Jewel Quest 3

Heya ParkWalker!

I'm going through JQ3 a THIRD time. First time the game froze after 100% (retailed boxed version), second time I avoided that by leaving one location unfinished in Hawaii, and now I'm doing the same thing but I'll leave a different Hawaii location unfinished. I like to take "vacations" from work in "Hawaii", if you catch my drift (and aren't my boss).

SA Gold was no fun the third time around. I completely forgot about your hints on a tie game there. But I made it through! CA and SA both open up at the first of the gold boards, and I started on SA right away, alternating playing CA, Iceland, Europe and even a bit of Africa before I finished SA. Having the other boards made it a nicer journey, but still no fun.

Hi everyoneI love playing jewel Quest I've gotten to Gold 7 out of 8 done having problems with the called Hekla I can't get any hot stones down the side to unfreeze the jewel can't go ahead until I complete that one any ideas would be great thank you

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Sun, 8 Apr 2012 19:58

Hi Lynette, Hekla is a recurring topic here! I finally decided to sit down and make some screen shots.

There are two ways to beat Hekla. One is to restart the game again and again until you get an ideal configuration (which I'll explain in a minute). That was the only way I beat it the first time. However, after playing JQ 3, Heritage, Sleepless Star, and Sapphire Dragon, I picked up enough skill that I'm able to beat it without all the restarts. The first key is to clear the frozen jewels as quickly as possible. After that, the warming jewels stop falling and it's just another layout.

The second key to beating Hekla is to realize that you don't need to get a warming jewel right next to a frozen jewel. You need to get it within one move away. You can move a warming jewel one tile over to a frozen jewel even if this doesn't make a match. Use that knowledge to get those frozen jewels melted and you're well on your way to beating Hekla without a lot of restarts.

Now, even though it's super annoying to restart time and time again, I'm going to show you how to beat Hekla that way. If you're unsure how to thaw the frozen jewels at the bottom of the side arms, this will also illustrate that.

I didn't want to restart hundreds of times to try to get the set up right on both sides for this demo, so I stopped at the first board that had it right on one side, which turned out to be the left side. See the two tiles with the red arrows pointing to them? That is what you want: two identical jewels in the bottom two tiles of the side arms of the puzzle. Ideally, you want this on both sides, but I'm just going to show you the steps on one.

One thing you absolutely don't want to do is match those two jewels before the ice is melted on the bottom one. As it turns out, that would have been possible to do in the first move on the board I got, but you should resist the urge. In the screen shot below, I've melted the ice on the top two jewels on the left (the emerald and ruby). Another diamond has dropped into the tile where it could be moved to match the two bottom diamonds (big red X) but don't do it!

Continued in next post...

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:59

The next screen is later in the game. I've moved a warming jewel to a tile just right of the left side arm, and manipulated other jewels so that I can move it to the left. See the jewels numbered 1, 2, and 3 in red. It's just a coincidence that they are diamonds, they could be any type of jewel (and having a diamond on the tile numbered 1 is kind of dangerous) but you usually don't have a choice about what jewels you're dealing with. Just get the warming jewel to that spot. and then line up two similar either to the right of it as I did or above it. Anything that will let you move the warming jewel left, to the spot numbered 1.

In the screen shot below, I've moved the warming jewel over, then manipulated the main board so I can remove the ruby just underneath it. I will drop the middle ruby down (black arrow), and the warming jewel will drop to the tile indicated by the red arrow. Now, you may or may not have realized that you can move the warming jewel one space without making a match, if that one space will put it next to a frozen jewel. So after getting it into the tile shown by the red arrow, just move it down to the tile shown by the yellow arrow. That will melt the bottom jewel, and the diamond will drop back down into place. IMPORTANT: Don't have jewels in the area that will match that diamond and remove it from the board when you move the warming jewel down!!!

Now everything is thawed, we still have the original two diamonds in place, and for the first time I'm glad to have a diamond within matching distance. I moved that diamond over to mach the two in the side-arm, and voila, I was done.

