Hi All,

You may have wondered what happened to me lately.

Well, (and I can hear a gasp rising from the Internet crowd even as I type), I have had to WORK! Not
just regular work which I do all the time, but concentrated, nose-to-the-grindstone, 12+ hour a day work. I have maybe gotten in 500,000 Bejeweled 2 points in that time, so you know I'm going through withdrawal!

But today a line of thunderstorms is passing through, so I've had to turn my main computer off for a
while, giving me time to give you this great time about Bejeweled 2 Action Mode through my laptop.

I don't know if you've realized this yet or not, but when you're playing Action mode, you *can't* get
the "No More Moves" message. Action mode is designed to allow you to keep playing until time has run out due to timing rather than lack of moves to make.

So if you are desperately seeking a match to make, look toward the top of the screen where the last gems have fallen, because the game determines if you have nothing else to work with and drops gems
from the top that will keep it going!

Note: This is not true with the timed Bejeweled 2 game played through sites like WorldWinner.com, as I have often discovered!

I hope I can sneak off again soon to keep in touch. I miss my Bejeweled!

Until then, Happy Gem Matching!

Julia Gemstone

 
 

Awww... don't try to fool me. I know you play Bejeweled at work on the sly!

According to a recent survey by PopCap, "Tens of Millions of 'White Collar' Workers Play 'Casual' video games" (like Bejeweled 2) and a fourth of them play at work!

The survey goes on to say that 84% of those who play at work "feel more relaxed and less stressed out," and 52% said they felt more confident, more energetic and more productive and/or mentally focused when they played at work.

When I get into the Bejeweled 2 "zone," my mouse takes control like a vessel to a hypnotic world, and my brain seems to be able to think from both sides at once. Many of my best ideas have come to me while playing Bejeweled 2.

This article speaks of the value of games in the workplace:

http://tinyurl.com/258ah8

Not everyone agrees with us on this theory, however, so my Significant Other (AKA "Diamond Jim") and I have come up with a list of the "Top Ten Excuses to Use When Caught Playing Bejeweled 2 at Work"

10) Well, will you look at that! Someone has been messing with my spreadsheet!

9)  You say "Hyper Cube" like it's something trivial.

8)  Didn't you see that article about Nuns playing Bejeweled? Who am I to argue with the Reverend Mother?

7)  You've obviously mistaken my screensaver for a game.

6)  Shhh…our CEO's keynote speech is on after this commercial.

5)  These Hyper Cubes aren't going to protect themselves, y'know.

4)  My iPhone just called to say it loves me.

3)  My HMO recommends completing 5 levels a day to quit smoking.

2)  Hang on a few minutes. I'm only about 10,000 points away from beating my manager's highest score!

... and the number one excuse when caught playing Bejeweled 2 at work:

1) I think it's a virus… give me 6 hours to safely shut down.

Happy Gem Matching!

Julia

P.S. There really IS an article about Nuns playing Bejeweled - here it is!

http://tinyurl.com/38e4fo

 
 

I posted this question yesterday, so if you haven't looked at the "What Would You Do?" post, check that out before you look at this answer!

First of all, you definitely don't want to move any of the hyper cubes into a blue gem. It doesn't matter which blue gem you use, you would lose a second hyper cube because the blue power gem would explode and destroy the left-most hyper cube on the 5th row.

My top choice would be the one illustrated in the picture. Moving the left-most hyper cube on the 5th row into the orange cube to the left will allow you not only to protect the other hyper cubes, but also allow the blue power gem to explode with double points and explode away from any other hyper cubes!

The second choice would be to move that same hyper cube up to the green one on the 4th row, which would allow the hyper cube on the top row to move down, giving you some playing room in the upper half of the screen.

Is that what you would have done??? Let me know!

Happy Gem Matching!

Julia Gemstone

 
 

Hi all,

I've been on a Labor Day break the last week but I'm back and ready to challenge your minds!

Occasionally I want to challenge your minds and I call it a WWYD (What Would You Do?) post. I'll post a Bejeweled 2 Deluxe or Bejeweled 2 Online screen shot and ask what your next move would be. Then the next day I'll post what I would do.

Is my way the only way or the right way? No... not at all! It's just the way I look at things and strategies that I use to keep my game going.

Here is a Bejeweled screen shot with several hyper cubes and the time has come to use one of them. Which one would you use?

Think about it or add a comment to my blog - I'll give my suggestion tomorrow!