The beginning of a Diamond Mine game.
- "Dig deep to unearth buried treasure."
- — Game menu description from Bejeweled 3
Diamond Mine, also known as Diamond Mine Mode, is one of the eight playable game modes in Bejeweled 3. In the PC and console versions, it is a Secret Mode that becomes available by completing any four mini-quests of the first Lost Relic of Bejeweled in Quest mode. The name of this game mode is a reference to the fact that Bejeweled was originally known as Diamond Mine, but the name was changed because it was too similar to that of an existing game called Diamond Mines.
Gameplay
An overview of the game mode's instructions.
In Diamond Mine mode, the board consists of a large digging machine with the gems placed inside it. Within the machine are also numerous patches of earth, which make up the lower rows. The objective of Diamond Mine mode is to clear the patches of dirt, which is done by matching gems adjacent to the earth. Using Special Gems can also clear patches of dirt. Between the sixth and seventh row down is the Dig Line, a white line that goes across one side of the board to the other. When all the dirt above the Dig Line has been cleared, the digging machine moves two rows (four if all the dirt within the machine is cleared) downward where more patches of earth await.
Each game of Diamond Mine begins with only four basic gem types: red, yellow, green, and white. As the game progresses, blue gems and violet gems are added in attempt to make the game more difficult. Interestingly, orange gems do not appear at all in Diamond Mine mode.
The notification that appears when dark rock is seen for the first time.
In addition to dirt, patches of rocky earth can also be found in Diamond Mine mode. Unlike dirt, rocky earth requires additional adjacent matches of gems in order to clear it. Rocky earth includes rocks (requiring two matches to clear them), stones (requiring three matches to clear them), and boulders (requiring four matches to clear them). Similar to dirt, rocky earth can be cleared faster by using Special Gems. Upon reaching 200 meters, a new type of rocky earth called dark rock is introduced. Unlike rocks, stones and boulders, dark rocks cannot be cleared by matching gems adjacent to them; they can only be cleared by using Special Gems.
Throughout each game of Diamond Mine, Hypercubes will randomly drop onto the board. These can be used to help clear patches of dirt and rocky earth more effectively. Hypercubes can also be found embedded in random patches of dirt, but these only appear from 40 to 120 meters.
Displayed at the top of the digging machine is the Timer Bar. Each game of Diamond Mine begins with a time limit of ninety seconds. When all the earth above the Dig Line has been cleared, a 30-second time bonus is awarded in which thirty seconds are added to the Timer Bar. If all the earth inside the digging machine is cleared, a 90-second time bonus is awarded in which ninety seconds are added to the Timer Bar. In the iOS and iPad versions of Bejeweled 3, the respective time bonuses awarded in Diamond Mine mode are instead twenty-five seconds (for clearing all the earth above the Dig Line) and seventy seconds (for clearing all the earth within the machine).
The digging machine breaking down upon time limit expiry.
When the Timer Bar reaches thirty seconds, "The Voice" will announce a brief warning regarding the amount of time remaining. When the Timer Bar reaches fifteen seconds, the digging machine begins to flash a bright red glow and a warning siren can be heard. These effects intensify as the time limit approaches expiry. When the time limit runs out, the game ends in which the digging machine breaks down in a series of explosions.
Upon completing a game of Diamond Mine, a Stats Screen will appear with various information about the finished game, such as the maximum depth reached and the total duration of the game.
Scoring
Unlike some of the other game modes in Bejeweled 3, points in Diamond Mine mode are not earned by matching gems. Instead, collecting various treasures that are embedded in random patches of dirt awards points. When treasure is unearthed, it floats toward and places itself inside a cylindrical glass container that is suspended by chains to the left of the digging machine (the container is not present in the iOS version of the game; unearthed treasures instead float toward where the score is displayed and then disappear). No matter how much treasure is collected, the container does not seem to overfill. It is worth noting that points in Diamond Mine mode are awarded in the form of currency except in the iOS and iPad versions of Bejeweled 3.
The treasures that can be unearthed in Diamond Mine mode consist of the following:
- Gold – These appear as sparkling gold nuggets. The amount of points earned from collecting gold ranges from 2,000 to 6,000. Gold can be seen throughout each game of Diamond Mine, but it appears less frequently as the digging machine reaches further depths.
- Diamonds – These appear as shimmering crystals. There are four different colors of diamonds: cyan, blue, violet and red. The amount of points earned from collecting diamonds ranges from 10,000 to 25,000, with cyan diamonds being worth the least and red diamonds being worth the most. Unlike gold, diamonds are not seen until the digging machine reaches 120 meters. Strangely, the amount of points displayed when diamonds are unearthed is larger than the actual amount of points awarded. This is referred to as a "Crystal Tax" by Bejeweled fans. Interestingly, this oddity is only present in the PC version of Bejeweled 3.
- Artifacts – These appear as various objects that are often decorated with colorful jewels. When an artifact is unearthed, it floats toward the front of the glass container where it displays its name and point value. A total of forty-six different artifacts can be found in Diamond Mine mode, with each artifact having their own point value (ranging from 7,500 to 150,000 points). Artifacts can be seen throughout each game of Diamond Mine. Sometimes it is possible to collect the same artifact twice in a single game.
Gameplay tips
- Focus your matches on ones near the ground.
- Generally, vertical matches only dig one space while horizontal matches dig three or more, so try to focus on horizontal matches.
- Focus on the tougher areas first. Rocky ground is denser than regular earth, and destroying the rocks tends to incidentally dig around the rocks as well.
- When triggering a Hypercube, try to hit a color with lots of gems near the ground.
Trivia
- At the beginning of each Diamond Mine game, the uppermost patches of dirt have grass growing on them.
- Pausing the game anytime in Diamond Mine mode causes the gems on the board to vanish, but they reappear whenever the game is resumed. This most likely happens to prevent "cheating."
- In the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Bejeweled 3, reaching a depth of 200 meters or lower in Diamond Mine mode awards the achievement/trophy Diamond Miner.
- In Bejeweled HD, the iPad version of Bejeweled 3, the sound of the digging machine breaking down is slightly different.
- According to an early screenshot of Bejeweled 3, the digging machine originally had a simpler appearance and it was more orange in color.
- According to evidence found inside the game files of Bejeweled 3, it seems that the original name of this game mode was Buried Treasure.
- The official soundtrack of Bejeweled 3 even refers the music featured in Diamond Mine mode as such.
Names in other languages
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