Gem Attack Guide
This is the official in-game help file that can be accessed through the settings menu. It contains pretty much everything you'd ever want to know in terms of details about Gem Attack's gameplay and technical details.
Known Issues
-Occasional server issues.
Changelog
1/4/2011 - Neko attack strength reduced from 90% to 80%.
12/4/2010 - Made lvl 1 CPU easier.
11/22/2010 - Made lower CPU levels easier.
11/19/2010 - First official release.
How to Play
Game Modes
There are two ways to play Gem Attack: online play, or offline training with computer-controlled opponents. At first, only 2 starting characters are playable. The rest of the characters must be purchased for use in online play, or unlocked for offline play by defeating them in training mode. Can you unlock all of the characters?
Basics
Gem Attack is a falling block game. The objective of the game is to fill your opponent's board with Garbage by sending attacks. Attacks are sent whenever you place an Attack Cube next to a gem of the same color. When this happens, any adjacent like-colored gems will explode, sending an attack to the opponent. Larger explosions send larger attacks, so try to build large groupings of like-colored gems so you can explode many gems at the same time.
You lose when your board fills up to the top. You win if your opponent's board is filled to the top.
Garbage
When an opponent attacks you, you will receive Garbage blocks on your field. The color of the Garbage blocks is determined by the opponent character's Garbage pattern.
There are two ways to clear Garbage blocks:
1) When the timer on the Garbage blocks reaches 0, they will turn into normal gems, and you can explode them using Attack Cubes.
2) Any explosions that are adjacent to a Garbage block will cause that Garbage block to explode.
Super Gems
Placing like-colored normal gems into a rectangular pattern (2x2 or larger) will cause them to merge into a Super Gem. When exploded, Super Gems are worth twice as much as normal gems, so try to form them whenever possible!
Sapphires
One in every 70 gems you receive will be a blue Sapphire piece. When dropped on top of another block, the Sapphire clears all pieces in your field that are the same color as that block. However, any attacks made using the Sapphire are weaker, so it is mainly a defensive tool. Use it wisely to escape from tough situations!
Chain Attacks
After an explosion, if gravity causes another Attack Cube to detonate a grouping of gems, you will perform a Chain attack. Chain attacks do bonus damage when compared to separate individual attacks, so try to place your Attack Cubes strategically in advance.
Tips and Tricks
Keep column 4 free!
New pieces spawn in the 4th column from the left. If there is no room in the 4th column to generate a new piece, you lose! Thus, column 4 is the most important column, and you should try to keep it free as much as possible. Unless your board is almost empty, you should always stack on the sides instead of in the middle.
Only send big attacks.
Small attacks will only be colored according to the bottom row of your Garbage pattern, so the resulting Garbage will form columns that are easy to clear once they turn into normal gems. In other words, sending small attacks only serves to provide your opponent with ammo to mount his own counter-attack! Bigger attacks will make full use of your Garbage pattern, so your opponent will have a much harder time dealing with the Garbage.
Learn to play FASTER.
Playing faster will not only help you build up attacks faster than your opponent, but the Garbage on your field will turn into normal gems more quickly, so you can use them as ammo against your opponent! Holding left or right before a piece spawns can help you get it to the side more quickly.
Practice digging through Garbage.
Oftentimes you cannot afford to wait until Garbage turns into normal gems in order to clear it. Careful placement of Attack Cubes will allow you to dig through Garbage using adjacent explosions and save you from these situations.
Memorize your opponent's Garbage pattern.
By predicting the color arrangement of your opponent's Garbage drops, you can plan in advance to build Super Gems using their Garbage. Or, you can pre-place Attack Cubes in advance to deal with their Garbage before it even falls!
Concentrate on forming Super Gems.
Remember, Super Gems are worth twice as much they would be as normal gems, so if you can consistently form them, you gain a huge boost in attack power!
Make Chain attacks whenever possible.
A 2-Chain does 19% more damage than usual, and a 3-Chain does 32% more damage than usual. Though not game-breaking, Chains can serve to make a large attack even more devastating, so take advantage of them whenever you can.
