Word Chain Plus – Because the regular Word Chain just wasn’t enough…

Ladies and gents, we have a new contender in the world of free-to-win games. It’s a site you’ve probably heard of before, but they only recently introduced games to their venue.

And that site would be… SwagBucks!

I had no clue until Charlynda mentioned it! ^_^ So today we’re going to take a look at one of their games: Word Chain Plus!

OooooooOOOOOOOOooooooo…….

In this word puzzle game, you have four letters at all times. Click a letter (any one of them) and then change it to make a new word! For example, in the picture above I could have changed the T into an S to create, “says.” You can use the keyboard on the screen or the keyboard attached to your computer to change the letter.

But your job isn’t done, oh no! Then you pick another letter and change it to create another new word. Keep making new words, one letter at a time, for as long as you can! A chain of words might look something like this. (The changed letter is in bold.)

sets seas seat meat meal

And so on. Since this game is timed you have to be quick with your choice! You have 1500…. time increments (they’re definitely not seconds) which count down extremely fast. In the first level each time you make a word the timer fills back up to 1500, which is great! In later levels the timer doesn’t fill up quite as much for each word, so the pressure is REALLY on.

The timer also affects your score. Whatever time is left when you make a word, that’s how much the word is worth! So a word made with 1400 left on the clock is worth 1400 points.

But the fun doesn’t end there! Each letter in the word has a dot over it, and whenever you change a letter the dot turns green.

*Hums Unchained Melody*

When you turn all four dots green, you activate a multiplier. Each successive time you turn the dots green you add another number to the multiplier. So far my best has been a 12x multiplier! Woohoooooo!!! ^_^

It’s hard to build a big multiplier because you can lose the whole thing very quickly. Here are the rules.

1. If you select a letter that already has a green dot over it to become the new letter for the new word, that dot will stay green, but any other active green dots will turn back to white. You’ll keep whatever multiplier you’ve currently built up!
2. If you try to make a word that doesn’t exist then the entire multiplier goes bye-bye. (Proper names and acronyms are not valid words!)
3. This is the tricky one. You can use each word only once per game. If you try to use it twice, the multiplier disappears and you still have to think of a new word. Gah!!!! >_<

Multipliers are key to getting high scores, but they can be tough to build! Remember, if you get stuck, it’s better to lose your progress on increasing  the multiplier than to make an invalid word and lose the entire thing. Shake it off and start again!

Oh, and the longer you keep a game running, the harder it’s going to get. Not just because the pool of available words get smaller, but because Word Chain Plus will start locking the previous letter that you changed.

The lock hops to the most recently changed letter, and it’s amazing how even that makes things so much more challenging!

But no matter what, know that practice really helps. My scores have dramatically improved since I first started playing!

Pfft. Is that the best you can do?

My best score is now around 233k, but I didn’t feel like grabbing another screen shot. Sorry. *^_^*

 

How to Earn Swag Bucks

Currently you can play for free or enter tournaments. When you play for free, you have a chance of earning Swag Bucks after the game is over and you return to the game page. So far I’ve earned 2 Swag Bucks each time it happened.

For the tournaments you have several options, and all require you to pony up some Swag Bucks at the start.

I hope you win!

If you get really good then you can score a LOT of Swag Bucks through the tournaments. Play for free until you get the hang of it, then start with the small tournaments and work up to the larger tourneys.

With tournaments your first score is your final score, and you can’t redo it! So train train train before you spend your Swag Bucks!

 

Final Rating

I like this type of game because it makes you think, but you’re also restricted within some pretty tight guidelines. (Aka, four freakin’ letters!) Sometimes when games have a ton of options I get overwhelmed and stressed out. But I can totally handle four letter words. 

Oh! And yes, Word Chain Plus counts swear words as “real” words too. I spelled “fuck” and proceeded to giggle like a 5 year old. *^_^*

Final rating? 5 stars! The multiplier system added a great twist to what might have been a boringish game. Bravo!

What would you rate it? Do you already use SwagBucks?

 

Similar Games

If you like word games then you should try some of these!

• Boggle Bash at Pogo – Find words in a mix of letters, and be quick about it!
• Chicktionary at Club Bing – Those poor, poor chickens…
• Word Noodle at BugleGames – A slower-paced Boggle type game. (Single player too.) Great for practice!

Breakdown – Shake down, you’re busted!

I’m going to be totally honest here. I put off reviewing Breakdown at BugleGames because I thought it was just another version of Collapse. *^_^* And it pretty much is, but it’s also (unexpectedly) much, MUCH harder.

 It looks so innocent…

For brevity’s sake I’m going to assume that you’re familiar with Collapse already. If you aren’t, click the link to Collapse and go read it. ^_^

Now, here’s how Breakdown is different.

 

1. It’s a lot faster.

Right from the start, Breakdown is much faster than Collapse. There’s no time to waste!

On the upside, the speed doesn’t seem to accelerate quite as quickly as in Collapse. So you have quite a few levels before you get to the pants-wettingly-fast stage.

Well this isn’t so ba- OMG I’M GUNNA DIE!!!

 

2. It’s easier to die.

Aside from the increased speed, it’s flat out easier to die here. Why? Well, the point of death is when you hit the top of the screen. In regular Collapse you can hit the top of the screen and be just fine. It’s only when the next line pushes you above that point that kills you.

Not here! If you reach the top you’re D-E-A-D!

