YAY... my blog is back up! Weebly had some problems but it looks like everything is working again!
And I wanted to let you know about the article I wrote!
I must say that I waxed poetic about hyper cubes in an article that I wrote for ezinearticles!
It's all about my love for hyper cubes. If you haven't read it, click on the link below!
Exalting The Hyper Cube
You'll discover one of the "secrets" of my high Bejeweled 2 game scores in the article! To get all of the secrets, click on the "Improve Your Game" tab!
Happy Gem Matching!
Julia Gemstone
I used to hate the automatic "hint" in Bejeweled 2 - to me it was a sign of failure if I couldn't figure out what move to make before the automatic hint showed me.
I thought I had 15 seconds to determine where the move was, but I timed it the other day and it looks like it's only ten.
Well, since I started playing Bejeweled online in the timed version against others, I've begun to look at the hint in a different way.
When you play the timed version, ten seconds out of a couple of minutes is a LOT of time!
Big warning, though... in the timed version, it looks like every hint you take removes points from your score! You really do have to be pretty desperate to use it!
But then, if you wait the ten seconds, you lose points, too, so it's really a toss up in losing time or points... or sometimes both when you're playing the Bejeweled online timed version!
Also, when playing the Action version of Bejeweled 2, the hint can be the difference between keeping your game going, and running out of time.
I still like to try to "beat the hint" in Bejeweled 2 Classic, and try to avoid the hints in the timed games that are played for prize money, but the hint CAN be "friend" in a dire situation!
Happy Gem Matching!
Julia Gemstone
Be sure to check out my new eBook - "Bejeweled 2 Secrets!"
I am just so excited! I finally finished my new book calle "Bejeweled 2 Secrets!"
I knew from watching all of the blogs, forums and question sites that you REALLY wanted to be able to jump your Bejeweled 2 scores up dramatically, and after playing the game for hours upon end for the last three years, I knew I could help you!
My new eBook has hints and tips and FOUR videos to show you how to increase your Bejeweled 2 scores, PLUS a really neat section called "What Would You Do?" that has sample screens with a potential hyper cube in it, and you can see if you can spot the move you need to make to create the ability to make a hyper cube!
Just click on link below to find out more about my great downloadable book, and start to increase your Bejeweled 2 scores instantly!
Bejeweled 2 Secrets!
Happy Gem Matching!
Julia Gemstone
You can watch me cross the three-million mark in this game of Bejeweled 2 Classic.
I'm a big fan of Firefox and Flock as my browsers of choice, but unfortunately, the online games don't usually work with them.
Everybody seens to jump on the Internet Explorer bandwagon and forgets the others!
So if you want to play Bejeweled 2 online, you'll have the best luck starting with Internet Explorer. All of the versions I've played have required an activeX installation or other kind of plug-in, and so far my computer hasn't experienced any adverse affects from the downloads.
So if you've held back from upgrading to the newest version of Internet Explorer, it's probably a good idea to make that move to keep up with online gaming!
Julia Gemstone
There are actually several ways to play Bejeweled:
1) The classic version (my personal favorite) which allows you to play without a time constraint until you no longer have any moves to make.
2) The Action Version where you try to "beat the clock" or keep the clock going.
3) The timed, online version used for playing against others to see who can get the highest points in a three-minute period of time.
It's important to note that when you are playing the 3rd version, you need to do things a little differently than the other versions.
As you probably know, a "hyper cube" is created when you're able to match five of the same color gem in a row. This is the rarest of matches, so it has special powers. If you move a gem into a hyper cube or move a hyper cube into a gem, all of the gems of the same color on the grid are zapped.
Also, if you don't use a hyper cube on one level, it will "follow" you to the next level and won't disappear if it's not used.
Creating these hyper cubes is valuable for two reasons -- to get a lot of points fast and to allow more possible moves when you don't have many choices.
In the Classic and Action versions that come with the PC game, it's wise to save and protect your hyper cubes from being exploded until you absolutely have to use them, because they can save your game when you have no other moves to make.
