BeJeweled 2 for Windows PC

BeJeweled 2 is so addictive that I am surprised that Jerry Falwell hasn’t denounced it as Satanic. This game became wildly popular on many online gaming sites, and now it can be purchased for cheap ($9.99 at Walmart) so you can play offline whenever you want. It is a puzzle game with only a few simple rules, but then again so is chess.

The object of BeJeweled 2 is sort of like the classic game Connect-Four. You are presented with a 8x8 square board that is populated with 7 different kinds of jewels. All you have to do is line up 3 or more jewels in a row and they will clear off the board and the remaining pieces will drop down. Naturally, you want to clear the lower rows first. If you connect 4 jewels, it will create 1 power jewel that will explode if you form another row with it. Collecting 5 jewels will create a super jewel that will destroy all other jewels of a certain type.

The real key to playing the game is not just in forming rows of jewels, but in setting off cascading chain reactions of connecting rows. You get bonus points for each consecutive row formed as the jewels drop into place, and if you are really good you can rack up major points very quickly. The game progresses in levels based on a point system, and you must score more points per level in order to advance to the next one. If you leave yourself no more connections before reaching the limit for the level, the game ends.

There are four versions of BeJeweled 2 to play in this game: Classic, Action, Puzzle, and Endless. The Classic mode is the standard BeJeweled game that moves from level to level depending on your number of points. The Action version introduces a timer that will definitely raise your pulse as it clicks down. The Puzzle mode is an odd one where the game boards come in different shapes rather than the standard square. It can be tough at times. The Endless mode is exactly what the name says. You just play and play until you can’t stand it any more.

The graphics in this game are pretty cool for a cheap puzzle game. The jewel pieces are all big and colorful and the backgrounds are of some kind of scenic natural place. In between levels, you are treated to a psychedelic swirling thing that looks like the inside of a tornado. The sound effects are very well done with lots of ambient noises and different sounds for the combinations as jewel rows are put together and disappear. I was very impressed with the overall audio/visual impact of the game, and I think that the sights and sounds help feed its addictive gameplay.

One very cool feature of this game is a profile system that lets you keep track of your own scores. If more than one person uses the computer that the game is installed on, it helps keep up the competition.

BeJeweled 2 is the kind of simple puzzle game that can be learned in minutes, but takes much practice to master. Much like Tetris, it requires a bit of forethought in the early moves of the game, otherwise you might paint yourself into a corner and not be able to finish the level. I’ve played this game from five minutes to an hour at a time, and it never stops being fun. The install only takes about 20 megs and it doesn’t need a fast machine to run, so this makes a great little game to jump into when you’ve got a few minutes to kill. I highly recommend it to puzzle game fans.

Note: I noticed the main listing for this game does not work. It gives a Page Cannot Be Displayed error. I’m not sure why this is happening, but I will report the bug.