Bejeweled Blitz Tips and Tricks – UPDATE 12/2

I’ve received a few comments informing me that some of the information in this post is not current. I want to point out that the information in this post was current at the time this post was made (nearly 4 months ago). Since then, PopCap has updated the game and the Bejeweled Blitz Tips and Tricks provided below aren’t 100% correct. Particularly, people are wondering in Bejeweled Blitz how to get the point multiplier block to drop.

I didn’t like the update, personally. Now, it is much easier to score higher in Bejeweled Blitz. However, I have started playing the game again and collecting some information. As mentioned, I’m not certain exactly how to get the point multiplier blocks to drop. And, now that you can get more than one point multiplier every 10 seconds, my Bejeweled Blitz strategy will have to change. Stay tuned for more information.

Bejeweled Blitz High Score

Facebook Bejeweled Blitz Tips and Tricks for a Higher Score

So you want to score high on Bejeweled Blitz? Read through these tips and see if they can help you get a higher score.

I’ve been playing the Facebook game Bejeweled Blitz for quite awhile now. I’ve never really been good at puzzle games that are timed, as I tend to get ‘nervous’ due to the ticking clock. I am also color blind, which can cause problems in some puzzle games where there are many different colors, or the shapes of the blocks are all the same. I’ve come up with a few strategies that seem to help me in Bejeweled Blitz and I decided to write up some information regarding them in hopes that they will help other Facebook gamers. If you have any Bejeweled Blitz Tips and Tricks of your own, feel free to leave them as comments and I may just include them.

How the PopCap game Bejeweled Blitz is played on Facebook.

The facts from the FAQs.

• To score points you have to connect blocks in groups of 3, 4, or 5.

Blocks can only match with other blocks of the same color / shape.

• Grouping 4 blocks creates a ‘Power Block’ of the same color / shape.

The power block, when grouped, will explode clearing all surrounding blocks (on each side, above and below, and diagonally in all directions).

• Grouping 5 blocks will create a ‘Hyper Cube.’

The hyper cube is white(ish) and has no constant shape. It is used by swapping it with another block to either side, above or below it. When this is done, the hyper cube will destroy all blocks of the same color / shape as the block you swapped it with.

• Hyper Cubes that are destroyed in a Power Blocks blast are lost.

If you cause a power block to explode adjescent to a hyper cube, the hyper cube will be destroyed as if it were any other cube. For this reason, DON’T DO IT! Pay careful attention. If in doubt, use the hyper cube rather than destroying it.

• Destroying 10 blocks in a ‘cascade’ will cause a ‘Point Multiplier’ block to drop.

If you destroy 10 blocks in a cascade (making one move which subsequently results in other groups being formed and further blocks being destroyed) a point multiplier will drop. The first time this occurs a x2 multiplier will fall of a seemingly random color / shape.

• A ‘Point Multiplier’ block can only drop once every (roughly) 10 seconds.

After a point multiplier block drops, you must wait 10 seconds before another point multiplier block will drop. Forming a cascade of 10+ blocks within the 10 seconds after a point multiplier block has dropped will NOT drop another point multiplier. Wait until the 10 seconds has elapsed before attempting to form another cascade.

• A ‘Point Multiplier’ block will remain until it is destroyed by grouping or by being blown up.

Point multiplier blocks can be both grouped, or blown up with the power cubes / hyper cubes in order to gain the bonus. If you cause a point multiplier cube to drop prior to destroying an already dropped point multiplier, they will both display the same value. Regardless of which point multiplier you then destroy, the other point multiplier will increase in increment by one.

• ‘Point Multiplier’ blocks fall in increments of 1.

The first point multiplier block that falls will be x2, the next will be x3 and then x4 and so on. The limit of 1 point multiplier per 10 seconds would make the maximum point multiplier possible x6. I have seen x5 from time to time, but I have yet to see a x6 fall.

• Each game of Bejeweled Blitz is limited to 1 minute (exactly 60 seconds).

