New Bejeweled Blitz for Facebook - Updated Tips!

Popcap recently updated the online version of it's popular Bejeweled Blitz game on Facebook. I had previously written a tips and tricks guide for the previous version of Bejeweled Blitz for Facebook and all the strategies are still valid with the updated version. However, with the new version, there also comes a couple of new tactics to help you increase your score.

If you haven't checked out my previous guide yet, please do so and also apply them with the tips below:

1. Blitzing Through

If there is one thing I can say about the new Bejeweled Blitz for Facebook is that it sure lives up to it's name - It's FAST!

You'll notice with the new Blitz is that the speed of the falling gems increase as you rack up the speed bonus. This makes it easier to get speed bonuses but the speed bonus bar also runs down pretty quick, so maximize it while you can. Oh, and the speed bump also makes for good chain bonuses!

2. Last Hurrah!

This isn't really so much of a new tip, but more of a new feature in the new Blitz. When time runs out, you are now given a bonus for each special gem (power gem, lightning, hypercubes, multipliers) that are still on the board. This really allows you to bump up your score before it's game over.

As time wears down, don't bother with that annoying lightning and power cube you can't seem to match. Instead focus on the multipliers and hypercubes (in that order) as the bonus you get in the last hurrah isn't as much as getting multiples for matchs or controlling which gem type to match for the hypercubes (assuming you have a hypercube with a plentiful gem type next to it of course).

And that's it! These two new tips alone is enough to increase most people's Bejeweled Blitz score!

In a way, Popcap have made it easier to attain higher scores. Which I think is why they have decided to retire the 25K badge (even though they credit it to our skill at breaking that bank) and introduced higher score badges. I even have a friend on my ladder who has gotten a ridiculous score of 339K! There isn't even a badge for that!

On a personal note, I have finally managed go break my 200K barrier, though that score doesn't even get me on the top 5 of my ladder anymore! Looks like I've still got some work to do...

Good luck!

Bejeweled Blitz for Facebook - Tips & Tactics

UPDATE: I've written some additional tips for the updated Bejeweled Blitz, however, all tips below are still applicable in the new version, so please do read them as well as the additional tips here.

First things first, let me set some expectations. I am by no means an expert in Bejeweled Blitz for Facebook. My best score so far is 184,000 and I have played enough to consistently score above 75k. I have friends who score higher than I do, but I'm normally 1st or 2nd on my social ranking every week.

As I played and tried to improve my score, I looked around for tips by other players on how to improve (without cheating!). I found a few good tips but they were all scattered about. So I decided to consolidate the tips and tactics, particularly for beginners, to try and get a good score.

So here goes:

1. Get a jumpstart!

Not many people realize that you can actually start moving your first gem even before the voice says GO. This gives you a precious seconds or so to perhaps get your first power gem so you can...

2. Get the 2x multiplier gem early

It really helps if you get the x2 multiplier within the first 10 seconds of the game. This gives a good boost to your score moving forward.

3. Get the multipliers

Multipliers are produced when you get rid of 12 or more gems with 1 swap. So far the easiest way that I have found to do this is to explode a power gem and hope that you get as least 1 cascading match (9 from power gem, 3 from cascade). Be careful though, as you need to wait 10 seconds after a multiplier appears before you can get another one. So pace using your power gems so you don't waste them.

4. Power up!

Since Power Gems are the quickest ways to get multipliers, try and get as many as possible. This is done by matching 4 gems. To me, the problem with matching to get Power Gems, is that it keeps 1 gem in place and that sometimes throws me off on what are the other gems in the surrounding area. So I occasionally need to take a second to re-evaluate once I get a Power Gem, unless I quickly see another match on an area in the board that was not affected by the 4 gem match.

5. Avoid using the Power Gems at the sides

If you use the Power Gems at the absolute sides of the playing area, you are going to lose out on 3 gems when it explodes. So unless you are sure of making 2 cascading matches after to make 12 gems for a multiplier, don't match Power Gems at the sides!

6. Keep up the speed

You get speed bonuses if you make quick matches. The bonus is added to each match that you make until you fail to slow down. The first bonus of 200 if you make 3 matches within 2 seconds. This will then build up to a maximum of 1000. The higher your speed bonus, the longer that you have before you lose the bonus. So what does this all mean? Keep matching like crazy and don't stop!

7. Maximize the Hypercubes

Hypercubes are created when you do a 5 gem match and it destroys all the same coloured gems that it is swapped with. These are harder to get than the Power Gem and pay-off is quite good as you get a base of 400 points per gem. But why settle for a measly 400 points per gem when you can get more with the multipliers! So don't be so quick to do a Hypercube swap. Try to do one when you have at least a multiplier. Obviously be sure to swap with the gem that most fills the playing area to get more bang for your buck.

8. Don't waste the Hypercubes!

Hypercubes don't come easy. So why let them go to waste? Be sure NOT to do the following:

• Match a Power Gem next to a Hypercube as it will destroy the Hypercube.
• Swap a Hypercube with a Hypercube (DUH!)

9. Stay on the downlow

If possible, keep matching to the lower portion of the playing area. This minimizes the movement of your mouse, making you a bit faster and also has a higher probability of causing cascading matches, since the gems need to drop and new gems need to come in. The further up you play, the less gem movement there is, thus less probability for cascading matches.

10. Don't be afraid to quit

After a while, you would have gotten the hang of things and know when you are having a crappy game. If things are bad, just bail! Just click on Menu-> Main Menu -> Yes -> Play Now and voila! A fresh start!

Generally, if you haven't hit a 2x multiplier within the first 15 seconds of the game, you aren't going to get a good overall score, so unless you think things are gonna pick up (lots of same coloured gems on screen and you have a 2x and 3x multiplier just waiting to be matched), you might want to consider restarting to save you time.

Weird Tip: Switch off sound

Yeah, I thought this was a stupid idea too. I initially thought that the sound isn't distracting and was good to indicate when time was running out. But then I found that once I turned the sound off, I wasn't so bothered with the time anymore and was able to focus more on the playing area and just getting good matches. This allowed me to more scores above 100K.

Ok, so those are my tips for the game! Hope it benefits other Bejeweled Blitz players on Facebook. If you have found any other useful tips, please share them in the comments section below.

Now I'm off to trying and breach that 200K barrier... Wish me luck and Have fun!

Please leave a comment if you found this guide useful! If you are a Mafia Wars player, you can also check out my Mafia Wars strategy and tips here.