After a few weeks in closed Beta, PopCap has finally released Zuma Blitz on Facebook to the general public.
The original Zuma game was released exactly 7 years ago, on December 2003, and became one of the most popular casual games around. PopCap has created many hits after Zuma, of course, but it remained one of their most famous games.
Following the success of Bejeweled Blitz, PopCap has created Zuma Blitz – a one-minute social game that will take many hours of your spare time.
The purpose of Zuma Blitz is simple – score as many points as you can in one minute. You start out with just a few Lives (represented by hearts), and each time you play – you lose one. When you have finished all your lives, you can wait for them to reload (takes some time) or purchase new ones at the store. This limitation, which doesn’t exist on Bejeweled Blitz, for example, isn’t there because PopCap is worried about your productivity and wasted hours, but because it might tempt you to buy more lives using Facebook coins and/or real money.
Leveling up is meaningful on Zuma Blitz – unlike Bejeweled, where the badges are just for show. When you level up on Zuma Blitz, you get more lives, they recharge faster, you accumulate more Mojo and you get access to more power-ups.
If you need a basic guide for Zuma blitz gameplay, click here. This post is mainly for users who know how to play, and want to better their scores.
Zuma Blitz Tips and High Score Guide
WORK FAST
This may sound obvious, but it isn’t just because you have only one minute on Zuma Blitz. Taking out as many balls as you can, as quickly as you can, will get you the Inferno Frog – 3 shots of balls that blow up, get you many points and give you the bonuses you need (mainly Chrono Balls and Multiplires). Try to get at least two Inferno Frogs in a game.
MULTIPLIERS ARE KEY
Just as they were on Bejeweled Blitz, multipliers are very important on Zuma Blitz, as well. You can get dozens of chains, blow up balls and grab fruit, but if you didn’t catch those multipliers, you won’t get that high score. A good game is usually one when you get at least to X7 or X8. More is the better, of course. If you can get a multiplier without breaking the chain – good. If not, consider braking the chain for it – it’s usually worth it.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
You start out on Zuma Blitz with one minute, but you can substantially extend this time. You do that by taking out Chrono Balls – each one is worth 5 more seconds. When you level up, you can also use the Chrono Ball power up, with which the Chrono Balls give you 6 seconds each. You can easily add 30-40 seconds to your game with the Chrono Balls. A longer game usually means more point.
DON’T LET GREED GET IN THE WAY
Fruit. They are tempting. They look so juicy and pretty, and they can give you a large amount of points. Treasure chests are also very appealing – who knows what kind of bonus you’ll get! Problem is, these fun items may mess up your game – they tend to appear behind ball lines and in many cases you will break chain because of them. Also, they tend to distract you and attract your attention – thus interfering with your concentration and game flow. Take out a fruit or chest only when you are sure you can hit them, and don’t sacrifice the chain for them.
KEEP UP THE CHAIN
With some multipliers, chain score can get very high. Make sure you don’t break the chain and try to get as high as you can – you can get X50 and more when it comes to chains – and that’s a lot of points.
FUCK UP AT THE BEGINNING
A game can start out lamely, but end up in a nice high score. That’s because most of the bigger points are accumulated towards the end of the game – after you got yourself some multipliers and turned on some chains heat. So, if you fuck up or need to sacrifice the chain, do it at the beginning of the game.
A CRISIS IS ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY
You will mess up, of course. We all do. If you missed a ball or hit the wrong spot and broke the chain – use this chance to grab some multipliers and Chrono Balls. Since your chain is gone anyway, the seconds after your mistake can be used to gaining some advantage and maybe salvaging the game.
USE THE POWERS
But sparingly. You don’t want to be dependent on powers for a good game. In fact, I got my best scores without any powers. Still, powers are fun and can help you through the harder boards. There are many possible power combinations, and they change as you level up, too. Mind you – tons of blasts (Canon, Bombs) won’t guarantee high scores on Zuma Blitz – they will most likely break the chain and give you very little in return. Useful (although not as flashy) power-ups include the Multiplier (gives you X2 at the beginning of the game), Chrono Balls (makes your Chrono Balls worth 6 seconds) and Last Hurrah (blows up any remaining bonus balls at the end of the game).
DON’T BE HASTY
Speed is essential, but plowing along without paying attention will get you into trouble. The most common mistake is not failing to compensate for the speed in which the balls move when they close a gap of two same-colored balls. If you aren’t careful, you will miss your next target, because the balls are moving at greater speed, and you might break the chain and lose important points.
CLEAR THE CURVE
Completely clearing a curve will give you many points. Use Inferno Frog or just plain fast work to clear a curve, if you can.
RIGHT CLICK IS YOUR FRIEND
On a perfect game, every ball has a great target and you never break the chain. On an average game, you might not always be happy with your current ball. You can right-click in order to switch to the next ball. It might be very useful – you lose half a second, but you keep the chain and bonuses going. If the balls are the same color, it won’t be very helpful, though.
Great tips! I have a couple of questions – What do you mean by “break the chain?” And what is “clearing the curve” exactly? Does that mean to clear just one curve, how much of the curve and can you have balls on the other side of the curve leaving a gap at the curve? Are you notified with a super quick message that you have achieved a curve bonus? I have seen a message pop up occaisonally, but haven’t been able to read it.
I have two friends who consistently beat me at Zuma and Bejeweled Blitz. I would so love to get the high scores that they get consistently (600-800K)! They must have figured out how and I haven’t yet (400-600K). Any help would be greatly appreciated!
When I mention the chain, I mean the number of times you make consecutive matches. When you miss, or just stuff a ball in the wrong place, and no balls explode, you break the chain. If you keep making matches in a row, you get higher scores for each match.
Clearing the curve means clearing ALL the balls from one path. It makes a very specific sound, like a cashier ringing in money or something, and you get a nice bonus for that.
I’m also writing about this week’s board, so check it out later