 

3. There are more colors.

In regular Collapse you start with red, green, and blue blocks. At level 4 white blocks get tossed into the mix. And that’s it. With Breakdown you start with red, green, and blue blocks. But then it starts getting more complicated.

• Level 3 – White blocks are added.
• Level 6 – Cue the yellow blocks!
• Level 9 – Aqua?? Wtf?

Crap!

Judging by the pattern, I’d say you get a new color every three levels. But I never got to level 12, so I can’t say for certain. *^_^*

No matter what, it’s a heck of a lot harder to find groups of three same-color blocks when you’re dealing with 5+ colors!

 

4. No area bombs.

Area bombs are “regular” bombs that occasionally crop up in new lines. When clicked, they take out a wide area of blocks. Woohoo!!

Except that Breakdown doesn’t have them. Instead you get three “killer bombs” to the side which are sometimes AWESOME and sometimes they totally suck. You can launch one at any time and it’ll bounce around the top, taking out a block here and there. If the block is part of a group, it takes the whole group out.

It’s also really tiny.

I had one bomb bounce around until the timer ran out, taking dozens of blocks with it. And I had another bomb hit one (1) block before it bounced away. >_<

So! Don’t rely on killer bombs to save your butt. And remember, those three bombs have to last your entire game!

 

5. Extra time at the end!

One of my pet peeves of this type of game is that once the last line loads, your time is up. It doesn’t matter if there’s a bomb on it or anything. You can’t click it!

Breakdown finally changes that. (SWEET!) After the last line loads, you have 5 seconds to click and clear whatever you can!

YES!!!!

This makes me extremely happy. ^_^ Those last 5 seconds are a godsend, so use them!!

 

Final Rating

The graphics on Breakdown are a little rough, but the more I played it, the more I *got* the game. ^_^ And quite to my surprise, I think I might like this more than the original!

With regular Collapse, the challenge is to keep the board clear (and make big matches) as the game gets faster and faster. With Breakdown the challenge is to keep the board clear (and make big matches) even though you’re dealing with more and more colors. It seems like a small change, but it makes a huge difference!

So, what would I rate this?

*Ponders*

I think I’ll go for 4.5 stars out of 5. The erratic nature of the killer bombs is the only strike against this one.

Try it and share your own rating! ^_^ What do you think of the additional colors? And if you get to level 12, is there another color added? (Seriously, I want to know!)

 

Similar Games

If you like Breakdown, you might also like some of these games!

• Spongebob Squarepants Collapse at IWON – This might be my favorite version of Collapse. ^_^
• Poppit! at Pogo – Untimed, unrushed, and addictive. Try it!
• Merry Poppings at Slingo – Pop balloons and play with oodles of powerups!

Hot Streak Solitaire – Cards + Fire = Ash. No wait, it’s AWESOME! That’s it. ^_^

If you enjoy solitaire games, then you should totally try Hot Streak Solitaire at Gamesville! It’s based off of tri-peaks solitaire, so named because of the three peaks (or pyramids) that form the playing field.

And deserts are REALLY hot.

This isn’t a new game for Gamesville, but it recently got a complete makeover! Now you’re helping Poke move through the worlds. (He’s trying to get back home, poor thing!) Right now there are three worlds, but 4 & 5 are coming soon. At least, that’s what the map says. ^_^

This map should help clear things up!

Will there be more worlds beyond that? I have no idea, but I kinda hope so.

Each world has 12 levels. Basically, when you finish a level Poke waddles a little bit across the screen. ^_^ And in order to complete a level you’ll have to clear all of the cards from the playing field. How do you do that? Well…

 

The Basics

If you’ve never played tri-peaks solitaire, don’t worry! This is a pretty simple game. ^_^

Each round you’ll start with 28 cards creating the pyramids, and 23 cards at the bottom that create a “deal” pile.

I’m with ya so far.

There’s also one card that’s face-up in the bottom right corner. This is the discard pile, and this is where you’ll play all of your cards!

To play a card from the pyramids you just click on it, and if it’s a legal play it will automatically move to the discard pile. You can play cards that are either one step higher OR lower than the current card. For example, I could play either a 2 or a 4 on that 3 of clubs!

If you reach a point where you can’t play anything on the discard pile, click the draw pile to flip a card over. Play on the new card, if you can!

To finish a level you must remove all of the cards from the pyramids. The draw pile is just there to help you clear the level, and there’s NO penalty for having draw cards left over! However, if you run out of draw cards and you can’t play anything else, you lose the round and have to try the level again.

 

Rewards

For each completed level you’ll get 500 GVs and 1 sweepstakes ticket. On levels 4, 8 and 12 in each world you’ll win 10 sweepstakes tickets instead of 1!

This means that if you played all the way through the (current) three worlds, you’d earn 18,000 GVs and 117 tickets!! (Once you reach the end you start back at world 1.)

The sweeps drawing occurs each day at 12 am GMT (That’s 7 pm EST.) and is for a $10 prize. The prize is automatically doubled for Gold members, which means they win $20!

If you aren’t a Gold member but you like the sound of doubled prizes, well I have good news! Non-Gold members can get double winnings for a month!

This is completely legit, btw. You can read about it on the Hot Streak Solitaire rules page. ^_^

You’ll need a business size envelope, a 3x5 index card, postage, and something to write with. (I suggest a pen.) Write ALL of the following information on the card.