This all takes time, and if you have to manipulate a matching jewel into that space it takes even more time. Of course, restarting a zillion times also takes time. However, once you know how to get that lower jewel unfrozen, you're golden. If you have to work from a random board, just try to get the frozen jewels all thawed first. This slows down (and maybe stops, I'm not sure) the generation of warming jewels, and the board becomes no harder than those in Hawaii. Of course, you're not in Hawaii... yet. Good luck!
.

I just checked, and yes, when you get all the jewels thawed, no more warming jewels drop. There also is a maximum of five warming jewels on the board at any one time, which is handy: just make them fall on the side of the board where you need them or keep them out of the way by making them fall on the other side. Also, if you have 5 and are trying to get a sixth to drop, you're wasting your time. Match them or let them drop off the bottom so you can get the warming jewel you need.

larrythethird wrote:

larrythethird wrote:

Beanie71 wrote:I am stuck in the Pacific Northwest in the Hidden Quest. I have followed the Strategy Guide which indicates that no more than 3 pearls can fall from the board during play. I have done this many times but to no avail. How do you do it? I also have no clue as to how to do the string of 5 coins in Africa's Hidden Quest. I have only those two left until I get to Japan. How do you do those? I would appreciate any help.

Same thing with me. I KNOW for a fact I have completed the Hidden Quest in the Pacific Northwest more than once, but it never gives me the jewel or credits it. I got through the five coins, mostly by luck. It took about ten tries, but on one try, everything fell into place and i got it. All I need is the Pacific Northwest to go to Japan.

Has anyone gotten past the Hidden Quest in the Pacific Northwest? I do not think it works. I have tried for days, on and off, and I know I have had less than three pearl fall off of the board, but I have never been granted the hidden quest. Has any one got past it?

I have been stuck at pacific northwest for a couple of months i am at 73% i know i have completed board not letting more 3 pearls fall at any given time i complete them but can not get pass the board or receive my jewel

It's not how many pearls fall off the board. It's how many spaces you open up using the pearls. There is an explanation with pictures on page 2. Here is a link almost directly to that post:

Pac Northwest Hidden Quest

Look at Atlin and then read the post and try to follow what I did. If I'd finished after the first image without opening a 4th space, I would have won the Hidden Quest.

cgabe wrote:I'm a new All Access member and, of course, I need help (the 'ticket' route hasn't worked for me so I've come to the real experts). Two games and two issues: The first is with Jewel Quest. I'm a big fan with one exception: I haven't found a way to play the games I like and skip those I don't. If anyone knows a way around the 'locked' problem I will be forever grateful.

Hi cgabe, welcome to iWin. We have an active JQ3 group here and I can answer your question about JQ3.

However, you aren't going to like my answer. You can't get around the locking feature of the game. I don't know how far along you are in the game, but here's a brief rundown of its structure. You play through all the regions twice, once for silver and once for gold. During the silver round, there is also a Hidden Quest that must be completed for each of the regions. After you finish a region the game gives you a suggestion of where to go next, but sometimes you have a choice.

After you have played all the Silver Quest boards and found all the Hidden Quests, you start in on new, harder boards in the same regions. These are the Gold Quest boards. When you have finished all of the Gold Quest boards, the Far East region opens up. This has been locked until now, and all you see is the big red dot in the Far East. There are 20 boards in the Far East region, all Gold boards, and most fairly challenging. When you finish the Far East, you are done with the game. However, you are rewarded with a bonus region, Hawaii. There are also 20 boards in Hawaii and, while challenging, they're a lot of fun IMO.

After you've played the Gold Quest boards in a region, you can go back and play them again. When you're finished with the game and the bonus, you can play any Gold Quest board, Far East board, or Hawaii bonus board in any order you like. For instance, I often replay the China, Far East, Hawaii, and Pacific Northwest boards, as well as Hekla, but I don't go back to South America because I didn't find it fun at all.

Let us know if you have other specific questions about how to get past the tough boards, and read all the notes in this thread - your questions may already be answered!

I'm stuck in Australia on the last gold quest. Can I use the coins collected somehow?

