game. Progression is mapped out via the levels map, which shows you the various buildings and monuments that you will build throughout the game. There doesn’t appear to be any power-ups added to this game (I didn’t encounter any while playing the demo, which included the first five levels).

The options menu enables you to change several parameters such as screen resolution , windowed mode and an advanced lighting mode that adds shadows to the game (not very obvious) as well a sound and music sliders to adjust the volume and a difficulty slider that has three choices, easy, medium and hard difficulty.

Features:

• Collect gold from ancient tombs in this entertaining Match 3 challenge.

• Restore the Temple of Anubis, the Great Pyramids, the giant Obelisk and more.

• Watch out for mummies and their curse as they steal gold and freeze blocks.

• Rush to clear 40 levels before time is up.

• See the megalithic structures take shape before your eyes.


Images & Video:

You can see a slideshow of around 50 images showing the first area to be unlocked HERE. You’ll see help screens, several levels, statistic screens and the level map. Unfortunately the images were uploaded backwards, so you see the later images first


You can view all the images in full screen or as a grid with adjustable slider to view in various sizes. Just click on one of the two buttons to the bottom right of the screen, just above the film strip; (you need to hover your mouse over the bottom of the screen to see the filmstrip)

You can see a couple of videos of game play HERE and HERE

Conclusion::

This is a match three game of medium quality. It’s not the best in my opinion, but still playable. It’s got similarities to games like Atlantis Quest which was given away some time ago, but the quality of the game does not match Atlantis Quest by a long shot. The graphics are uninspiring and drab with no power ups to add sparkle and excitement. That said, it’s a basic match three; and if you like match three’s you’ll probably play this one, but too be honest you'll find far superior match threes for free from MyPlayCity and Jenkat games

I’d give it an average score of around 6.5 out of 10. This is broken down into a 7 out of 10 for game play (I’m being generous) and 6 out of 10 for graphics and sound. I like Match Three’s as they are mindless and sometimes I need a mindless game that’s easy to play. The main problem with this game is that this genre has moved on from the original Jewel Quest type game play and now we get match three’s that are combined with RPG elements for example Puzzle Quest 1 & 2 or card playing games like Gyromancer, or more traditional match three’s like Treasures of Montezuma that have upgradeable power ups and spectacular graphics or give you screensavers at the end of the game like Atlantis Quest; (or several if you play Around the World in 80 Days). The amazing thing is the last three games I mentioned above can now be downloaded completely free for the full version - (follow the link to MyPlayCity).
Apart from the addition of a quest to build various landmarks and buildings in between levels this match three game is very basic. The attempt to spice the game up with this building quest really didn’t work in my opinion because there is no actual contribution from the player apart from completing a match three level because the building stages are automatic and occur when you’ve completed a level. You’ll be whisked off to the site and magically see a new building or a city gate appear, and then the next level will start.

Reviews:

Check out THESE reviews from Big Fish, they are all basically negative with respect to uninspiring game play





Problems with the game?:

If you have any problems installing or playing today's game please go to the game discussion forums where you'll find a FAQ's section HERE.

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If today's game doesn't take your fancy then check out the game discussion forums and the free games synopsis. We’ve posted a couple of thousand free games over the last four years, many of which are excellent alternatives to their commercial cousins.

There’s at least 100 game son sale via Steam at the moment. You can find all the details HERE . The main page only shows you the latest deals. To see all of the games on sale click on the games tab along the top of the Steam page and select your genre, then go to the right hand panel where it says 'find more, then click on the games link (you'll see the number of games in that category next to it for example, in the action genre next to games you should see 1352 games (this may differ slightly from region to region as not all games are available in all regions. All the games that are on sale will have the percentage off next to the price (usually in a green box). If you have loads of games on Steam, you can install an add-on for Firefox or Chrome called Steam Enhanced, that gives you price comparisons around the world as well as highlights all of the games you already have in green, those in you wish list in blue and those you don't have are shown normally. Some of the deals you’ll find include: 75% off Left 4 Dead & Left 4 Dead 2 (only £3.74/$4.99 each or even cheaper if you buy them in a bundle i.e. £5.75/$7.49), 66% off Rogue Legacy, 75% off Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (£3.74/$4.99), 75% off Alice: Madness Returns, 75% off EA Racing Pack – includes Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate box, Shift 2 Unleased and Need for Speed: Shift, Hot Pursuit and Undercover all for £16.24, or you can buy the games seperatly), 75% off Aliens v Predator, 75% off MedaL OF honor and Medal of Honor: Airborne, 85% off Trine 2: Complete Story, 66% off Emergency 2014, 75% off Condemned: Criminal Origins, 75% off Marc Ecko’s: Getting Up (also available {or was} much cheaper via one of the indie game bundles), 50% off Incoming Forces, 60% off Loadout Mardi Gras Exclusive Pack (dlc for Free to Play game Loadout), 90% off Carrier command: Gaea Mission, 60% off Unity of Command Trilogy bundle, 80% off Twin Sector, 80% off Dawn of Magic, 75% off Supreme Commander and Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance, 60% off Zeno Clash (got a spare copy of his for the first person to ask, will need a Steam account), 50% off Invasion of the Ancients, 50% off Edna & Harvy: The Breakout, 60% off Not the Robots, 50% off The Inner World, 90% off Alpha Prime, 80% off Stealth Bastard Deluxe, 80% off Waking Mars, 75% off Exodus from the Earth, 75% off The Showdown effect, 90% off Hydrophobia: Prophecy, 90% off Shadowgrounds survivor, 75% off the Lunar Pack (Lunnye Devisty & Wake), 90% off Alternativa, 50% off Droplitz, 70% off Truck racer, plus loads more deals.


For more deals check out the latest game available on IndieGameStand HERE
You can pay as much as you want but no less than $1. The present game is Gateways a retro-styled 2D platformer and if you pay over the average payment (at the time of writing it was $1.56 – total value of these games is approx $12 if you purchased them on Steam today. You get desura and Steam keys plus a DRM free copy) you'll get a second game called the Adventures of Shuggy. A new game will be posted Wednesday morning 5am GMT (12th March).


There's also quite a few decent deals over on Desura, Greenman Gaming as well as other game distributors such as Gamersgate and Gamefly. Finally, you'll also find a few indie bundles still live. You'll find details of all the bundles still available over in the first two pages of the Game discussion forums HERE (These are the best way to get bargains as you can often get $100 plus worth of game sfor around $5 or less. (e.g. last November/December THQ sold their entire recent catalogue worth almost $500 for less than $6) Check out the Bundle Stars deals for the best bundles around at the moment.

You can get loads of excellent match three games or similar for free from MyPlayCity (MPC), Jenkat Games or Gametop. Jenkat or Gametop aren't as aggressive with respect to toolbars and home page changes as MyPlayCity is at the moment. With MPC games you will need to uncheck boxes for toolbar and home page changes every time you start the game up. plus during installation you may get adverts.

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A Request for help:

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of 'potential' cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you've checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain what your reasons were for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with more block types for the levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen

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