Bejeweled has long been considered the videogame obsession of
housewives—and no one else. But you can't cast a net that captures 350
million people without snaring at least a couple of hardcore gamers. Bejeweled
Twist aims to bridge the gap between
the two camps with a sweet dollop of complexity.
The
formula is nearly the same. Matching three or more colored gems removes them
from play, allowing all the jewels above to settle into the vacant space. But
rather than swapping two neighboring gems to begin the avalanche, players
rotate a cluster of four clockwise. There's no such thing as a wrong move in Bejeweled
Twist. This freedom lets you set up
bigger matches. These premeditated maneuvers are rewarded with gems that
explode or eliminate entire rows and columns with electrical blasts. With these
new power-ups come a few obstacles. Coal can only be trashed by power-up gems.
Bombs count down with every gem twist, and can potentially end your game.