• Your full name
• Gamesville account name
• Your mailing address
• Date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
• Daytime phone number and e-mail address

Seal the card in the envelope and mail it to:

"Gamesville Hot Streak Solitaire Automatic Prize Doubler "
c/o Lycos, Inc.
100 Fifth Ave.
Waltham, MA 02451-8703

As soon as they receive your entry you'll be eligible for a doubled prize for a MONTH!! Good luck to you! ^_^

 

Tips & Tricks

Score doesn’t affect how many GVs you’ll get, but the player with the highest score for the day is featured on the game page!

Congrats to houlygan2 & rotomojo!

I haven’t been lucky enough (yet) to be the daily high score, but I came darned close!

And no, I didn’t photoshop that. :P

Getting a HIGH score requires two abilities:

1. Successfully clear levels one after the other.
2. Create long streaks of cards.

Item #1 is the most important because you carry your score from one level to the next, but only if you clear the board. The first time you can’t finish a board, your score goes right back to zero and you start over. >_< (You only start over with score! You’re still on the same level, and Poke doesn’t take a step back or anything!)

Here are two tips for clearing the board.

 

1. Free the masses! Pick cards that reveal the most new cards.

Often in Hot Streak Solitaire you’ll have to choose between several paths. Whenever you have to choose between two (or more) cards, pick the card that will reveal the most cards directly below it.

In the picture below we can only play a 9 on that 10. (No Jacks around.) With two 9s on the board, which should we go for?

Oooh! Oooh! I know!!! *Waves hand*

The 9 of spades will reveal two new cards, whereas the 9 of clubs will only reveal one new card. Since we want to keep options open, we should pick the 9 of spades. Most likely we’ll use the 9 of clubs in a streak, but we still should use the 9 of spades first.

 

2. Free the populace! Pick cards that free up the lowest tier.

Sometimes your options will all reveal the same amount of cards. When that’s the case, go for the card that’s on the lowest tier.

In the picture below we have to choose between two 10s. Both will reveal only one card.

 Mmhmm. I see!

However, the 10 of spades is on the lowest tier, which means that more cards are “trapped” by it. (Three trapped cards, vs the 10 of diamonds’ two trapped cards.) In this case, I would definitely opt for the 10 of spades.

Take time to look at what’s below each card before you pick it. You don’t want to end up with a board that looks like this! *Points down*

“Uh-oh,” indeed.

That Jack has five cards pinned under it and no other cards to play off of. Even if we’re lucky and get a 10 or a Queen, it’s unlikely that we’ll get exactly what we need to clear the remaining cards.

And for the record, I lost that hand. XD

Let’s move on to streaks!

No, not hair streaks. Although… those look AWESOME!

A streak is when you play two or more cards in a row, without needing to flip a card over from the draw pile. The longer a streak is, the more points it’s worth!

I tried to figure the formula out, but I got confused. *^_^* (If someone else has figured it out, please tell me!)

In addition to the awesome points, creating a streak fills up the multiplier bar!

That thing.

Once your streak is over the multiplier bar stays where it is, so you can get the bonus on the next cards you play! However, the multiplier bar empties a little for every card you pull from the draw pile. Creating a new streak will fill it up again!

To give you an idea of how powerful streaks are, I have a little story for you. ^_^ (No pic because I didn’t think to take one. So sorry!)

I got on a roll with the cards and created a streak of 18! Then I looked at my score and nearly fell out of my chair. I had over 200,000 points, and that was my first hand!!! o_O Streaks are definitely worth taking time for!

So, how do you build better streaks? Well, the first step is to stop thinking of card order as linear.  (A2345678910JQK) Instead, think of the card sequence as a circle.

It looks like a clock.

It all connects! Every card has two other cards that it can be played on. And you can create streaks that move up and down. For example, you might play a streak similar to this: Q-J-Q-K-A-2-A-2-3

Here’s a simple streak for an example. We have a 3 on the discard pile and we also have a 4 and a 2 on the board. Which should we play?

Hmmmm….

If we play the 2 then the best streaks we could build are 2-3-4 or 2-A-K. But if we play the 4 we can make a streak that goes 4-3-2-A-K. That’s definitely the better option! And if we’re lucky, there might be cards underneath to extend the streak. *Crosses fingers*

Learning to build long streaks takes patience and practice. But you can’t forget everything that you learned about clearing the board too! If you ever have to pick between extending a streak over freeing buried cards, free the cards. The bonus points from the streak are useless if you can’t finish the board!

 

Final Rating

I’ll admit, I had a hard time writing about the new Hot Streak Solitaire. Why? Because whenever I sat down to play and get some pics I’d completely lose track of time. Seriously, hours would fly by before I remembered what I was supposed to do. Oops. *^_^*

So yes, I really enjoy this game! It’s addictive, easy to play, and looks great! I kinda want to finish this guide so I can play a few more rounds before bed. *Innocent whistle*

I rate Hot Streak Solitaire 5 out of 5 stars!

How about you? What would you rate it? Any tips to share? What other worlds should Poke visit?

For a glimpse of what it took to put Hot Streak Solitaire together, check out the Free2WinGames’ interview with the artist, Nick Sherman!

 

Similar Games

If you like solitaire-type games then you should give some of these a shot too!

• Pyramid Solitaire at IWON – Clear the pyramid by pairing up cards that equal 13! (It’s really freakin’ hard.)
• Treasure Hunter at Spigo – This is part tri-peaks and part bejeweled. Very fun!
• Rainy Day Spider Solitaire at Pogo – If you like Spider Solitaire you should definitely try the Pogo version. It’s really cute. ^_^

Miami Dice - Meet Mr. Super-Smooth!

