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Bejeweled Wiki
This page is about the original game. For the iPod version of Bejeweled, see Bejeweled (iPod).

This article is about the 2000-2001 game. For the franchise, see Bejeweled (franchise). For the HTML version of Bejeweled 3, see Bejeweled (HTML).

Bejeweled is a tile match-3 game developed and published by PopCap Games. It is the first game in the Bejeweled series, and the first game to be published by PopCap under their current name. Bejeweled involves lining up 3 or more gems of the same color in a row to clear them from the board, to score enough points to reach the next level.

Following the completion of the Java version of Diamond Mine in 2000, PopCap decided to develop the game into a retail title. Entering a deal with Microsoft to have Bejeweled hosted on other game sites for $1,500 a month, including a name change, PopCap received funds to release a retail version with Bejeweled, featuring pre-rendered 3D graphics, offline play, saving and more. The retail version, Bejeweled Deluxe, was released for Windows on May 30, 2001.[1]

The game was widely successful, leading to PopCap to port Bejeweled to several other platforms, including the Xbox, Palm OS, Windows Phone, and more. The game would also receive several sequels and spin-offs, with the game being followed by a direct sequel in 2004.

Gameplay[]

Bejeweled 1 Start

The beginning of the Normal Mode, featuring on-screen instructions, from the Deluxe version.

The objective of Bejeweled 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, but also when two chains are formed in one swap. When chains are formed, the gems disappear and gems fall from the top to fill in gaps. Sometimes, chain reactions (referred to as cascades) are triggered, where chains are formed by the falling gems. Cascades are awarded with bonus points.

The game features a Hint button that shows the player a valid move, at the cost of losing points and having the progress bar retracted

Feature

Screenshot of the original Flash version

Bejeweled features two modes:

Normal Mode[]

Also known as Classic Mode or Simple mode in some versions, the player must make matches to fill the bar at the bottom, when it is full it warps the player to the next level. The game ends when there are no more moves that can be made. Early versions of the flash game do not have this mode.

Timed Mode[]

Also known as Action Mode or Time Trial mode in some versions, the game starts with the bar half full. It will then start to decrease every second, and the player must make matches to add more seconds, with bigger moves getting more time. The player will be warped to the next level when the bar is full; the game ends when the bar empties. When no more moves can be made, the game reshuffles the gems.

Development[]

Bejeweled deluxe pre release cgm

Pre-release screenshot from Causal Game Market 2007

Main article: Diamond Mine

Originally designed under the name Diamond Mine named after the song by Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo — PopCap got its lucky break when Microsoft signed a distribution deal for the game, paying the developer $1,500 a month to host it on its Zone.com (later MSN Games) web portal. “We got a deal with Microsoft and they wanted it on their site, but under a different name,” PopCap co-founder Jason Kapalka told Business Insider in 2014. “Their vague excuse was that there was some game called Diamond Mines — plural — from the Eighties and they were too close, legally.” It was Microsoft that suggested the name Bejeweled. “At first I didn’t like it,” Kapalka claims. “It seemed like a really lame effort to be topical and sound like the movie Bedazzled starring Liz Hurley.”

Dimi pork

Don't Be Blah Bejeweled, a variant of the brand advert versions of Bejeweled

The game proved wildly successful, frequently seeing more than 20,000 concurrent players — a huge number in 2000. When PopCap suggested it sell the game to the Redmond giant for $50,000, Microsoft refused — so Kapalka, along with co-founders John Vechey and Brian Fiete forged a plan to double down on its success. While the studio had ownership of the game itself, it didn’t own the rights to the name — so in order to take back control, PopCap did a deal: in return for the mark, Microsoft would get the rights to create branded versions for advertisers. This led to a slew of variants of the game, including Tyson Chicken, Smirnoff Ice And Purina-branded versions of the game, which usually altered the appearance of the gems and some visual elements.. There was even one for the “The Other White Meat” from the National Pork Board that had you swapping pieces of meat in Don’t Be Blah Bejeweled. “It was a source of mild embarrassment for a few years,” Kapalka has since claimed.

Music[]

Bejeweled Deluxe features in-game music composed by Peter Hajba (Skaven). There are three tracks that play throughout the game.