Players used to be able to continue playing even past 60 seconds as long as you were constantly scoring points. To do this you had to be quite quick.

• A player can earn a ‘Speed Bonus’ for making groupings very quickly.

This Speed Bonus appears to be in increments of 100 up to a maximum of 1000 where the total speed bonus is added to each move that earns points. From what I can tell you earn a speed bonus by completing a group and earning points once ever 1 second. If you are able to do this for 10 straight seconds, you *should* be at the maximum of 1000 points speed bonus per group made.

• Unlike other puzzle games, in Bejeweled Blitz you will never run out of groups to make.

Bejeweled Blitz has been created in such a way that you will never be without a group that can be made. Just keep looking, you’ll find it.

• The hint button is there for a reason.

The hint button in Bejeweled Blitz is a valuable thing. If you are stumped and a cannot find another group to be made, click it and see where it points you. It’s better than sitting there doing nothing.

• If something comes up, pause the game.

You can easily pause, then resume a game of Bejeweled Blitz by visiting the Menu screen. Just click the menu button. This will cause the game board to disappears to keep players from pausing the game in order to find a group to make.

The above information is to fill in any gaps in knowledge. I know some people that have been playing Bejeweled Blitz for a while and have never seen a point multiplier and just needed to know they exist. Now I can move on to the Tips and Tricks assuming the above knowledge is possessed by my readers.

Facebook Bejeweled Blitz Tip #1: Time to Tame the Timer

Timed games have always been a problem for me for many reasons. First, I enjoy studying a game board in order to plan my moves and strategies in a calculated manner. With timed games, this possibility is lost. I find myself comfortable at the beginning of a game and then nervously glancing at the timer as it nears zero. Obviously, if you’re watching the timer, you’re not looking for more moves.

Tip #1: Stop looking at the timer!
There is only one reason to ever look at the timer, and that’s to mark the time when a point multiplier block drops so that you know when to start trying for another. Otherwise, looking at the timer is wasting it.

How I do this:
Play the game as you normally do, without looking at the timer for any reason. When a point multiplier block drops, glance at the timer and mentally note the time. (Remember, you have to wait roughly 10 seconds after a point multiplier block drops in order for another to drop.) Continue playing the game and, after you feel a enough time has elapsed, glance at the timer again to see how much time has passed. When you’re at around 9 seconds, begin your next attempt at gaining a multiplier.

How will this help me get a higher score in Bejeweled Blitz?
If you’re looking at anything other than the game board, you’re not helping yourself get a higher score. You should constantly be looking for other groups that you can make. The timer will continue at the same rate regardless of you looking at it.

Facebook Bejeweled Blitz Tip #2: Stop looking and you’ll see more clearly.

This may seem odd, but there is a reason behind it. You see, the human eye contains photoreceptors. There are two distinct types of photoreceptors, rods and cones. Cones make up the center of your vision and are responsible for all high resolution vision. Rods make up your peripheral vision and are more sensitive to light and movement. Commonly, people will ‘focus’ on their center of vision while their peripheral vision is used to alert them to movement and provide a larger visual field.

Tip #2: Blur your vision.
By focusing on your center of vision while playing Bejeweled Blitz, you will only be examining 1 block at a time. If you slightly blur your vision you can scan larger areas more rapidly. As you do this from time to time, you will notice that it becomes less necessary to remember to do it. You will actually train your brain to scan using your peripheral vision rather than your center of vision.

How I do this:
I, very slightly, cross my eyes and focus on my peripheral vision. When playing the game you don’t need to see great detail, only what colors or shapes the blocks are. Doing this allows me to more easily find groups of of the same blocks next to one another and then scan for the third to slip in to complete the group. I normally only blur my vision for a few seconds at a time while searching until my brain / eyes remember to use my peripheral vision to search for and locate blocks. I notice that when I start playing again after being away for a few days, I don’t naturally scan the screen in this manner. Once I remember to blur my vision, I fall back into my normal routine of scanning properly and my scores increase. After awhile, however, my eyes and brain get tired and I (subconsciously) stop scanning. This is usually marked by a sharp decrease in scores over a few games. Rather then pushing the envelope, getting frustrated, and straining my eyes, I stop playing for awhile.

