Bejeweled

This article is about the first game in the series. For an overview of the whole series, see Bejeweled (series).

Bejeweled
Steam header
Developer(s)	PopCap Games
Publisher(s)	PopCap Games
Designer(s)	Jason Kapalka
Series	Bejeweled
Engine	PopCap Games Framework
Platforms	Windows Mac OS X Flash HTML5 Palm OS Windows Mobile BlackBerry 10 Java ME iOS Android Windows Phone Xbox Facebook Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	May 30, 2001
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single-player

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

See also: Bejeweled (series)

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.

In 2013, the derivative Candy Crush Saga became the most popular game on Facebook.

In 2014 Bejeweled and Candy Crush Saga (along with many other similar match three games) were proved to be NP-hard.

Gameplay

Normal gameplay mode

The objective of this game is to swap one gem with an adjacent gem to form a horizontal or vertical chain of three or more gems of the same color. Bonus points are given when chains of more than three identical gems are formed and when two chains are formed in one swap. Gems disappear when chains are formed and gems fall from the top to fill in gaps. Sometimes chain reactions, called cascades, are triggered, where chains are formed by the falling gems. Cascades are awarded with bonus points. There are two variations of the game to choose from.

Although normally the player gets only three in a row for gems, sometimes they can get four or five in a row. And in rare conditions, they can get six, seven, and even eight in a row. But some versions of the engine do not register it. The player gets more points and sometimes special powerups from more than three gems in a row.

Normal

• Every match fills the bar; a level is completed when the bar is completely full.
• The game is over when no more moves can be performed.
• Matching four, five, or six gems does not create a special gem; said special gems were in the games from Bejeweled 2 on.

Time Trial

• The bar starts in the half middle; level completed when the bar is completely full.
• Over time, the bar decreases. The bar decreases faster as the stage level increases (and in some versions, the longer the level lasts).
• If a situation arises where no valid moves can be made, the board is cleared and randomly re-filled. If the bar completely goes empty, game over.