Bejeweled Blitz Flower Power Rare Gem
They came out with a new rare gem called “Flower Power” the other day. I’ve been playing it (I had to buy more coins, so you win this one, PopCap).
They describe this rare gem this way:
Our latest Rare Gem has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. Matching Flowers with purple gems allows you to clear entire columns from the board. And at the end of every Flower Power match, you get to choose your own bonus prize, with a chance to win up to 100,000 Coins!
But don’t wait to try out Flower Power! This new Rare Gem is only available for a Limited Time, and then it’ll get moved into the PopCap VaultBut don’t wait to try out Flower Power! This new Rare Gem is only available for a Limited Time, and then it’ll get moved into the PopCap Vault.
What seems to happen is when you make a gem match with one of these special flower gems (I guess they’re not gems anymore), that column is also cleared out. Another flower comes up from the bottom, clearing out those gems in that column.
I got a high score of 993,450 using the Flower Power rare gem. There’s a screen at the end where you can get more coins. I’ve received 10,000 but not the 100,000 top prize yet.
Just play like normal, trying to get multipliers and use the basic strategies I lay out in my book.
Here’s a video that I found:
Enjoy!
-Tony
Beer Finally Done… Again
I posted back in January about how my first batch of beer was a dud. Well, I was cleaning out the fridge the other day and the beer was still in there. I was busy with skiing during the winter and just figured I’d leave it in there. To my surprise, the beer now has carbonation!
I was about to pour it out and when I opened the bottle, there was a release of CO2! I tasted it and it’s not bad. I like it. It could be worse, I suppose.
This was an amber ale, I believe. I think what I want to get into is brewing stouts. I really like drinking Guinness and it would be fun to brew a beer like that.
-Tony
Candy Crush Saga Tips and Strategies
Well, I finally started playing Candy Crush Saga on Facebook. I’m probably the last person on Earth to start playing it, I’ve realized. 
It’s fun. It’s a lot like Bejeweled Blitz except that it’s much slower (and nicer) and instead of time, you get a certain amount of moves. The strategy for Candy Crush Saga is very similar to Bejeweled Blitz. I think my Bejeweled Blitz book would help anyone who is trying to get a high score with Candy Crush Saga… definitely.
How to Get Better
One thing I like is that there are different levels. On each level, you’re able to compete with your friends. You can stay at each level until you beat your friends and get to the top of the scoreboard. I think doing this will make you a better player going forward.
It’s also good to score 3 stars on each level. In this regard, the game kind of reminds me of Angry Birds a little.
Your score is going to depend on a few things – well, two main things. First, it’s going to depend on what kind of game board you get when the game starts. That’s just random and some boards are going to be better than others. Second, once you get a good board, you’re going to need to make the best possible moves in order to score high.
To score high, you’re going to depend on power ups and cascades. With cascades, you do one match which causes other matches to happen. The taller the board and the lower you make matches, the better.
Sugar Crush… Divine!
This feature seems to happen when you leave some special candies on the board after completing your goal. They explode and wipe out more candy and more candy comes down onto the game board. It’s kind of good to leave this on the board instead of using them during the game because it’s extra moves you get at the end of the game. This seems to be how some of your friends are getting some high scores.
This makes sense because this game is all about moves. You only get a certain amount of moves (as compared to Bejeweled Blitz, where you get time), so how you use those moves is important as well as any way that you can get some extra moves… extra moves will drive your score up.
You’re going to get to use any special candy that you create when the Sugar Crush happens, so I think the best strategy here is to save them. Use some during the game if you want as that will create cascades, too.
Play at the Bottom of the Board
As with Bejeweled, with Candy Crush Saga you want to play near the bottom of the board. You just have a better chance of things happening automatically if you do. This is especially true with game boards that have a lot of row (taller columns) versus with boards that are more horizontal but even with those types of boards (levels), playing near the bottom is going to help you get a high score.
The “V” Pattern
This is what I call the “V” pattern… it’s when making one match matches 5 candies but on a right angle instead of in a row.
The Cross Pattern
I also like to watch for this cross pattern to appear. Move the candy that’s kind of by itself (at the top of the cross) into the middle and you match 5 candies here, too.
Candy Crush FAQ
This is from the King FAQ Page:
- Matching four candies in a row or column creates a Striped Candy. Matching Striped Candy clears the entire row or column
- Matching five candies in the shape of a T or an L creates a Wrapped Candy. Matching a Wrapped Candy clears a 3 by 3 box of candies
- Matching five candies in a row creates a Color Bomb. Combining a Color Bomb with any candy of any color will clear all the candies of that color
- Matching a wrapped candy with a striped candy will create a giant super candy which clears multiple rows both up and across the board
More Tips
Here are some general tips that will help you:
- Always try to make matches of 4 or more pieces of candy – either 4 in a row or make 2 matches of 3, and so on.
- Play near the bottom of the board.
- It’s good to save some special candies until the end of the game (Candy Crush)
- At the beginning of the game, work from the top of the board down so that moves you make at the top don’t affect what they already gave you at the start of the game (free matches that are set up for you).
- Use the candy you get when you match 5 in a row (Color Bomb) as early as possible. This clears all the candy of that color from the game board and that increases the chance of you making more good matches since there’s one less color on the board.
With any puzzle / strategy game, the more you play, the better you’ll get at it. You do have time, so don’t rush and make the best moves (and enjoy the music, too).
-Tony
Post-Skiing Blues / Spring Mode
Well, ski season is over and I have the blues already – even though it has only been a few days. What I tend to find myself doing now is kind of get into Spring / get my life in order mode.
