Bejeweled Blitz is a new twist on an old classic. We've added new Multiplier Gems, Speed Bonuses and a one-minute time limit to put your jewel-swapping skills to the test. The one-minute time limit was added to bring a new intensity and challenge as well as a quick way to play your friends on your "lunch break".

Looking for a version of Bejeweled that's more than one minute? Try the full version of Bejeweled 2

How to play - Swap adjacent gems to create sets of 3 gems of the same color lined up horizontally or vertically. Three same-colored gems in a row will create a match.

Flame Gem - Match 4 gems to create a Flame Gem. Match that Flame Gem to ignite an explosion that will take out all neighboring gems and trigger other Flame Gems within its radius.

Star Gem - Match 5 gems in a "L" or "T" shape to create a Star Gem. Match the Star Gem to unleash its power, removing one column and one row of gems from the board.

Hypercube - Match 5 gems horizontally or vertically to create a Hypercube. Use the Hypercube by swapping it with an adjacent gem to turn all gems of that color on the board into a shower of points. Something awesome will now happen if you match two Hypercubes. Are you able to make it happen?

Multiplier Gem - These gems are created by creating large cascades or using power gems to destroy a lot of gems at one time. Matching the Multiplier Gem will multiply all points you get from then until the end of the game.

Speed bonus - Build up a speed bonus by continually making matches. You need to make 3 matches in about 2 seconds to start your speed bonus. The higher your Speed Bonus, the more time you have in between matches before it goes away. The Speed Bonus starts at +200 and caps out at +1000. This amount is added to every match you make.

Blazing Speed - Keep your speed bonus up for an extended amount of time and you will start to fill your speed bonus meter, the text displayed for your speed bonus will change color from white to orange. Once your meter is full you will be in Blazing Speed! Each match will grant you the same effect as detonating a Flame Gem until Blazing Speed subsides.

Many players have asked us what strategies they should try in order to get a high Blitz score. Here are some of the strategies that members of the Blitz team use when going for a top score.

-Try to keep your speed bonus up at all times. With a maxed-out speed bonus every move is worth 1250 points!

-Multiplier gems apply not only to matches, but also to your current speed bonus. For example, with a x3 multiplier, each match made with a full speed bonus would be worth 3750 points. So once you've established a respectable multiplier, maintaining your speed bonus is extremely valuable.

-Keep an eye out for bigger matches. Look for the opportunity to match 4 or 5 gems. This will create Hypercubes, Flame and Star Gems. These special pieces are instrumental in creating large explosions, which will earn you lots of points, more chances at extra Multiplier Gems and will help mix up the board, potentially making it easier to find new matches. Lost opportunities mean lost points.

-Matches made lower on the board are more likely to generate cascades. If you're finding it hard to make matches lower on the board, try creating and using a Hypercube or Star Gem.

-When you earn a Hypercube, don't waste it on the first color you see. Try to use it to on the color with the most gems on the screen. Or if you have any multiplier gems on the screen, consider matching it to the color of that gem.

-The score chart provided on the Game Over screen is a great place to discover strategies of your own. Make sure you take the time to review this chart for your highest scoring games to learn the secrets of your own success.

Looking for even more info?
For more detailed strategies on getting a high Blitz score, check out this unofficial strategy guide from avid Bejeweled fan Julia Gemstone.

Playing against your friends is easy! Anyone in your friends list who plays Bejeweled Blitz will show up on the leaderboard to the right of the game. If there is a friend you want to play against who has yet to discover Bejeweled Blitz you can invite them to play by clicking the Invite Friends button in the Bejeweled Blitz header. Simply click the friend(s) you would like to invite and press the Send Bejeweled Blitz Invitation button.

Note: You can only see 49 of your top scoring friends (plus yourself) on the leaderboards.

Your Team Score is a combination of all the scores on your leaderboard. Your high score counts twice when added to the total score. Your Team Score is unique to you since everyone has a unique friends list.

Note: If you win the drawing, you are the only winner. Your friends do not share in your winnings. The same holds true if someone on your friends list wins a drawing. This drawing encompasses all qualifying players.

You can send Smack Talk to anyone on your leaderboard by pressing the Smack Talk button to the right of your friend's name (Blue diamond). A Jewel Jabber window will be displayed where you can enter your own Smack Talk or let us do the talking with one of the default messages.

Note: You can scroll through different smack-talking jewels with the arrow buttons located under the jewel avatar on the left side of the Jewel Jabber window. Also note that your diamond will be grayed out as there is no need to send yourself Smack Talk.

We take cheating seriously and are taking steps to make Bejeweled Blitz more secure, but due to the nature of online games, it will always be possible for truly determined players to find a way to cheat. But the overwhelming majority of our players play the game as intended, and earn their scores fairly. If you have a friend on your leaderboard that cheats, perhaps that says something about your friend?

Also keep in mind that if another player cheats, it does not affect your chances to win our contest in any way. Our contest is based on a drawing, and is NOT a competition. If there are players out there with higher team scores than you, they are no more likely to win the contest than you are. In fact, players with scores that were obviously obtained via cheating will be disqualified from the contest.

A new contest begins every week on Tuesdays when we reset the scores. Once the scores have been reset, all you need to do is meet the minimum scores required for eligibility as per that week's tournament, at which point a signup form will appear in place of your Team Score Widget. Enter your email address and press the Sign Me Up button. You can also click the Sign Up button located at the top right of the Team Score widget. Once you have signed up for the contest, you will be automatically entered in future contests, assuming that you meet the scoring eligibility requirements.

Note: Your email address is used to ensure your eligibility and contact you if you win the drawing.

You must sign up for the contest to be eligible. Winners will be contacted by email.

The Bejeweled Blitz contests are based on a prize-drawing system. Eligibility for each drawing is determined by the team score level you reach during the duration of the contest. Once you reach the team score amount required for the lowest-level prize, you are eligible for the drawing. If you continue to grow your team score, you will become eligible for more valuable prizes. At the end of the contest, we will randomly select a contest winner from the pool of qualified players. We will then look at the team score for the selected player that week and award him/her with the highest-level prize for which they qualified.

Note: The exact rules of the contest may change from week to week. Be sure to look for the Official Rules on the game page.

It's not that we don't love you guys...We do! But running these sorts of contests is a far bigger headache and far more expensive than most people realize. We're happy to be offering the contest for those thathappen to be eligible, and we really are sorry that some of you are excluded. But the alternative at this point would be for us to have no contest at all for anyone.

In the future we hope to add to the list of countries that are eligible to participate in our contests. But more importantly, we hope we're providing a fun game that everyone enjoys playing. And rather thaninvest our time and money wrestling with lawyers of every country around the world, we're going to be spending our time and money making Bejeweled Blitz a better game for everyone in every country.