How will this help me get a higher score in Bejeweled Blitz?
Simple. If you’re looking at each block one or two at a time, you’re scanning very slowly. If you can increase that number to say, 4 or more at a time, you can locate blocks more rapidly that can be lined up. Just try it and see if it helps you. Blurring your vision is merely a way to trick your eyes / brain into using your peripheral vision to do the searching. Once you notice that you’re finding and making groups more quickly, you’ve achieved this goal.

Facebook Bejeweled Blitz Tip #3: You can’t win ‘em all.

You wont be able to set a high score with each game you play. The game generates blocks at random with the only exception being when it spawns a particular block because there are no other groupings on the game screen. I have 2 game modes, practice, and competition. In practice mode I search primarily for groups of 3 that can be made and secondly for making groups of 4. I focus on speed and recognizing the moves. In competition mode I scan first for groups of 4 or 5 that can be made and remember where the groups of 3 are that I happen to see. Once I know I’m not going to be ruining a better grouping by making a group of 3, I begin. I then keep scanning, looking for more groups that can be made.

Tip #3: Practice.
This is the easiest tip for me to give. With your first few games each night, focus on getting groups of 3, they are the majority of the moves that are available to be made. If you can recognize groups of 3 that can be made easily and quickly, you’ll have a very strong base to build upon. In a few other games, focus on making groups of 4. Groups of 4 produce a power block which can more easily be used to get a point multiplier block to drop.

How I do this:
I start out by making an initial search for blocks that could be moved into place, or completing groups that would cause blocks to fall into place, that would create a group of 4 or 5. For the first few weeks that I played Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook, I only looked for and made groups of 3. This was primarily due to not realizing that I could cause blocks to fall into place that would allow groups of 4 or 5 blocks to then be made.

How will this help me get a higher score in Bejeweled Blitz?
If you only get groups of 3 for the entire 60 seconds of a game, you will not have a very high score. Creating the point multiplier blocks are extremely important to achieve the upper tier, higher scores. The easiest way to create the point multiplier blocks is by using a power block to destroy 9 blocks and combining that with any other grouping in a cascade, or by using a hyper cube.

Facebook Bejeweled Blitz Tip #4: Plan your path.

As with most things in life, planning will help achieve goals. Planning a priority for what you want to achieve in Bejeweled Blitz is extremely beneficial. In rare cases, the game will start with blocks in place so that one move can create a hyper cube or a power block. These blocks offer the best chance of obtaining a point multiplier block, your ultimate goal. To be more effective with your gameplay, you need to be able to create these opportunities rather than relying on the randomness of them cropping up.

Tip #4: Prioritize
Think before you start a game and decide what you want to do. If you find that hyper cube’s make your games the best they can be, then you should focus on trying to create a hyper cube. More commonly, power blocks are used to destroy the 10 blocks in a cascade necessary to spawn the point multiplier.

How I do this:
I do my best to create power blocks while keeping a steady flow of the 3 block groups going to keep my speed bonus up. I will pursue a 5 block group (hyper cube) only if it appears easy, or likely that I will succeed. After I get a point multiplier block to drop I will focus on it in place of the power block until it is either destroyed or deemed unreachable.

How will this help me get a higher score in Bejeweled Blitz?
Focusing on only 3 block groups will keep you from reaching your highest scores. Considering just one point multiplier block will double the points received from each group made, the differences are quite profound. Making power blocks help you directly get more points by destroying more blocks, and also help you create point multiplier blocks.

My top 5 Bejeweled Blitz Highest Scores:

1. 337,050
2. 225,800
3. 205,000
4. 198,000
5. 193,300

Leave a comment with your Bejeweled Blitz Highest Scores.