This guy totally radiates "cool."

Miami Dice is a Yahtzee-like game that you can play only at Gamesville. You have fifteen rounds to score as many points as you can! Each round lasts 15 seconds (eek!) and in that time you have to decide which dice to keep and reroll the rest! After the third roll you're stuck with whatever you have and you must "Claim" a category.

Oooooh!

There are a total of twelve categories to pick from. Unlike regular Yahtzee, you can score any category multiple times! The "Matches" column tells you how many times you've scored that particular category.

Every now and then Mr. Super-Smooth pops up and shoots your dice. I have no idea why, but it's pretty funny. ^_^

Super-Smooth!

Scoring

This part isn't exactly rocket surgery. All of the points are listed on the card!

Handy!

For the top six categories the score is the number of dice times 100. If you rolled four 1's it's 400 points. Roll four 3's and it's still 400 points. Simple! ^_^

Two things to remember about the top half.

1. If you make a match in all of the top six categories you get an extra 1,250 points!!
2. You can only make a match in the top half if you have two or more of the same dice.

Let's say you're on the final roll and you need 1's to finish the top half. You hold onto the first 1 you get, but you don't pick up another 1 on the rerolls. Unfortunately, this means that there won't even be an option to score in the 1's section, so you won't get the bonus. Blast! :(

The bottom half is a little different. Most of the categories have set values, but two of them completely depend on the dice!

Working from the top category (in the bottom half) and moving down, first we have a Full House. This is when you haves 3 of a kind and a pair. (If you saw the show Full House, think of the three guys + the Olsen twins.) This is always worth 400 points!

Now the 3 of a kind and 4 of a kind categories are a bit different. Here the dice really matter! For 3 of a kind Miami Dice adds up the face value of the dice and multiplies it by 15. In 4 of a kind it adds up the face value and multiplies it by 25!

Here's an example of a low roll and a high roll for the 3 of a kind category.

• A low roll with three 1's, a 2, and a 4. (1 x 3) + 2 + 4 = 9. Multiply 9 by 15 for a score of 135.
• A high roll with three 6's, a 2, and a 4. (6 x 3) + 2 + 4 = 24. Multiply 24 by 15 for a score of 360.

That's a huge difference!!

The next two categories are 4 and 5 in a row. This means that the dice need to be in sequential order. For example: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are the only options for five in a row. Don't leave these for the end rolls as they're very hard to "force" if you don't have the right dice. (More details on how to get a 5 in a row in the Tips & Tricks section.)

Lastly, the Kilo (5 of a kind.) This is worth the most points!! It doesn't matter if you have five 1's or five 6's, they're both worth 1,000 points.

Check out my luckiest game.

You scored THREE Kilos?!?!

Yup! Three Kilos in one game. It was awesome. ^_^

Additionally, completing the bottom half of the card is worth an extra 1,000 point bonus!

IMPORTANT: You do not have to score a Kilo to complete the bottom half!! It's in a section all its own. Woohoo!!


Lightning Strikes

Starting on round 11, Miami Dice moves into the lightning round. This runs for the last 4 rounds and it's an excellent time to catch up. Everything is worth double!!

2,000 points?! Daaaaaaaaaaang....

For that particular hand I rolled five 4's! Woohoo!!!

The only things that do not double are the bonuses. Those will still be 1,250 and 1,000 points, respectively.


Gamesville Rewards (GVs)

The one downside to Miami Dice is that only the top five players in each game actually win anything. :( But if you're in the top 5, yay!!! ^_^ Each person in the top five (t5) gets 250 GVs. The number one player gets an extra 1,000 GVs, making their total 1,250 GVs!

Even if you're an awesome Miami Dice player you probably won't get in the top 5 every time. Especially if I'm playing. ^_~

BOO-YAH!!

Seriously though, I'm pretty good at this game. (Land in the top 5 most of the time.) So pay attention to the next section. ^_^


Tips & Tricks

Each round is incredibly short (15 seconds!) so you need to have a game plan before you jump in. Have an idea of what you want to do, but be flexible at the same time.

Here are some tips to get you started. ^_^

#1. Work to get the bonus points. With most games the top player usually has around 10,000 points. Earning both bonuses adds 2,250 points to your score. That's a huge chunk!

In order to get both bonuses you need to be strategic when picking what category to score. Remember, you have 15 rounds each game and 12 categories. To earn both bonuses you'll need to score in 11 categories, so that means you have only 4 rounds to act as a cushion.

Start by looking for pairs. Hold a pair and try to turn it into a 3-4 of a kind on rerolls. Claim your score on the top half of the card.

When you're picking what to hold, keep looking at the card to see what categories you still need.

Okay. I'm looking.

I have a pair of 3's and a pair of 1's. I've already scored one match for the 3's in a the last hand, so this time I'm going to keep the 1's and see what I can get.

However, if you end up with 3-4 of a kind in fives or sixes, go ahead and score in the 3-4 of a kind sections in the bottom half of the card IF you haven't scored there yet. Why? Well as you recall, the 3-4 of a kind categories are the only ones where the face value of the dice actually matter. Here's a roll where I have four 1's.

Picking the 1's category earns 400 points, while picking the 4 of a kind category is only 200 points. That's a 200 point difference between the two categories! But look at this next roll.

Here I have four 5's. There's a 175 point difference between the 5's category and the 4 of a kind category.