  1. Autonomous (Loading Screen)
  2. Network (Classic Mode)
  3. Data Jack (Timed Mode)

Ports and re-releases[]

Bejeweled was originally released for web browsers in 2000. Since the initial release of Bejeweled, the game has been ported and re-released to various amounts of platforms.

Web Browsers[]

The original version of Bejeweled, Diamond Mine, was built off the Java platform, but eventually also launched on Adobe Flash Player. The Flash version, like Diamond Mine, features simplified vector graphics, and an automatic hint feature. A newer version, with the final title, was released later that year as well, with different graphics.

The Flash version of Bejeweled was adapted into a Safari interactive page for iPhone and iPod Touch on October 11, 2007, where it could be played for free.[2]

Computers[]

A downloadable version of the game, Bejeweled Deluxe, was released on May 30, 2001 for Microsoft Windows, making it the first retail release of the game, and first retail release from PopCap. A port for the Apple Macintosh was developed and released by MacPlay, but was never hosted on PopCap.com, The downloadable version featured the ability to save games and record high scores, an in-game soundtrack composed by Peter Hajba (Skaven), and 3D pre-rendered graphics. It is considered to be the first full release of the game.

A re-skinned re-release of this version, Sweet Tooth To Go, was released by Pogo and PopCap in 2004. The re-release of the game introudces a prominent tooth character and centers the game around candies instead of gems. Despite being a visual re-skin of the game, the game adds a few quality-of-life features including an endless mode and title screen.

Consoles[]

Bejeweled was ported to the Xbox as a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade title, by Oberon Media. The game was also included in the physical Xbox Live Arcade collection.

Mobile and Smartphones[]

Bejeweled was ported to Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Blackberry OS and Pocket PC platforms by Astraware in 2001. The Astraware version had the ability to switch between color modes, switch between the Diamond Mine and Bejeweled Deluxe appearences of the Gems, a special Endless mode named Continuous, and more.

Bejeweled was ported over to the Java ME platform for feature phones in 2008, and was published by Electronic Arts. This version of the game featured a short jingle, graphics and some interface elements from Bejeweled 2.

Other[]

Bejeweled was ported to the iPod clickwheel on April 15, 2008. The version of the game featured Bejeweled 2 graphics and sound effects, however retained Bejeweled Deluxe music.

A plug and play version of Bejeweled was manufactured by Jakks Pacific and released in 2008. The version of the game features Bejeweled 2 graphics, music and sound effects.

Bejeweled Deluxe has appeared on several in-flight entertainment products, usually including controller support and altered UI elements.

Legacy[]

A sequel to Bejeweled, Bejeweled 2, was released in 2004 and expanded upon the game's formula.

PopCap subsequently released dozens of other games, including two sequels and several spin-offs to Bejeweled, and the company became a foundational influence on mobile and free-to-play gaming. In 2011, a decade after Microsoft had turned down PopCap’s proffer of $50,000, EA had acquired PopCap in a deal worth $1.3 billion.

Trivia[]

  • The first version of Bejeweled Deluxe originally did not feature a save feature. This would be added in version 1.41.
  • ''Network'' is based on the soundtrack of Delta, a game that was released in 1987.
  • ''Data Jack'' (the music used in Timed mode) contained some parts of the song were that were left unused in the final game. These parts can only be accessed through a music tracker from the original file.
    • Additionally, one of the unused parts was in the original version of the song when it was released by Skaven back in 1994, around seven years before the game was released. The part was cut for unknown reasons during revisions. The original version can still be put back in the game as long as the player follows the instructions for replacing the game's music files with custom tracks.
  • ''Network'' and ''Autonomous'' also appear to have unused parts in their original files, but are hidden. They can be uncovered if the user types in the pattern number in an empty pattern slot. The unused patterns in ''Network'' are patterns 10 - 11 and 41 - 42, while ''Autonomous'' is patterns 1, 9, and 11.
  • Every time the level is completed, the board will change its appearance.
  • Mobile ports of Bejeweled for various platforms feature Bejeweled 2 visual elements, but gameplay is identical to this version of Bejeweled.

Gallery[]

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Bejeweled Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Bejeweled.

References[]

External links[]

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