Bejeweled 3 is a tile-matching puzzle video game developed and published by PopCap Games. It is the fifth game in the Bejeweled series following Bejeweled Blitz and succeeds Bejeweled 2 as the latest mainline title in the Bejeweled series. It was released for PC and Mac on December 7, 2010, as part of the 10 Years of Bejeweled celebration, which celebrated the 10th anniversary of Bejeweled, and has been ported to several other consoles afterward.
Bejeweled 3 introduces several new elements to the mainline series, with some features from previous spin-off titles such as Bejeweled Twist and Bejeweled Blitz being integrated into the game, such as being able to match while other gems are falling, the replay feature, new special gems, an achievement and ranking system, and more.
Gameplay
The main gameplay of Bejeweled 3 like previous installments in the series involves swapping two adjacent gems to form a line of three or more gems of the same color. When this occurs, the gems disappear, and new randomly generated gems fall from above, with gems above being affected by gravity, potentially creating a chain reaction. Unlike previous entries, the player can now swap other gems while other gems are still falling. If the player cannot find a match, they can use the Hint button to find a match. Unlike previous entries, there is no penalty for using the Hint button, although there is now a cooldown.
Matching four gems in a row creates a Flame Gem, which explodes and destroys the eight gems surrounding it when matched. Matching gems in an L, T, or + shape creates a Star Gem, similar to the Lightning Gem in Bejeweled Twist, which destroys all the gems in its row and column when matched. Matching five gems in a row creates a Hyper Cube, which detonates all gems of the color when swapped off the board. Like Bejeweled Blitz, it now activates when it is destroyed by a Special Gem while swapping it with another Hyper Cube destroys all the gems on the board. A match of six or more gems (which is only possible through a chain reaction) creates a Supernova Gem, which destroys all the gems on its row and column in a 3x3 area.
Game improvements include the Instant Replay feature from Bejeweled Twist, advanced animation transitions, animated backgrounds, and 3D acceleration. Bejeweled 3 features an achievement system known as Badges, of which are obtained after certain benchmarks.
Bejeweled 3 features eight game modes, four of which are available from the start and four of which are unlocked after reaching certain objectives. Unlike Bejeweled 2, the difficulty of unlocking each game mode has been reduced drastically, and the objective for unlocking each game is now displayed directly on the menu. The number of game modes present varies between platforms.