No, except to clear the locked squares. You do want to match 100 coins as quickly as possible so you have more time to work in the locked-off areas, but you don't really get a break in Australia. The coins keep dropping even after you've cleared the locked squares.

Which board is giving you fits? Marlborough?

No. It's the Kalgoorlie board. I just keep running out of time when I have one or two last squares. Any other tips? And why does it keep collecting coins if you can't use them?

If you're down to 1 or 2 squares then you know how to do the "feet" on that board because there's three of them, each with 2 tough squares. All I can really add is to keep at it, and try to plan your moves all the way up the column rather than hoping the right jewels come your way.

As for why the coins keep dropping uselessly - they're silver coins, not gold, so they aren't specials. And they keep dropping for the same reason Sebastian Grenard exists... it's to make the game difficult (and annoying at times)!

Now I'm stuck in China's Hidden Quest....I've captured all monkeys in the cages in Xinjiang TWICE without letting any fall off the grid and it still will not register the "Hidden Quest" for China. What gives????

Griddlebone: Thanks for the welcome and the information. I realized after reading your reply that I had completely forgotten to post my second question so I sent it to you PM (at least I think I did--the 'delete selected' button threw me). If it doesn't show up please let me know. I've also started playing the Atlantis Trilogy, which was a lucky break for me. I was frustrated with South America at the time, and it's great to be able to hop over to Atlantis when I need to get away from JQ for a while. I posted to Trends about the Trilogy. From reading thru the posts it seems a log of JQ fans could benefit from doing the same. We need more of these. Maybe it should be a new topic?

Thanks again. I'm sure I'll be back.

cgabe

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:08

Hi cgabe. I did get your PM and answered it. When I have a better idea what you need in JQ3, I'll answer that question here because probably other people have the same question.

For Atlantis questions, you'll want to post them in the Atlantis Trilogy topic, not here - the mods would really appreciate it if you keep your posts on-topic. But I'm not chiding you really - there is certainly already a topic for Atlantis Trilogy, and I think your comment about liking the game would be great there. I sent you a link to it in my PM.

Deb413, I am testing the China Hidden Quest and will get back to you. *** Edited, gave bad advice here. See below! ***

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:09

Deb413, I take back what I said earlier. I can't test this again and again, since I only had one character who needed that Hidden Quest, but when I played a game and didn't match any monkeys that were in cages (so no monkey escaped a cage) AND didn't let any fall off the bottom, I got the jewel. When all I did was keep them from falling off the bottom, I didn't get it. I suspect the only requirement is to keep them in their cages and win the game. It didn't matter if I matched monkeys that weren't in cages. Good luck!

It's the Monkeys. I've made it thru half of the boards so 'how to' isn't the question. It's this: Sometimes my eye/hand coordination problem causes me to make a move that isn't the one I intended. Twice when that has happened, the piece I moved didn't make a 3-match but the peices shifted as if I had. Is that something I can do that I didn't realize I could, or was it just something that happens now and then? This continent has been so hard, I quit reading the Northwest posts--too scary!

cgabe wrote:Sometimes my eye/hand coordination problem causes me to make a move that isn't the one I intended. Twice when that has happened, the piece I moved didn't make a 3-match but the peices shifted as if I had. Is that something I can do that I didn't realize I could, or was it just something that happens now and then?

Most likely, by moving the piece that didn't make a match you inadvertently moved another one that did make a match that you didn't see. This happens to me all the time - even in people who don't have eye/hand coordination issues the fast pace of the matches in these games can lead to missteps and you don't necessarily see all the matches that are there. It gets better with practice.

Some buddies of mine and I were recently bemoaning the lack of an "undo" button in match 3 games for those times where you see the perfect match just as you destroy it with a move you shouldn't have made.

As for monkeys... lots of people hate 'em. I like them, but I hate crows. Usually my plan on a monkey board is to pay attention to hard to match squares but most importantly put the monkeys in cages from the bottom up. If you start with the upper cages it's much more likely you'll let monkeys out as you try to fill the bottom cages.