Need A New Mindfulness Practice? Try Bejeweled.
The “hidden gem” of mindfulness tucked away inside a classic puzzle game.
I remember back almost 9 years ago, when I first got Bejeweled 3 on my PC. I was still in my 20s then, and it was the first Bejeweled game I had actually owned. I hadn’t played Bejeweled since the original game in its browser version back in the early 2000s, but I remembered enjoying it, so I decided to try out the newest game in the franchise at that time.
Bejeweled 3 was a considerable upgrade. It maintained the same core experience that made the original game appealing. Innovations over the years to the franchise added a lot of variety to enjoy too. There were now many different modes with their own unique rules for playing.
All those years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined that I’d be writing an article about “Zen” mode. Back then it seemed to be the most boring and least appealing of all the modes to me. Almost a decade later it’s the mode I play and enjoy the most by far.
So What Is This “Zen” Mode Exactly?
In Bejeweled Twist and Bejeweled 3, “Zen” mode is a version of the game you can play that frees the player from the restrictions of the other modes. It actually originated in Bejeweled 2, where it was named “Endless” mode. Since then, in addition to its name change, it has gained new features to help broaden its overall appeal.
It’s a great entry point to learn how the game works for players that are new to Bejeweled, or match-3 puzzle games in general. Unlike some of the other modes, there are no requirements for progression other than the basic game’s gem-matching mechanics, and there are no punishments related to making mistakes or proceeding at a more relaxed pace.
And if you couldn’t guess from the name, relaxation is one of the key features of Zen mode. There’s an entire in-game menu dedicated to a surprising list of features you can only find while playing Zen. Many of them are designed to help you relax while playing, or give you beneficial things to focus your thoughts on.
Okay, So Why Play Zen Mode?
Glad you asked! I feel like Zen Mode is a real treat that probably gets overlooked or dismissed at first blush. It’s likely seen as being no big deal by most game players out there, especially the younger crowd. I felt that way years ago when I first tried it anyway. So what makes it interesting? I think there are a few standout features worth noting:
- You cannot lose in Zen Mode. The game will always have at least one more move for you to make.
- There is no time or move limit. Nothing is rushing you while you play, or punishing you for mistakes.
- The game mechanics are reduced to their most basic forms. Having fewer things to consider during play makes the experience more relaxing.
- The special features of the Zen menu offer a truly unique play experience.
So let’s work backward from the bottom of that list.
The Zen menu is probably the most appealing aspect overall, and what I took for granted 9 years ago is very much appreciated today. In it you’ll find settings for various things you can do while playing. These include: listening to nature sounds in the background, a variety of uplifting affirmations and mantras you can display on screen while playing, and even binaural beats and breath modulation features. All that in a puzzle game! Who knew?
The nature sounds offer a nice variety of options including things like: the relaxing sound of rainfall, the crackling of a cozy camp fire, calming rhythmic ocean waves with the occasional seagull, crickets chirping on a warm summer night, and more. You have the option to randomize them between each level that you reach as well, so you can mix up which ones you hear as you go along if you’d like. There are volume options present too in case you want to keep it more quiet, or you’d like for the nature sounds to take center stage in your listening experience.
The mantras and affirmations have a variety of options too. You can choose between categories like “Prosperity”, “Self-confidence”, or even just pick “General” and be presented with a selection of themed mantras and affirmations. I was surprised to find how insightful some of them were.
For those that have begun walking their own path down metaphysical and/or spiritual self discovery, there is a lot here to appreciate. You may find that repeating the ones that seem agreeable to you in your thoughts, or speaking them out loud if you are able to, is helpful for focusing your mental energies on your own life manifestations, and may also benefit your sense of well-being overall. At the very least it should help calm an otherwise hectic and distracted mind, and offer a better focal point than worries and troubles.
There’s also an option to have the mantras and affirmations flash in the background on the screen while you play. Normally their usual location is in the tiny blue bar at the bottom of the screen that displays your progression through each level. They will fade in and out every few seconds while you’re playing, and you can modify the speed at which they appear to suit your tastes.
Binaural beats and breath modulation take things even further for those that really want the full relaxation experience. Using headphones to get the most out of the binaural beats is recommended, and there are a number of different tones you can experiment with. Breath modulation presents a large circle that rhythmically moves on the screen, first out toward the edges, and then back in towards the center. You then sync your rate of breathing in and out to match the slower pacing of the circle’s movement. It’s great for reducing anxiety or stress levels, and can help even when you’re not aware of your body’s subtle tensions or shallow breathing.