Now let's say that I use the four 1's for the 4 of a kind (200 points) and I use the four 5's for the 5's category (400 points.) My total for those two rounds is now 600 points. Not bad.

What if I reversed it? If I put the four 1's in the 1's category (400 points) and the four 5's in the 4 of a kind category (575 points) my score is now 975 points. That's a 375 point difference!

The numbers will fluctuate a little, but you should always use 5's and 6's for the 3 of a kind and 4 of a kind categories.

#2. Getting 5 in a row isn't easy, but if you keep your eyes open it doesn't have to be so difficult. ^_^

Ideally you want to start with 2, 3, 4, and 5. Like this:

Okay. Now what?

When you start with dice 2-5, then you need to get either a 1 or a 6 to turn it into 5 in a row. Conversely if you have dice 1-4 only one die will turn it into 5 in a row. The same thing goes if you have dice 3-6.

This means that starting with dice 2-5 doubles your chances of turning it into 5 in a row! Keep an eye out for it!

#3. Kilos are fun, but you need to know when to use them.

That game where I won 3 Kilos? I didn't end up in first place because I forgot to make sure I picked up the bonuses. (Doh.) Remember, you only have four "extra" rounds to play with. I claimed the Kilos but I'd already used up 2 of my extra rounds. That meant I definitely couldn't finish one section, and I had zero wiggle room in regards to errors and mis-rolls. That isn't fun. =(

It's hard not to claim a Kilo when it pops up, but you need to look at where you are in the game.

Imagine this: You're in the 14th round and still need to score in the 5's category to get the top bonus. Low and behold you get a 5's Kilo! It's the lightning round so it's worth 2,000 points. Wow!!

You could:

1. Claim the Kilo for 2,000 points and hope to pick up 5's on the last round to get the bonus.
2. Claim the 5's and get the bonus for an instant 2,250 points. (1,000 from the lightning round + 1,250 bonus.) The last round is whatever you want.

Which is better? It's a tough call and you have seconds to decide. I seem to have terrible luck when it comes to getting the last category filled on the last roll, so I'd probably opt for #2. It's a little safer.

In a situation like that I can't tell you what to do. But since you have time now, go ahead and decide. If it comes up you'll already have a plan ready. ^_^

#4. Exceptions to the rules.

If you get a Full House or 5 in a row and you haven't scored those categories yet, go ahead and claim them. Those two categories are VERY hard to get on your own. If you can score them early on you'll have a much easier game.


Final Rating

I'll be honest. I didn't have high expectations for a game called Miami Dice, and Mr. Super-Smooth didn't boost my confidence any. *^_^*

Yo.

Once I started playing I was surprised by how fun and addictive this is! The rounds are so fast that you're constantly scheming and planning ahead. And I LOVE that you can score categories more than once.

So yeah, this is now my favorite dice game. ^_^ I wish more people could get GVs, but at the same time I don't really mind having to push to get into the top 5. It makes things challenging.

I'd say this one is 5 stars out of 5. What would you rate it? Do you have any tips you'd like to share?


Similar Games

It's worth noting that I found Miami Dice because another reader mentioned it after reading Para-Dice. I'm always open to suggestions, so if you've heard of another dice game that's free to play (and has prizes) please share! ^_^

Until then, if you like Miami Dice, give some of these games a whirl!

• Para-Dice at Slingo - Three different ways to play this single-play Yahtzee game.
• Yahtzee Party at Pogo - Work in a group to trigger the Yahtzee bonus!
• Double Trouble at GSNOodles - One Joker is fine. Two is better. Three is great! Four and you're dead!

Treasure Hunter - A true gem.

Treasure Hunter is a beautiful game from Spigo. It's also incredibly addictive. The first time I played it I stayed up until 6 am!! *^_^*

Unlike Turbo 21, (which is addictive because it's so dang fast) Treasure Hunter is addictive because it's simple to play, but hard to master. It's an intriguing cross between Tri Peaks Solitaire and Diamonds. There is a clock, but you can play at your own speed. No rush. ^_^

Let's dig in, shall we?


The Cards (Part 1)

The deck is a standard 52 cards. You start with a pattern in front of you, a stack of cards face down, and one card face up all by its lonesome. This is the "waste" pile.

What a waste. *Ba-dum-bum CHING!*

The goal is to clear the pattern of all cards. Any card that is one rank higher or lower than the top card of the waste pile can be moved to the stack. Suit doesn't matter. It then becomes the *new* top card on the waste pile. ^_^

In the above picture I could put either a 5 or a 7 on that 6 of hearts. If I played a 5, then I could play either a 4 or 6 on top of it. With me so far? Good!

Now in this game, having the runs is a good thing! A run is when you play several cards in succession before you get stuck and have to flip over a card from the stack.

Just looking at the cards showing, I would play them like this:

5-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q

A run of eight isn't a bad start! As you keep playing you'll learn how to make longer runs. It takes practice. ^_^

If you remove all of the cards in the pattern before you run out of cards in the stack, you win the round! Woohoo!! But if you still have cards on the table when you flip over that last card in the stack, it's game over. Back to round 1 for you. :(

Oh, and did I mention that there are dozens of patterns?

Whoa...

Oh yes. ^_^ Dozens and dozens of different patterns. Some are harder than others, but I love the creativity!

Woof!

You never know what you'll get. It's great. ^_^


The Cards (Part 2)

Now that we've focused on the numbers and how to make runs, it's time to explain this part. You may have noticed it lurking in the upper right-hand corner.

