Game rules „Jewel Splash”

Aim of the game

• Swap jewels vertically or horizontally to form groups of three or more same-colored jewels
• Complete the tasks by clearing the required number of rows of a color
• Form groups using the golden special jewels in order to make the rocks at the bottom of the screen disappear so that the water can flow away
• Be careful though: if the water reaches the top of the game board, the game is over

How to play

You can swap jewels horizontally or vertically to form groups of 3 or more same-colored jewels.

• You cannot swap tiles diagonally
• Only adjacent jewels can be swapped

A group of same-colored jewels disappears from the game board and new jewels appear.

The game is designed so that there are always valid combinations. If no further combinations are possible, the playing field empties itself and refills automatically with new jewels.

If you don't manage to form a group in 10 seconds, you receive a tip indicating a possible combination.

This tip is "free"; no points are deducted for it.

Controls

There are two ways to swap jewels

• Click on the jewel > Hold down the mouse button > Drag the jewel in the desired direction
• Click on the jewel > Release the mouse button > Move the mouse in the desired direction

The tasks

The basic aim of the game is to complete tasks. A task is comprised of forming the required amount of rows of a color.

The color of the jewel and the required amounts are displayed in the top left corner.

Each task is comprised of sub-tasks. In the example shown the task is comprised of 4 sub-tasks, 8 x red, 8 x green, 6 x blue and 6 x brown.

The transparent grey jewels display how many rows of each color must be formed. Rows which have already been formed are displayed as opaque jewels. If a sub-task is completed, the corresponding row disappears.

You can see the total number of tasks in a particular level above where the tasks are displayed.

Orange areas are normal tasks; yellow areas are bonus tasks (see below). The mask symbol shows you how many tasks have already been completed and how many are still to be completed.

Water

The water level begins to increase around the game board as soon as the duel begins. You therefore have to complete the tasks as soon as possible. Once the rising water reaches the top of the game board, the game is over.

In order to have a better overview of the level of the water, check the torches at the left side of the game board. Only the torches which are above the water level remain lit. If either one or none of the torches is lit, the time is running out. You should therefore consider using one of the special jewels as soon as possible.

The golden special jewels

You receive golden special jewels for completing the tasks in the top-left corner of the screen. Once you have completed the task, the special jewel is placed on one of the colored jewels on the game board. In order to activate the golden special jewel, you must form a group including the special jewel and at least two jewels with the corresponding color.

As soon as the special jewel has been activated, the water level sinks a bit. In addition, the special jewel is then positioned on one of the marked rocks at the bottom of the screen.

The rocks and the treasure chest

Each golden special jewel which you have activated by forming a group is placed on an open slot on a rock at the bottom of the screen. Once all of the open slots are filled with a special jewel, the rock dam breaks and the water flows away.

You can therefore check how many special jewels you still need to collect in order to reach the goal and therefore to break the dam. The treasure chest can only be opened once all water has drained away. In doing so, you discover exactly what treasure is hidden in the chest.

Helpful tools

You will soon discover that it's not that easy to solve the tasks, to place all of the golden special jewels on all open slots and to prevent the water from reaching the top of the screen. For this reason, there are several helpful tools which you can use: water buckets, bombs and jewel collectors.

The water bucket

If the water has almost reached the top of the game board, the water bucket can literally save your life in the last few seconds. The water bucket sinks the level of the water and gives you the chance to take a few more breaths.

To activate a water bucket, click on one of the water bucket symbols underneath the treasure chest. The water level will sink as soon as you click the water bucket. Please note: you must earn the water buckets before they can be used in the game.

You receive water buckets for completing the bonus task in each level. The bonus task is the last task on each level and, like the other tasks, is displayed in the top-left corner. It may therefore be worth it to complete the bonus task before forming a group with the last golden special jewel.

Tip: Each water bucket which has not been used is carried over to the next level. You receive a lot of bonus points for NOT using a water bucket. You should therefore only use the water buckets if the water level is extremely high.

The bombs

If you form groups of 4 same-colored jewels or form two groups of 3 same-colored jewels with one combination (see below), the jewel used to form this group will transform into a bomb.

If you form a combination later including the bomb, the bomb explodes. All adjacent jewels (a total of 9 jewels) will be removed from the playing field.

Tip: You can start a chain-reaction as an exploding bomb also activates bombs which are adjacent.

The jewel collector

You will be rewarded with a jewel collector for forming groups of 5 jewels.

If you form a group of 5 jewels, the jewel collector then waits to be activated by you. In order to do so, simply swap it with an adjacent jewel.

After swapping the jewels, all jewels above and to the side of the jewel, are collected by the jewel collector. Jewel collectors can therefore assist you in completing tasks and in earning the next special jewel sooner.

Levels and time

There are a total of 4 levels. With each level, the tasks required to collect the special jewels in order to break the dam and to stop the water flowing are more difficult.

In each level, it takes 60 seconds for the water to reach the top of the game board. You can, however, use the golden special jewels and the water buckets to reduce the water level and to earn valuable extra time in order to achieve your goal.

Points

Tips & tricks

• Above all, concentrate on completing the tasks
• Use bombs and jewel collectors in order to complete the tasks as soon as possible
• If the water level is very high, form a group with a golden special jewel as soon as possible
• If the water level is still low, it is worthwhile to save the special jewels
• Only use water buckets in an emergency as you receive a lot of bonus points if you complete a level without using a joker!