Bejeweled

In this Death Match, create more match-3s than your opponent using the given power-ups.

Designer(s): RedsToad Match Type: DM (for 2 players)
Featured in: The Genius: Code Red

dmN: Bejeweled


Summary

Carefully plan your moves and explode the most gems the fastest! But don’t be too hasty, if your opponent can prove they are the better miner, they steal the round!


Rules

This game is divided into 7 rounds. The player that wins 4 rounds is declared the winner of the DM.


In each round, a rectangular grid with 7 rows and 8 columns, filled with gems of 5 colors, is presented to both players, alongside with a selection of powerups.

✏️ Players race to claim in the game room a number of gems they can remove in a single turn using their powerups. After a number is claimed, the opponent has 30 seconds to counterclaim a higher number. If a counterclaim is made, the first player does not get a chance to counterclaim that.

✏️ After those 30 seconds, the player who said the higher number will have to show proof by stating their actions that lead to removing that many gems within 2 minutes. If they are successful in removing at least the number of gems claimed, they win the round, otherwise their opponent wins.


The Grid

The grid is an 8x7 area, filled with gems of 5 colors: red, blue, green, yellow and purple. Each of them also has a unique shape, purely for visual clarity.

The grid has gravity. If a gem is removed, all gems above it are moved down a space to replace it.

If there is no gem above the removed one, then the space will be filled with a rock that cannot be removed by any means.


⚠️ The gravity will start only after all gems that could be removed are removed.


Gems and Powerups

There are 5 different types of gems. If there are ever 3 gems of the same type next to each other in a single row or a single column, they are removed (think Bejeweled or Candy Crush). If there are multiple lines of 3 involving the same gem, all of them are removed.


Gems can form lines of 3 through gravity or through Powerups. There are 3 types of Powerups: Starter, Passive and Active.

In each round, exactly one powerup of each type will be used. If multiple powerups of the same time are shown, players will select one they want to use.


Starter Powerups allow you to start your chain of removals. These are the starter powerups that will be used in the game:

  • S-Pick: Remove up to 2 gems of different colors from any positions on the board.
  • S-Swap: Swap any 2 adjacent gems.
  • S-Rotate: Rotate any 2x2 square of gems clockwise 90 degrees.

Passive Powerups allow you to change the rules of the game to have an effect on the gems that triggers automatically all throughout the round.

  • P-Recolor: Choose 2 colors, A and B. After any gem is removed, all gems of color A become color B.
  • P-Chain: Choose a color C. After any gem of color C is removed, the gem directly above it is removed as well.
  • P-Bend: For every 2x2 on a grid, if at least 3 gems are the same color, they are removed.

Active Powerups can be placed in place of any gem before showing proof. These powerups will take the color of the gem that they replaced and are activated when that gem is removed.

  • A-Column: When this powerup is activated, it removes all of the gems in the same column.
  • A-Plus: When this powerup is activated, it removes 2 gems above, below, to the left and to the right of itself.
  • A-Refresh: When this powerup is activated, the player gets another use of their Starter Powerup.

🔍 Here is an example of a possible round.




Reds claimed 15, Craw did not counterclaim.

Step 1: Reds has to show their proof. He places the Plus on F4 and swaps F4 and F5.

Step 2: D5, D6, E5, F5 are removed due to 3 in a row and Bend. F3, F4, G5, H5, F6, F7 are removed because of Plus. This is what the board looks like after this step:




Step 3: Gravity, all gems fall, empty spaces are filled with rocks:




Step 4: Ingredient Removal. Bend activates and removes C5, D5, C6.

Step 5: Gravity.




Step 6: A6, B6, C6 are removed

Step 7: Gravity.




No further changes happen to the grid, the round ends. Reds has claimed 15 and removed 16, so he wins the round.


⚠️ The board a player arrives at, after showing proof, will be used as the new grid for the next round, with rocks being replaced with random ingredients such that they don’t make a 3 in a row.

The player doesn’t have to succeed in showing their proof for it to be used as the next round’s grid. The grid can carry over with minimal changes.


🔍 Continuing from the example above, this is a possible grid for the next round:




Note that only the spots that were rocks are replaced with gems, everything else is intact.


✏️ Each player also will choose a powerup of each type that wasn’t used in the previous round.

🔍 For example, if A-Plus was the only available active powerup, then players can choose either A-Column or A-Refresh.

If S-Swap and S-Rotate were available, only S-Pick can be chosen for the next round.


If both players choose the same one, it is used for the next round. If two different powerups are chosen, both of them are presented (and the players will have a choice of which one to use in the next round).


Game End

:Token: :Garnet: The game continues until a player wins 4 rounds. That player will win the DM and 5 garnets.


Administration

⌛ Each round has a 10 minute time limit. If no player answers within the time limit, Amaranth wins the round.

Players can answer in #dm5-n-game-room at any time during the round. This starts a 30 second timer.

During this time, the opponent can say a higher number to steal the round.


The player who has to show the proof has to list all of their powerup picks, where they place active powerups, what colors they select for passive powerups and how they resolve starter powerups.


After the round is over, both players have to select new powerups for the next round.


@DM Participant

📌 Clarification: Order of operations

This is the full list of how things are processed.

  • Placement of active Powerups.
  • Starter Powerups use.
  • If Pick and Recolor are used, recolor gems.

[start loop]

  • 3 in a row / Bend check. Removal of such gems.
  • If any Active powerups are removed, resolve them.
  • If Recolor or Chain are triggered, resolve them.
  • If previous step had an effect, go back to [start loop]
  • Resolve Gravity.
  • If there are any more gems that can be removed from 3iar / bend, go back to [start loop]

[finish loop]

  • If Refresh was activated, go back to Starter powerup use

  • Calculate score, end round.

📌 Amendment: Available notes

You may use any not automated during the DM.

Things for displaying information like real life props, notepad, excel sheets are fine.

Anything that processes the information you input in any way, such as formulas in excel sheet, programming, are not allowed.

Tags

Connect in a row    (The game involves players connecting pieces in a row, like gomoku.)

Grid-based    (The game involves play on a grid.)

Observation    (The game tests the players' observational skills.)

One-upping    (The game involves players racing to claim the high score, and the other players being given a chance to "one-up" the first high score declared.)

Piece removal    (The game involves pieces being removed from the board.)

Puzzle    (The game tests the players' abilities to solve puzzles.)