Free to play doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere any time soon, and Nintendo will be getting in on that action with a brand new Pokemon game – Pokemon Shuffle. In true free to play style, the new game is another of those puzzle-shifting-match-three things, and is not dissimilar from the previous Pokemon Link/Trozei games.

The free to play elements will be familiar to anyone who owns a smartphone – you use up a heart each time a stage is tackled, and regenerate hearts as time passes, but this process can be sped up if you part with some card hold cash. Nintendo previously experimented with the free to play model when it released Steel Diver sub wars, but this seems to be a much more confident effort with more potential for wide appeal.

Pokemon Shuffle will be out in February for 3DS, and naturally will be free to download. Will you be picking up a copy?