GAME PLAY OVERVIEW:
If you’ve ever played Bejeweled, you will know how this game works. You must interchange two pieces on the board that are adjacent to create a vertical or horizontal line of at least 3 identical symbols. Once these lines are made, they disappear, and more pieces fall from above.
It is possible to start chain reactions from that one move! The first combo is 1X, the second combo is 2X, the third combo is 3X, and so on. (It is a linear multiplier.)
GAME PIECES (symbols)
(Color pieces)
Magenta Gem
Dark Orange Sunburst
Light Orange Geb (pyramid)
Yellow Pillar
Yogreen Palm Tree
Blue Anubis Head
Black Ccarab
(Non-color pieces)
Red Bomb
Wild Card: Lucky Coin
Blue Scarab
Silver Ankh
NOTES ABOUT THE PIECES:
The most common non-color piece is the Bomb, which destroys all the pieces above the Bomb in the column, but only if it drops 3 or more squares.
If you make a column of 3 or more disappear under the Bomb, the Bomb will first fall and then destroy all the pieces above the Bomb. Hence, you won’t see the combinations that the falling column created disappear before the Bomb explodes, if they are above the bomb.
If you somehow make three rows of colors disappear below the Bomb, it doesn’t count as an explosion!
If the Bomb reaches the bottom of the screen without falling 3 squares, it will explode by itself and not destroy the column above it.
The Scarab makes the entire bottom row disappear, if you can get it to the bottom of the grid.
The Ankh makes the entire bottom row AND the column above it disappear, provided you can get it to the bottom of the grid as well.
Points from Scarabs and Ankhs are not affected by the multipliers.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
any of these pieces can be cleared with a 3 piece combination. Thus, if your Ankh gets sandwiched between two Lucky Coins, it’s bye-bye Ankh! This also means you can clear bombs in rows or columns.
DIFFICULTY LEVELS
Easy Mode – An 8 X 8 grid, with 5 different colors:
Magenta Gem
Dark Orange Sunburst
Light Orange Geb
Green Palm Tree
Blue Anubis Head
Point system:
3 points per 3 combination
9 points per 4 combination
21 points per 5 combination
2 points per square dropped, by Bombs
(I have yet to see Scarabs or Ankhs at this difficulty level.)
The timer runs slowly, but the time never increases.
Advantage: Since there are fewer colors, there is more of a chance to spark a chain reaction. The grid is smaller than in difficult mode, so there is less area to scan for moves.
Disadvantage: Since time doesn’t increase, you can only get a certain number of points, which will probably never reach the amount you need for the maximum number of neopoints per day.
Difficult Mode – A 10 X 10 grid, with 7 different colors:
Magenta Gem
Dark Orange Sunburst
Light Orange Geb
Yellow Pillar
Green Palm Tree
Blue Anubis Head
Black Scarab
Point system:
10 points per 3 combination
30 points per 4 combination
70 points per 5 combination
4 points per square dropped, by Bombs
50 points for a Scarab
100 points for an Ankh
The timer does increase, depending on the combinations you make. Thus, if you keep making moves without much hesitation in between, you will hardly see the hourglass shrink.
Advantage: The best level to play for points with the least amount of time. Since you are limited by the easy level’s time decrease, this level is the recommended way to play.
Disadvantage: It is a more difficult level, but there are ways around the “I-can’t-find-any-more-moves-but-the-game-says-there’s-still-one!” freak-outs. These will be described later.
Zen Mode
Similar configuration to difficult mode, except everything is worth 1 point, and the timer never runs out. If the board reshuffles, the score will reset to 0.
Advantage: Some people like playing for the sake of playing a game, without points, for stress relief (hence the “Zen” mode).
Disadvantage: If you want to play this game for points, this game will give you MORE stress. You’d have to play for an excessively long time, and the reshuffling-resetting of score thing will drive you nuts.
GAME PLAY TIPS & STRATEGY
Keep these tips in mind when you’re stumped:
Look in the edges of the grid. Sometimes it’s just because they’re not in the middle that you can’t see them.
Search by colors; for instance, black really stands out, so you could potentially miss the light orange or dark orange pieces right next to them that are just waiting for you.
Make sure you check the coins. They look out of place sometimes so you might not see them as moves.
Look for three bomb combinations!
If you find you can’t see any more moves, but the game doesn’t reshuffle, you can take these ways out.
1) The CHEATER’S Way
I suggest this if you are completely desperate, since this way is exploiting the vulnerability of the game.
Quickly, take a screen capture then pause the game. Open an image editing program to analyze the situation. Once you find the move, go back to your game.
(I refrain from describing exactly how to go about this. Discover your computer for yourself!)
2) The BUDDY Way
I found that having a friend who is obsessed with Neopets and doesn’t mind watching you play for a bit can help immensely, without resorting to the computer cheat. Sure, it’s a form of cheating, but if the Neopets Team ever catches on, then this will be probably the only other way I can think of to play for points.
In general, don’t play 3 if you can play 4 or 5. For instance, don’t play the 3-row/3-column (“L”-shaped) move if you can play the 4-row or column move, since the former will only net 20 points and the latter 30 points.
If you can get the bomb lower on the grid, then detonate it, do so. It will net more than if you just detonated it higher.
Look out for chain reactions that could occur. If you can make combos, the points accumulated can reach the hundreds per move! I have seen a 6-row that could only occur within a chain reaction, and it was worth 120 points. (I forgot the multiplier, but nonetheless…)
You can literally play for days in a row. The virtue of the pause button is that you can go take a nap, read a book, have supper, ride a bike, and return to continue racking in points. I played for 13 hours in a row to get my gold trophy, and I regretted doing so as soon as it was over. (Don’t follow my example, kids.)
I hope this guide helps you in your quest for relatively ‘easy’ trophies. – Ms. C