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Bejeweled 2

In Bejeweled 2, kids will complete challenging puzzles by maneuvering, combining, and destroying uniquely colored and shaped “blocks”. 

Game play alone results in modest improvements in real-world executive skills. Please refer to our Playbook Tutorial, general coaching and comprehensive guides to transfer game skills to sustainable real-life behaviors.

QUICK FACTS

Game Type: Puzzle
Platform/Console: PC Internet
Number of Players: 1 (can be multi-player)
Other Requirements: PopCap player
LWK Recommended Age: 6+

 

This Game is Good for Kids Who Need Help With:

• Completing step-by-step problems (planning)
• Considering the future (planning)
• Varying routines (flexibility)
• Using trial-and-error learning (flexibility)

What You Need to Know About the Game:

Bejeweled 2 is a hit puzzle game developed by PopCap Games. It was originally created as a browser game, but a downloadable version is also available to fans who don’t mind paying a little extra money for some additional features. For the purpose of this write-up, the free web-based version is recommended. It presents three different modes of play: classic (un-timed), action (timed), and puzzle, all of which will be covered in this guide.

How to Find It:

Simply follow this link and click on the “Play Now” button.

This Game Can Help Your Kids With Planning:

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with completing step-by-step problems and considering the future, because:

• The player must consistently watch for possible combinations, create a mental strategy for generating the best combinations, and then execute the plan. A player, for example, may see that there are four orange jewels in a row, but interrupted by a green jewel in the middle like so:   
  
  OOGOO
  
  He or she may wait until an orange jewel falls in next to the green and then swap them to create a large combination worth more points: 
  
  .....O
  OOGOO
  
  to this:
  
  .....G
  OOOOO
  
  There are many different combinations that can be made, but some are better than others. If the smaller, less complex combinations are chosen too often, or if the player simply doesn’t use any strategy, they will unfortunately fail (eventually). This shows that it is important to make a plan!   

Talking Points:

• How did you create the best combinations possible?
• How did planning help you to create the biggest jewel combinations?
• How is planning ahead to create the best combinations like giving good suggestions for solving problems?

Making It Real:

Encourage your child to brainstorm and write down possible steps for planning for a school project, birthday party, or for buying gifts for others during the holiday season. Keep a binder of successful plans for future reference.

This Game Can Help Your Kids With Flexibility

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with varying routines and using trial-and-error learning, because:

• Each level presents a new and entirely different setup of jewels. Sometimes a strategy that may have worked in the first puzzle will not work in the next one, so the player must always be ready to improvise and create a new approach.

• The player needs to be able to switch their focus between different types of gems. There are purple triangles, red squares, yellow diamonds, blue pentagons, orange hexagons, green octagons, and white decagon jewels that can be matched with similar jewels. Concentrating on only one color is sure to result in more mistakes and fewer high scoring combinations, so it is best to switch between colors whenever necessary.

Talking Points:

• What happens if you only focus on one type of jewel?
• How did being flexible help you to match up different types of jewels?
• How can being open-minded about the types of jewels you match up help you to think about trying new foods or restaurants?
• When did you need to be careful about using the same moves in Bejeweled 2?
• How did being flexible help you to come up with different solutions?
• How can needing to change your approach in Bejeweled help you to be flexible in problem solving at home?

Making It Real:

• Develop a game in which you alternate generating possible solutions to hypothetical and fun situations. For example, have your child think about answers to questions such as: “What would you do if you could fly?” or “What would you do if you didn’t have school but had to do something else all day?” Encourage creative thinking and help your child to understand that even an answer that is silly might help generate other thoughts.