In the timed, online version, though, you don't want to save your hyper cubes. As you move from level to level in your three-minute period of time to play the game, each level has a higher point values for your moves (as do all of the versions), so to be able to get the most points in the time allotted, you need to get through the level you're on as fast as possible. Exploding a hyper cube into a gem that zaps all the other gems of the same color can get you through a level faster so your points can rack up faster and higher!
So, just remember, save and protect your hyper cubes when you're playing the Classic and Action versions, but use them quickly in the 3-minute version!
Julia Gemstone
Playing against others online is always a fun way to challenge yourself!
I've played on two sites -- SkillJam and WorldWinner. SkilJam has joined forces with WorldWinner, so I guess that means I've just played for cash on one site! But there are others, such as iwin.com. I figure that more will be cropping up as the online gaming industry continues to explode.
So how many points do you need to win when you're playing against others online in the Bejeweled 2 timed game?
I like to play against four others, which is the the level with the fewest players allowed. I've found that if I can reach scores over 4,000, I have a fair chance at winning the round, and if I can reach a score of over 5,000, I have a good chance.
The problem is that I don't believe the same game can possibly be played in a round, so you're not really pitting yourself against others who have the exact same gems to work with and the exact same gems falling from the top after a match is made, so the competition has a big element of luck involved.
So if you haven't tried the online timed games, consider practicing with their ffree practice games before venturing against those who play for money! When you feel confident with your average scores, then go for it!
Julia Gemstone
I'm just an ordinary person - no special powers when it comes to game playing. I just gained skills playing Bejeweled by playing it a LOT -- while on conference calls, in airports, as a prelude to sleep, as a wake-up before work... ALL the time!
I love the way the gems fall from above, the sounds of a power gem exploding and a hyper cube being created. When the sounds disturb others, I can play the game with the sound turned off and just imagine the sounds that they make and the narrator applauding my moves with and "Excellent" or Incredible!"
And I consistently play games with scores over 500,000 - many over a million.
My computer crashed in April - the one with every game in my "high scores" list over 2 million, and I've since played on my laptop and racked up scores from a low of 1,640,817 to 5,097,547 since I started playing it there.
I thought that this addiction needed channeling, so I created this blog to be able to find others who are also addicted, and share some of my tricks.
It's definitely NOT a "Bejeweled Anonymous" blog - and I take no responsibility for further corrupting the lives of those who are as addicted as I am, so don't blame me if your butt gets bigger because you're playing more Bejeweled and exercising less! :-)
I hope you gain some insight and realize that you don't have to be "Rainman" to score big in Bejeweled 2 Deluxe on your computer or Bejeweled Online!
Julia Gemstone

How was I to know when I first played Bejeweled that I would be as addicted as I am! It seemed like such a simple game by PopCap Games but I discovered it to be an irresistible, strategy-laden phenomenon that has swept the world!
Not only can you play Bejeweled 2 Deluxe in the comfort of your own home, but it has spread to online playing for money, and the latest news is that Bejeweled is available for Apple's iPhone -- pretty soon they'll be taking it onto the Spaceship Endeavor! Well, OK... maybe I'm getting a bit carried away! :-)
If you've played the game, you know how hypnotizing the colored gems, power gems, hyper cubes and wild explosions of gems on the 8 X 8 gem grid can be, and if you're like me, you learned how to play the hard way... by trial and error.
If you did learn that way, you went through a lot of pain. The rules are easy but the help is scarce! I couldn't find any strategy guides or hints beyond the four or five pop-up windows provided by the game when you play it for the first time.
I thought it was about time to remedy that. There are specific strategies that you can take to give yourself higher scores in a shorter amount of time, and continue playing the game longer, wracking up higher and higher scores, and I plan to help you with that!
For instance... if you've played for any length of time, you know that you should play from the top down, rather than the bottom up. Playing from the bottom up is the fastest way to get that "NO MORE MOVES" message, and just knowing that hint, you can double your score!
The great thing is that you can practice the game from your computer if you downloaded it from all of the many places you could do so, and then take that knowledge with you when you play Bejeweled online against others. It's a total win-win situation!
I have other clues and strategy tips. I don't consistently get scores in the millions for nothing! (yes, that picture has EIGHT hypercubes on it!)
:-)
Julia Gemstone