Bejeweled 3

Bejeweled 3

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Ice Breaker: Platinum achievement
By dart193
The rarest achievement in Bejeweled 3 is Ice Breaker: Platinum. It is the hardest one. This guide provides tips on how to achieve it and also some technical data about column combos.
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About the achievement
Ice Breaker: Platinum
Get a 15x column combo in Ice Storm Mode

The achievement is hard because of 2 reasons:
1) The random nature of column-combo gem combinations.
2) Very little time between breaking 2 columns.

The guide will not provide a guaranteed way to obtain the achievement. There is just no guaranteed way. The guide instead will give tips which would be of a help to anyone trying this achievement.
What is a column combo?
The column combo (CC for shortness) is a destruction ice columns within small time. The combo increases if you destroyed an ice column and amount of time passed since previous destroyed column is less than some amount.

The approx. amount of time between columns: 2-2.5 seconds. That is small and big at the same time.

An ice column can be destroyed by:
1) Making a vertical match in the same column as a colum itself.
2) Triggering star gem in the same column.

Effectively, that means that you must search for vertical matches and clear them within 2 seconds of each other.

A combo does NOT ends if you make a match that does not destroys a column for as long as you destroy them within 2 seconds of each other. That means that you can make horizontal match or trigger rainbow cube and still be in combo.
Achievement tips
So, you are going to get this achievement. Here are my tips:
1) Use WASD instead of mouse to make matches. It increases your matching speed by about 1.4 times. If you are bad with keyboard, i highly recommend you to try.
2) If you don't make good enough combo before x3 multiplier, restart. double sized columns are lots of easier to destroy and you need 1 avaliable match per each 2 columns to sucessfully continue the combo. If you are on bigger multiplier, amount of columns is about the same, but they are only 1 column wide.
3) Remain calm. If you made it to x14 but you can't find a match, don't panic. Even if it seems that the combo is over, keep searching. I made my last match PURELY by staying calm. I was a nanosecond before failure.
4) Chains are your WORST friends. Chains require a bit more brain power to find matches, and sometimes they simply change the field way too much. Also, a big chain takes lots of time. The chain may destroy some columns on its own however.
5) Due to 4), don't try to create explosive gems and use them. They are not worth it.
6) If there are more than one match possible for an ice column to be destroyed, choose the one that is higher/the one that will not alter other matches you see. Also, triggering a match in lower part of screen can create a chain reation and screw you.
7) You have about 2-2.5 seconds between each column. USE these. If you see a match immediately after another one, don't insta click it. Use remaining time to see for matches in columns with other ice columns. If none are present, look for matches in columns where you think an ice will rise. That highly slows down requred pace of matches.
8) Remember: an ice will not start rising where it just was. If you have three 2-col. wide ice columns, then if you destroy one, another will rise in space that was empty before.
9) The amount of time that it takes for star gem/rainbow cube animation to finish is not accounted into CC.
10) For the reason above, if you see that after your current match, no more CC matches are avalible, and you got a cube around, trigger the cube. First, it will refresh the field. While the refreshing is done, you have some time to rest. However, while gems fall in place its hard to seek matches, so cubes are double edged swords.
11) Avoid triggering matches, if gems you swap will create 2 matches and you only destroy one column total. If possible to trigger them separately, do so and you have 1 extra match.
Other strategies
Originally posted by Tonic:
Make a move, then printscreen and paste to "mspaint" for example. while bejew window is not active it doesn't count time. so you can calm down and look upon situation on the table.
once you decided to make a move you just open bejew window and make that move. and printscreen again. and so on and on untill success.
Problem is there's not always good move on a table
Credits
dart193 - author of this guide.
Tonic - pause and printscreen strategy.
30 Comments
Can you see my emotion? 20 Dec, 2023 @ 12:10am 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg4ZVG3TCFg

u can press and hold the window bar to pause the game
Power Supersport 23 Sep, 2023 @ 1:46pm 
Something that isn't immediately obvious, but is an integral part of the game, is that the game actually helps you do combos . There is an algorithm to make sure that you don't end up not being able to keep chaining your combos.

If there are no vertical matches at all, the game will drop you a hypercube or try to auto clear some of the board to provide you with a vertical match. If there are vertical matches, but not over an ice column, one will likely start growing immediately just after you start doing your match.

Keep in mind though that ice columns grow in a queue. This means if one has been destroyed on column 3, it will not reappear there until another one is destroyed. (explained in point 8)

This algorithm really makes the game seem fair if you lose.

I've managed an x28 combo.
WhatTheHeckBek 26 Jun, 2023 @ 4:53pm 
its been 2 years and I still cant get it :( AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Bplague 16 Oct, 2022 @ 12:45pm 
OMG I GOT IT :spookycloseup:
Raf99 28 Mar, 2022 @ 10:20am 
Tonic is legend. Ive done this with ps strategy first try!
Birkinsmith 18 Feb, 2022 @ 3:09am 
My last few achievements are for this fricken thing.... Thanks for the tips :praisesun:
Silver Mustang 8 Aug, 2021 @ 8:20pm 
I am trying, good luck for me.:steamsad:
dart193  [author] 23 Dec, 2019 @ 12:40pm 
I am glad I could help.
Some games have achievements that are challenging and interesting. These are usually simply fun by themselves.
Then there are achievements that are either boring/cumulative, are way too frustrating or there are just too many confusing mechanics involved. These achievements do deserve guides.
Since this was the latest achievement I got and it requires to be particularry fast and smart at the same time, I thought it would not be a bad idea to share my wisdom.
Also, some of these tips might help in regular gameplay.

Finally, the guide is now more than 5 years old. I am glad it is still useful.
5p17nP155 23 Dec, 2019 @ 11:30am 
IMO, "every achievement" guides are unnecessary and a bit condescending. Thank you for writing a guide that is actually useful. I greatly prefer "tips" over "walkthroughs".
gamersgate123 20 Mar, 2019 @ 1:16pm 
Thanks for clarifying that the combo timer dosen't shrink as the combo increases like I thought for sure it did. (BRAGGING)Thanks to you, I got a 22 combo.:steamhappy: check my screenshots if you dont believe me.