Next let’s discuss the game mechanics. There are plenty of other modes, and the Bejeweled developers have come up with some fantastic creative ways to add variety to the base experience with modes like Lightning, Diamond Mine, Butterflies, and so on. So why is going back to the basics seen as a plus here? Mostly because of the emphasis on simplicity. With fewer complexities to focus on, it makes it easier for your mind to relax while playing, which coincides nicely with Zen mode’s goal of helping you to relax and unwind.
With Lightning Mode for example, you’re tasked with playing the game quickly, and are faced with a countdown timer. It asks the player to think quickly on their feet and make their moves rapidly without giving them much time for strategy or careful contemplation. This is deceptively stressful however. Most people don’t look at it that way, but if you pay attention to how your body feels while you’re doing a time-limited task like that, there will likely be a sense of tension, and the urgency may even present itself as stress disguised as exhilaration.
Modes like Diamond Mine and Butterflies task the player in being very careful and particular with the moves that they make, restricting them to playing only in a certain way with a specific focus. If they fail at this task they are punished with a game over, and are forced to restart. In a way, these modes also manage to convey their own kind of stress, where the player is forced to perform under pressure from the restrictions.
Zen mode’s simplicity however, combined with its lack of restrictions, does away with all those feelings of urgency and tension. Not only that, but its Zen menu features add a layer of relaxation on top of the already forgiving approach to the game. You are not limited by a timer, or a specific focus, or in your number of moves, and you are never punished with a failure of any sort. Zen mode’s algorithms are designed to always allow the player a way forward.
I think the real brilliance from a design perspective resides in that ability to always keep the player moving forward. People may look at a feature like Zen mode’s that prevents the player from ever losing, and think something like: “Oh that’s boring. You can never lose so there’s no challenge. What’s the point?” and once upon a time, I probably would have agreed with that sort of outlook too.
But the hidden genius in a feature like this is that it makes the game extremely accessible, even to people who would otherwise find its other modes too difficult or complex, or too stressful to be able to enjoy. It also does something else important: it keeps people playing the game until they decide to take a break themselves.
Premature endings to games, especially when they come after a bout of frustration, or some game element that felt unfair to the player, just makes people not want to play that game anymore. That’s not typically what creators want people to feel when they walk away from their game. Ideally, you want people to come away feeling good about it, and having had a generally positive experience, whether they play it for 5 minutes or 5 years.
Leaving a game with feelings of frustration in general often leads to negative reactions on the part of the person playing. They tell their friends and the world at large about their dissatisfaction overall, and you have a detractor that might have otherwise been a fan with the right approach.
Zen mode is almost infinitely approachable because of its design, and that ease of access not only lends itself very well to the relaxation goals it achieves, but also means that players will never leave that mode feeling like the game was being unfair to them or with a memorably bad play experience.
What About Mobile Versions?
By the way, for you mobile game players out there, I’ve mentioned Bejeweled 3 for PC in this article, but you’d probably know it as the Bejeweled Classic game instead.
You can play Bejeweled Classic on mobile for free, but it has ads in it like most free mobile games. If you’ve never tried Bejeweled before, that’s one way to try it without having to pay money. Bejeweled 3 on PC is ad-free since you buy it upfront.
There are slight differences in presentation between the two, and some features are limited on the free version of the mobile game, but they are similar experiences overall.
A “Gem” Of A Takeaway
The last place I expected to find a helpful tool along my newfound path of discovering self truths was a gem-matching puzzle video game. And yet here we are. If you’re already a fan of games like Candy Crush, just to name one popular example, you’ll feel right at home with Bejeweled. If you’ve never played a match 3 puzzle game before, Zen mode is a fantastic place to start.
And maybe if you’re at a point in your life like me, where you’re feeling ready to take some steps back from all the intensity you used to enjoy that now just feels stressful instead of fun. If that sounds familiar, you’ll probably find something to like in Zen mode too. It’s bright, it’s colorful, it’s relaxing, and it’s a game you can’t ever lose. For a time at least, you’ll find that your mind has magically stopped worrying about what’s for dinner tonight, or that office meeting you have with your supervisor 3 days from now.
Try Zen mode with an open and appreciative mind for all it manages to offer, and you might just be surprised with where it takes you.