What is that?

This is your jewel box, and this is where the colors of the cards come into play. You start out with four colors: Red, yellow, black, and blue. Any time you play two cards of the same color in succession on the waste pile, a jewel of that color falls into the jewel box.

For example, if you played a red Ace on top of a red King, a red gem would fall into the box. If you played a black Ace on top of that red King, no gems would appear.

Let's say you continue the run of red cards. For each additional red card you would get another red gem in the jewel box AND one swap! Swaps are used in the jewel game, which I'll explain in a moment. ^_^

As you progress through the rounds you'll get more and more colors to work with!

• Round 5 - Pink
• Round 9 - Grey
• Round 13 - Purple
• Round 17 - Green

Once your jewel box is full and after you finish the current round, you get to play the jewel game!


The Jewel Game

When the jewel game starts the jewel box will take center stage. It's much easier to see that way. ^_^ Your jewel box may look something like this.

Um.. Now what?

This is where the Diamonds aspect comes in. Your goal is to turn all of the tiles gold. And the only way to do this is by getting three (or more) same-color gems in either a row or a column. Diagonals don't count.

When you make a match the gems vanish, more gems fall down, and the tiles behind the match turn gold.

Ah. A work in progress.

And this is where the swaps come in! Every time you move a gem it's one swap. Unlike Diamonds, the gems don't have to create a match 3 in order to swap them. In fact, sometimes it may take 3+ moves to get gems in the right spots!

For each round of cards you complete, you'll get a few swaps. The amount of swaps you get depends on how many Big gems you have. (More on that in a moment.)

• 0 Big gems = 2 swaps per round
• 1 Big gem = 3 swaps per round
• 2 Big gems = 4 swaps per round

These swaps definitely help, but you'll usually get the most swaps from the cards. (Remember, each same-color card played after the 2nd earns a gem and a swap! A run of five same-color cards earns four gems and three swaps!)

Unless you have a ton of swaps banked, or a really awesome board, you'll probably run out of moves before the puzzle is completed. That's okay! Go back to the cards and try to earn more swaps. But most importantly, you must survive the round of cards to get back to the jewel box! If you lose then it's back to round one, and the jewel box empties.

Which really sucks. >_<

Let's be positive and say that you finish a jewel box. ^_^ What happens then?

Well, the most common gems left on the board will fuse into one BIG gem!

Pretty!!!

The new Big gem floats down the screen and settles into a piece of jewelry.

What is that? A decorative comb?

Once you have three Big gems you earn a jackpot spin!! Sometimes it takes a while to earn those Big gems. A long while.

Oh! And there are several jewel box patterns too.

Ooohh!!

Just to, ya know, keep you on your toes. ^_^

Nice!

That one is my favorite, but I rarely get it. =(

IMPORTANT: Once you make a Big gem you will not lose it! Even if you die on the next round, you'll still have that gem. *Whew!*


Jackpot

Once the jewelry is complete and you have three Big gems, you get a jackpot spin! The cash prize is a progressive jackpot with a max pot of $200. Spigo (like most sites) doesn't post the odds for winning, but you can assume the odds aren't great.

Since you probably won't win the cash prize, you want to win the most Spigos possible, right? But isn't the reward random?

It's true that the spinning is random and you don't know where it will land. However, the Spigo awards are not random! They're based on the the gems in your jewelry! It's a little tricky to explain, so just stick with me.

When you start the game and have zero Big gems, the jackpot "wheel" looks like this.

That's not very exciting.

That neon green box is the max Spigo award. When you get your first Big gem, the values change!

Oooh! That's much better!!

Here is the max Spigo award for having one of the following gems:

• Red gem = 10,000 Spigos
• Yellow gem = 12,500 Spigos
• Black gem = 15,000 Spigos
• Blue gem = 17,500 Spigos
• Pink gem = 20,000 Spigos
• Grey gem = 22,500 Spigos (unconfirmed)
• Purple gem = 25,000 Spigos (unconfirmed)
• Green gem = 27,500 Spigos (unconfirmed)

At the end if you have three different color gems, Treasure Hunter goes by the gem that is worth the most. For example, if you had a yellow, red, and blue gem, then your max Spigo award is 17,500.

If two of the gems are the same color, then the max Spigos are doubled! Two blue gems means a max pot of 35,000 Spigos!!

Sweet!

Now if you have three gems the same color, the Spigos are tripled! Three blue gems would have a max pot of 52,500 Spigos!! Sorry, no pictures of it. Getting three Big gems the same color is really hard. o_O

Remember, you're not guaranteed to win the max Spigos pot. But you have some control over what it will be!


Badges

All Spigo games have four different badges to earn. Each badge has a 1-time prize of Spigos. (Darn.) For Treasure Hunter, these badges are:

• Bling bling - Collect 20 large jewels for 10,000 Spigos
• The sophisticated jeweler - Get a jackpot spin with 3 identical gems in the jewelry for 25,000 Spigos.
• The persistent archaeologist - Get to round 35 and achieve a run of 20 for 50,000 Spigos!
• I want one of each! - Get a large jewel of each of the 8 possible colors for 200,000 Spigos!!

These are some tough challenges! On the upside, most of the challenges are spread across several games. Want to see my progress? ^_^

I guess that's not *too* bad.

