http://apps.facebook.com/bejeweledblitz/?lpt=bookmark Facebook Application but feel free to comment on any version of Bejewelled 1,2, Blitz or a copy - just make it clear which one you'r talking about)
Audio
What effect does the sound have on playing the game?
The only audio present is that of the announcer, sound effects for certain moves and the small loop of music that starts with 15 seconds left on the timer.
The countdown music is very effective on playing on the user's nerves, the primary use of the sound is to cause the player to panic and make mistakes in the closing moments of the round. It also warns the player of the little amount of time left. If one were to play without audio they would remain calm throughout the closing seconds but would be more shocked when the game ends.
With Audio
- More emersion, user feels more at one with the game
- Annoying voice of some bloke who says when your doing well
- Annoying sounds when you get faster or the explosion
- During the final 15 seconds the music loop makes a sense of urgency come to your mind and you start to rush
Without Audio
- More relaxing without audio
- I can listen to Steve Wright in the Afternoon whilst playing
- A small weight off your shoulders knowing that there isn't a "rushing" noise loop hovering over you
I found with Audio my score was higher, as i really "got into" the game
Mechanics
What have the designers implemented?
- In Blitz theres a minute time limit, this gives a "need for speed" so you try and be quick, the more time goes by noices are made when time is running low to push you further.
- Theres a Hint button you can press and it gives you marker you can follow to see a move , sometimes ive found its wrong and doesn't always help you.
- Bonus combined shapes.
- Multipliers for fast actions (Including a bonus speed mode).
- Final Bonus mode to gain extra points.
- No matter how empty you should make the screen with a combination of jewel destruction, it always refills so there are at least 2 different choices you can make to carry your score on.
- In the new version of Blitz you can make multiple moves while the board is cascading to refill. - This allows you to make more moves, but also interact with cascading gems.
- Using a hypercube will lock any further moves from being taken untill its finished killing gems.
- Multiplyers are spawned when a single move causes the destruction of 12 gems, via explosion or cascade.
- Multiplyers are usualy the same colour as the lowest number of gems, e.g. if there are only 2 red gems on the board, its probebly going to be a red multiplyer.
Points
- You get 250 Points for matching any three shapes in a line up or down the screen, you get more points for the more you can get in a row E.g 4 Red squares in a row
- Also the faster you match up you get another multipler, and the more you get in a row and straight after each other the more points you get. Once you reach a certain speed multiplier you go into a bonus speed mode that lasts for as long as you can maintain it. It has a slight increase in the gap allowed between jewels unlike the build up multipliers.
Luck Factor
- In my experience of playing the game, the luck factor plays a massive part in your final score. Sometimes a minute can pass with a score of under 25,000 points, due to poor refills of the grid, whereas on other games moving just one piece can cause your score to rocket up tens of thousands.
- This is all due to the way the grid refills and how pieces that group into 3's will automatically be converted into points. This can continue and trigger a chain reaction occasionally removing pieces from half of the grid and giving massive multipliers.
- Without this luck factor games would be much more repetitive and scores would not be as high.
Tactics
How do you play the game
- Looking at 2 triangles or squares that are next to each other then looking for another one nearby.
- Looking for colours that are the same and matching them.
- Trying (I mean trying as im crap at the game) to break down to specials that pop up to get more points.
- Look for colours as opposed to shapes, the eye tends to pick up and distinguish them more.
- Catch as many base multipliers as possible.
- Connect as many jewels as possible to achieve speed bonus mode.
- Have bonus shapes if possible for the last Hurrah!
- Take out multipliers as fast as possible. - You can't get the high scores with 1X or 2X
- Don't deliberatly leave bones gems/cubes untill the last Hurrah, Starcubes are guarenteed to give you a multiplyer, Hypercubes usually do and 50% of flame cubes will.
- Always go for the moves that will generate bonus gems/cubes, they are worth more points to kill and then you get the points for whatever the bonus affect is.
- In Blazing speed, try not to use pre-excisting flame cubes, everything counts as a flame cube so you are effectivly wasting them. - wait untill your out of the fast mode.
- Dont rush using the hypercube or you'll end up killing 3 cubes when you could take out 20.
- Dont look at your score during the game, it'll slow you down.
Multiplayer / competition
multiplayer-aspects <— Has been moved to a separate page
