If for some reason, you don’t have enough competitive puzzle games on your iOS device, Zynga has you covered. Gems With Friends launches today on the app store.
Released in Canada last month, Gems With Friends may remind you of another popular gem-matching puzzle game, PopCap’s Bejeweled Blitz. You take turns playing against either a friend or with a stranger: Timed rounds, locked at two minutes each, force you to quickly get rid of as many of the gems as possible. Each gem randomly starts off with its own numerical value that increases (along with your potential score) as you place them together — matching three “1” gems gives you a single “2” gem, matching three of those gives you a “3” gem, and so on.
A variety of power gems can help you accelerate your combos or just pause the clock for a few seconds. Previous social features from other With Friends titles carry over as well, including in-game chat.
“We are always looking for innovative ways to expand the With Friends franchise and create brand new games that people love to play,” said Travis Boatman, the senior vice president of mobile at Zynga, in a press release. “When players pick up a With Friends game, they can expect the signature features, but we will continue to keep them guessing with new genres and mechanics as we expand the franchise.”
To celebrate the release of Gems With Friends, Zynga polled about 35,000 of its most dedicated With Friends players to see just what they think of the franchise (pictured below). Apparently, 41 percent of them play while in the bathroom, so the next time you see a With Friends game on someone’s phone, you might want to think twice before you borrow it.