I’ve been out every weekend since December teaching skiing so now it’s time to do some spring cleaning and get things organized on my end now that I have time again. I plan to fix my other toilet and maybe even do some painting along with getting more organized with all my websites and online marketing efforts. I’m kind of looking forward to weekend doing nothing… I’ll be busy.
I think this is a good time to do it since winter doesn’t seem to want to leave Madison this year. It’s cool and rainy and there’s even snow in the forecast – snow that’s worthless because you can’t ski on it – doh!
Happy Spring!
-Tony
2013 PSIA-C Spring Rally / CO Trip
Wow, what a great trip!
I flew into Denver on the 3rd from Arizona where I was visiting my parents, brother, sister in law and nephew for a few days and for Easter. I went over to Harb Ski to get some boot work done. I got some work done on my left boot to help me get more aligned. I knew I needed to get that done and now was a good time to do it. I then got to my hotel and settled in. I went out for pizza that night and turned in kind of early.
The next morning was the PSIA Central Spring Rally. We gathered at the Vail basecamp, got into our groups and introduced ourselves and said what we’d like to get out of the two days. We had about 12 of us in our group in the morning and we took the gondola up. We then got a nice tour of the mountain by our group leader, Erika Meier. She’s our Training Coordinator where I ski, Cascade Mountain. We worked on balance, stance and some other things and skied most of the day with a small break for lunch.
That evening we had a get together where I was staying (Lionshead Inn) for the people attending the rally – there were 34 people they said. Not all came to the get together but there were a lot of people. We did some video taping that day, so we were watching the playback in slow motion. That’s a great way to really see how you ski and catch all the little movements you do. That was fun.
The next morning, we met again and had about the same group. Some people switched groups. We had a guest that morning, Jennifer Simpson, who taught us along with Erika the first two hours. She had a great way of explaining some things that I never head of before. She’s quite the accomplished skier and it was fun hearing what she had to say and watching her ski.
That evening, a bunch of us got together and it was funny because usually what happens is that everyone gets talking about skiing. We’re total “ski geeks” and it’s hilarious to stop, look around the room and see people paired off talking about the technical aspects of skiing.
On Saturday, I skied with Mark, Erika, Bob, Bruce, Terry and Beth. We found some really great snow. That night, we sort of chilled out. I think we were all pretty tired.
On Sunday, I skied with just Bob and Bruce. They only skied the morning. I skied all afternoon and had a breakthrough with my skiing. I think I finally got a chance to just put everything together and I had a blast. There was snow coming down, too. It was great. I knew I improved because at the end of runs and at the end of the day, I wasn’t too tired. Everything just clicked and worked… it was quite a moment for me and it was the last day of skiing for the year for me – too bad!
One of the coolest things for me was just having so many people I knew out there. I’d be walking in the morning and run into people or around the hotel or even out on the mountain. It kind of felt like we owned the place. Staying right at the mountain was so cool, too. Everything was close by.
Another cool thing was that I got complimented a few times on my skiing. People said I did the bumps well and Erika commented once or twice that I was doing Level 2 (PSIA) skiing. That felt good.
I ended up renting skis the first two days at Vail Ski Tech. I was on some Head Rev 90 skis (163 cm) the first day, then the same thing but in 170 length the second day. By the end of the second day, I was sold. I wanted some! They were able to apply my rental fees to the sale price (50% off), which made it a really great deal. I got them the third morning and skied on them Saturday and Sunday. I love them… no wait, I LOVE THEM! The edges really dug in and they control really well. They are awesome skis. If you have the means, I suggest picking some up. I actually won some money at a casino in Arizona on Tuesday and that covered the cost of the skis, so that worked out well.
My Skiing Breakthrough
Ok, here’s the part that you can skip if you’re not a ski instructor or ski geek. It’s a bit technical and maybe boring for you.
The way I describe it is that it all just kind of came together for me – all that I learned about skiing the last 6 years. This includes all the clinics I’ve been in, all the studying I’ve done, the dryland training I’ve done and even the lessons I’ve taught.
I got to the top of Northwoods (at Vail – on Sunday, by myself) and I was do some basic parallel – but a certain way (I’ll get to that in a minute). This run had everything… a catwalk, bumps and this green (blue in the Midwest) flat run called Flapjack. When I’d get to Flapjack, I combined dorsey flex along with collapsing a leg to initiate a turn. That along with planter flex and closing the ankle (being forward), everything just worked. I could make short radius, medium radius or large radius with hardly any effort. I’d just pull the foot back and it would work. I had no tip lead. The skis just shot around and I was completing my turns. This controlled my speed. I faced downhill the whole time and I was getting angles.
Again, it just all worked.
It felt great. I couldn’t believe it. To get this done, I know I had to be skiing by myself, which is what I was doing but after I got it, I wanted confirmation. I with Erika was there and I was trying to look for Jennifer but I couldn’t find her. Having one of them confirm that what I was doing was right and not contrived would have been the icing on the cake but I still believe I was doing things right because of how it felt.
It just sucks that it was my last day of skiing for the season. I just hope I can remember this and carry it into next season as I go for my Level 2 again. I plan to study this summer and I have a feeling I’ll just completely nail it this time (last time, I was right on the line / almost passed – I’m better now).
Overall, It Was Awesome!
It was just a great trip overall. I got some great skiing in, met people, got new skis for skiing out West and I had fun – which was a big goal of mine. The group we had was great and I liked hanging out with everyone. I can’t wait until next ski season!!
