Bejeweled

Bejeweled is a tile-matching puzzle video game by PopCap Games, first developed for browsers in 2001. Three follow-ups to this game have been released. More than 75 million copies of Bejeweled have been sold, and the game has been downloaded more than 150 million times. Although the game is no longer downloadable through PopCap's website, the installer can be downloaded via the Wayback Machine.

History

The game was initially created by PopCap Games as a web-based Flash game called Diamond Mine, inspired by the gameplay of Columns and Shariki. It was reportedly successful for PopCap—a company formed in 2000. PopCap created partnerships with established Internet gaming sites such as Microsoft Zone to host Bejeweled as well. The name Bejeweled was suggested by Microsoft, who thought the original name Diamond Mine was too similar to that of an existing game, Diamond Mines.

The game has also been ported to other platforms, including Microsoft Windows, where it was called Bejeweled Deluxe, and iOS devices. Astraware produced versions for PDAs on the BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm OS, and Windows Mobile smartphone platforms. They also released Bejeweled Deluxe on the Xbox as a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade game. On September 12, 2006, it was released as one of the first games downloadable from the iTunes Store for the Apple iPod. PopCap also released a web app version of the game for iOS on October 11, 2007. On December 13, 2011, PopCap released a HTML5 version of the game, which is available on the Google Chrome Web Store for free. A HD version for iPad debuted in May 2012.

Bejeweled (series)

Bejeweled is the name of the series of tile-matching puzzle games created by PopCap Games, first developed for browsers in 2001. Four follow-ups to this game have been released: Bejeweled 2, in 2004, Bejeweled Twist in 2008, Bejeweled Blitz in 2009, and Bejeweled 3 in 2010, all by PopCap Games. Blitz is a one-minute timed version, which can be played by linking to Facebook or in an offline mode. More than 25 million copies of Bejeweled have been sold, and the game has been downloaded more than 150 million times. An arcade version was released in Q3 2013.

History

Bejeweled was initially created by PopCap Games as a web-based Flash game named Diamond Mine. It was reportedly successful for PopCap—a company formed in 2000. PopCap created partnerships with established Internet gaming sites, such as Microsoft Zone, to host Bejeweled as well. The name Bejeweled was suggested by Microsoft, who thought the original name Diamond Mine was too similar to that of an existing game, Diamond Mines.

Bejeweled 3

Bejeweled 3 is a tile-matching puzzle video game developed and published by PopCap Games. It is the fifth game of the multi-selling Bejeweled franchise yet the third official title. The game was released as a download on December 7, 2010, featuring a variety of four new gameplay modes (plus four old ones from Bejeweled 2), high-definition graphics and sounds as well as all-new 65 badges to achieve in game.

Gameplay

The core objective of the game is essentially the same as the previous installments in the series. Players are supposed to swap one gem with an adjacent one to form a chain of three or more gems of the same color. When this occurs the gems disappear and a new bunch of gems which are randomly generated drop from above to fill up the empty space. When falling gems automatically line-up a chain reaction known as a cascade is caused. Unlike earlier versions, players can now match other gems during a chain reaction. In addition to high-definition graphics, new sound effects and the ability to match more than one set of gems at one time (a key feature that debuted in Bejeweled Blitz).Bejeweled 3 also has a badge system, with some of the badges reserved for the most elite gem matchers.