Yes, despite my mad skills, I only have two of the badges. My longest run was 31, so "The persistent archaeologist" badge is halfway done. But I've never made it past round 17. Yipes.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love challenges!! ^_^


Tips & Tricks

1. The hard part about this game is learning to balance runs (5-6-7-6) with matches (red card-red card). If you focus on runs you'll fly through the rounds, but it will take ages to fill up that jewel box. Conversely, if you focus on matches you may not even survive the first round!

This is what most people get stuck on. Runs vs. matches. But really, there's a third factor that's extremely important. Revealing cards.

If you're almost out of flips and you have one card holding down a pile three cards deep, you're pretty much screwed. It's not impossible to win, but it's nearly impossible. ^_^

I now combine all three factors, in this order.

1. Revealing as many cards as possible.
2. Making matches that work for the jewel box pattern.
3. Clear as many cards as possible with each run.

Let me show you my least favorite pattern. ^_^

Eek!

As you can see, there are only two cards face up in this pattern. Each of those cards have a whopping fifteen cards pinned under them!

With this pattern I focus completely on revealing cards. I'm in complete survival mode. *^_^* Let's say I've worked through it a tiny bit and have revealed a few more cards. In this scenario I have two options. 1. A run of two, which would make a match AND reveal one card. Or: 2. Play a single card that would reveal one card which is also pinning other cards.

Option 2 is the better choice. The cards at the bottom of that pile are going to be hard to get to, and I don't want to wait until I'm almost out of flips!

Since I changed my strategy I haven't died on this pattern a single time. I don't get many matches, but I make it to the next level. Previously I focused solely on runs and matches, and this pattern killed me almost every time.


2. Making matches work for the jewel box is something that I'm still not great at. *^_^*

New gems fall from the left and fill to the right. This means you can plan your jewel box puzzle before you get to it! Making every match you see *will* fill the jewel box quickly, but the result may be such a mess that it takes 50 swaps to complete.

Look at the shape of the jewel box and think about where the next gems will fall. Maybe you want to avoid a match of red cards to wait for a match of blue cards. It's another aspect to consider.


3. Avoid speed clicking. When you're tired, it's very easy to absently flip through cards. Then omg, wait!! That was the card you needed!! But you flipped right past it and there's no undo button. It sucks. Get in the habit of flipping cards slowly, especially on troublesome patterns. That one card can make or break you.

However, if you're so tired that you can't hold your head up but you can't stop playing because you REALLY want that 3rd gem... Go to bed. You'll make silly mistakes and get frustrated if you push it. Get some sleep and tackle Treasure Hunter tomorrow. ^_^


4. The first three times you play Treasure Hunter, you'll get wonderful, helpful tips as you play.

To be honest, they usually annoy the tar out of most people. These helpful tips stay on the screen far too long and cover up the cards. (Tsk! Bad design!) Oh, and each time you clean out your cookies, you'll have to go through the annoying tips again.

The easiest thing to do is close and reopen the game four times. On the 4th try you'll be helpful-hint free and can actually play! ^_^


Final Rating

There is a reason that Treasure Hunter is Spigo's most popular game. It's difficult and yes, often frustrating. But when you finally get that jackpot spin... What a rush!!

Every time I sit down to play Treasure Hunter for "just a few minutes," I end up playing for well over an hour. The variety in patterns means that each game is a new experience and a unique challenge. I love that. ^_^

Graphically, there are several small details that really stand out. The steam from the cup of coffee, and the reflection from the glasses both amaze me. Those two items aren't used in any way, but they're beautifully rendered. Things like that are a really nice touch on an already great game.

I say it's 5 out of 5 stars. What would you rate it?


Similar Games

If you like Treasure Hunter as much as I do, then you might like some of these games too. ^_^

• Merry Poppings at Slingo - Make your way through 10 levels with 9 different types of balloons designed to help and hinder you! (Harder than it sounds.)
• Pyramid Solitaire at iWon - Find pairs that add up to 13 and clear the Pyramid!
• Diamonds at Spigo - Move gems into matches of 3+ and watch the Spigos fly!

Turbo 21 - Most addicting card game ever.

Okay, I have to write this review so that I'll STOP PLAYING Turbo 21!! It's like I opened a bag of heroin laced potato chips!

Turbo 21 is a Pogo game, and as you may have guessed, it's addictive. ^_^

The goal is to make cards add up to exactly 21. Whenever you get a stack of cards to equal 21, the entire stack/lane is cleared and you have a place for more cards! If you go over 21, it's called a "bust," and you lose 5 tokens. You have 4 "lanes" to place cards anywhere you want. (They went with a racing theme, if ya couldn't tell.) The total values of the cards are written above each lane, which helps with the math. ^_^

The number cards are worth their face value. (4 = 4.) Jacks, Queens, and Kings are all worth 10. And Aces are either 1 or 11. Turbo 21 automatically scores Aces as 11 points, unless that would make the lane bust.

A lane counting an Ace as 11 might say "soft" under the total. This means that if you add another card so that the total goes over 21, the Ace will squish down and count as 1 instead of 11. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of soft Aces. They mess with my speed math. :(

Now there are a total of sixteen 10 point cards, so the best thing to do in Turbo 21 is to make the lanes equal 11, and then drop a 10 point card on it for an easy 21.

This means you want to look for the following combinations:

• 2 + 9 = 11
• 3 + 8 = 11
• 4 + 7 = 11
• 5 + 6 = 11

With practice you'll see these combinations easily and quickly. Heck, last night as I was trying to sleep I kept seeing 9's and 2's. *^_^*

The more 21's you make, the more points you'll earn! So far the most 21's I've hit in one round was 16! The max is 18. That takes some serious skill. 


Timer Bonus

Turbo 21 has three difficulty levels, cleverly named 1, 2, and 3. The only difference between these three levels is the timer.

1. 70 seconds on the timer. If all 52 cards are used before the timer ends, you earn 15 bonus tokens!
2. 65 seconds on the timer. If all cards are used you earn 20 bonus tokens!
3. 60 seconds on the timer. If all cards are used you earn 25 bonus tokens!

The timer bonus is exactly what it sounds like: a bonus! If the timer runs out just keep playing!


Special Combos

Making any of these combinations is worth an extra token.

• 777 = Lucky 7's!
• Ace + 10, Jack, Queen, or King = Blackjack!
• 5-Card Gimme = Any 5 cards that are equal to or less than 21 will do.

Jackpot Spins

In order to get a spin at ye olde jackpot wheel, you need at least thirteen 21's. Turbo 21 features a progressive jackpot with a max pot of $4,999. I've spun this wheel many, many times, and I'll ever won were tokens. That will probably be your fate as well. ^_^


Power-Ups

When you get ten 21's in one round, you get a power-up for the next round! Once you have a power-up active, you have to wait for the next round to earn a new one.

Power-ups last only one round, and there are three different kinds.

• Easy spin - With this power up you only need ten 21's instead of thirteen to win a jackpot spin.
• Extra time - 10 seconds added to the bonus timer!
• Free Peek - You can see the next card for the entire game.

 Woot! Free Peek!

My favorite power up is the free peek, hands down. It helps a TON with planning!




Bonus Round

Once you win 4 jackpot spins, it's time for the bonus round!!

On your marks! Get set! GO!!!

In the bonus round you have 30 seconds to find as many 21's as you can! You'll see a group of 4 cards (like in the above pic) and only one group equals 21. As soon as you pick, the 4 groups are replaced with 4 new groups of cards. Again, only one group will equal 21!

For each correct pick you earn 20 tokens! (No penalty for boo-boos.) Every group has 2 number cards and a 10 point card, so just look to see what number cards add up to 11. That's all you need to do!

On average I find about thirteen 21's in the bonus round, which is an extra 260 tokens! Sweet!!



Tips & Tricks

First off, don't try to play Turbo 21 after you've been playing something like Pyramid Solitaire for a while. It's really hard to go from looking for 13's to looking for 11's. *Shudders*

When I play I put a 10 point card in one lane, and attempt to keep it free for an ace. The other lanes I add up to 11. But when I tried to get a screen shot of this scenario, it never worked. (The cards!! They conspired against me!!) Just imagine the last lane is a 10 point card. ^_^

By leaving one lane open with a 10 (or two 10 point cards for a 20 total) I can quickly play an Ace, should it appear. The Ace gives you an easy 21. Try not to waste it. ^_^

Don't get hung up on scoring special combinations. If you flip an Ace over and you have a lane at 10 and a lane at 20, use it on the 20. Getting a Blackjack bonus gives you +1 token. Busting a lane is -5 tokens. And if you don't use the Ace on the 20, you will bust that lane.

If you have to bust a lane, I suggest one of two options:

• Go for the lane with the highest total. Fewer cards can turn it into a 21.
• Go for the lane that has the same total as another lane. If you have a 20, 19, 18, and an 18, take out the extra 18. It's doubtful that you'd get two 3's in a row to turn them into 21's.

Now, let's say you're trying to make lanes equal 11, but dangit, you keep getting 10s! When you start a new round, spread the cards out so you aren't crammed into 1 or 2 lanes.

Yay! A King!

Now I'm looking for an 8 and a 2 to turn the first two lanes into 11's. But after several turns, I still didn't have those numbers. But I had a lot of 10 point cards!

Hit me! *Smack* OW!

To turn those first two lanes into 21's I still need an 8 or a 2, so I'm still looking for the same things. I just saved a step by using the extra 10 point cards before the lane reached 11. ^_^

Lastly, DO NOT play Turbo 21 when you're tired! You'll make a ton of silly mistakes and it won't be a bit of fun. Trust me on this one.


CAUTION
Turbo 21 is literally addicting. The rounds are quick, usually lasting no more than 50 seconds once you get the hang of it. Additionally, when you get to the bonus game there is no "replay" option. It automatically takes you right back to the beginning.

When you put speed and thrills on an automatic loop, it's very hard to stop the cycle on your own. It's just so easy to keep going!

If you have trouble pulling yourself from games and remembering to eat, playing Turbo 21 might be a bad idea. If you can't resist, then at the very least set a timer and stick to it! Take a break every hour to stretch your legs, use the bathroom, call a friend, whatever. ^_^


Final Rating

Pogo gets major points for hooking me onto Turbo 21. ^_^ I definitely will play again. The hard part is stopping!

I have to confess that when I first started playing Turbo 21, I didn't like it. I earned about 7 tokens each round and it was just terrible.

Then an amazing thing happened. I got better! ^_^ Once I figured out how to play, wow... time flew. I had one of those moments where you think 20 minutes passed, but really it's been an hour and 20 minutes. Whoops!

Alas, I cannot give this a perfect score. The soft Aces mess with me. I would prefer having both numbers listed, like 8/18 instead of 18(Soft.) Yes I know it's picky! :P

Anywho, because it's such a minor thing, I'm going to make a new rating: 4.9 stars out of 5. ^_^