Characters
Each character has 4 characteristics that distinguish them from other characters:
Attack: A high attacks causes your attacks to send more Garbage to opponents.
Defense: A high defense causes less Garbage to drop on your field.
Garbage Strength: For the Garbage you send to opponents, Garbage strength determines how long it takes for it to turn into normal gems.
Garbage Pattern: A character's Garbage pattern determines the color arrangement of Garbage that will be sent to an opponent with each attack.
In addition, many characters have a unique special ability that helps them in some way.
Hiro
"I'm gonna be the best!"
Attack: 100%
Defense: 100%
Garbage Strength: 7
Special Ability: (none)
Garbage Pattern
RRYYRR
YYRRYY
BGBGBG
GBGBGB
Story
Hiro is just an everyday kid who wants to be the best. Tired of going through the mundane rituals of everyday life, he sees the Gem Attack tournament as a way to achieve something beyond his wildest dreams. Though young, his inexperience is made up for by his boundless determination, and his well-rounded fighting style may prove difficult to beat for all but the toughest opponents.
Strategy
Hiro makes up for his lack of special abilities with a solid offense and defense power, as well a strong Garbage pattern. As long as you make attacks that send more than a single row of Garbage, the pattern will be sufficiently jumbled to prevent your opponent from building up effectively. Strong attacks are even better as they cycle between four different colors (blue, green, red, and then yellow) in column 4.
Since Hiro is so well-rounded, he has no real weaknesses that can be exploited when playing against him. However, concentrating on building up blue and green gems might help, as will pre-placing blue Attack Gems in column 4.
Rona
"I won't lose!"
Attack: 100%
Defense: 100%
Garbage Strength: 7
Special Ability: (none)
Garbage Pattern
BBGGBB
GGBBGG
RYRYRY
YRYRYR
Story
Don't be deceived by her looks--Rona is one of the fiercest fighters of all in the Gem Attack circuit. Despite still being in school, Rona has sworn to do whatever it takes to become the best Gem Attack fighter, and has undergone relentless training to improve her skills. Now the time has finally come for her to reveal the fruits of her labor.
Strategy
Like Hiro, Rona has no special ability, but makes up for it by being extremely well-rounded in both offense and defense. Her strong Garbage pattern generally makes sending medium-sized attacks more powerful than with other characters.
As with Hiro, there is no trick to defeating Rona. However, smart players will plan ahead for the barrages of red and yellow gems that she will send in her attacks.
Neko
"Nyaa~"
Attack: 90%
Defense: 80%
Garbage Strength: 7
Special Ability: Receives no blue gems or Garbage. All blue gems and Garbage blocks that would normally be sent to Neko are randomly changed into a different color.
Garbage Pattern
RGYRGY
YRGYRG
YRGYRG
RGYRGY
Story
Neko isn't interested in proving her worth in the Gem Attack tournament, or winning the prize money--she just wants to have fun. Playful yet fierce, Neko makes up for her lackluster attack power with extraordinary powers of good fortune. Opponents may underestimate her strength, but she has a habit of getting things to go exactly the way she wants.
Strategy
Neko is a great character for beginners, as only having to deal with 3 colors instead of 4 makes it much easier to build up attacks. However, her reduced attack strength means that large attacks won't send as much Garbage as they would with other characters. In addition, you must be very careful of keeping column 4 low, or Neko's low defense will leave you vulnerable to killing blows. It is also worth noting that using a Sapphire will leave only 2 colors on the board, setting up for a potentially large attack.
When playing against Neko, your Garbage pattern may become altered for the better or for the worse due to her special ability. Although she has a below-average attack power, she can be very apt at counter-attacking and using your Garbage as ammo. The best strategy is to overwhelm her using a very large attack before this can happen.
Crystaloid
"Zzrrmm..."
Attack: 100%
Defense: 110%
Garbage Strength: 7
Special Ability: Gets Sapphires twice as often as other characters (one in every 35 gems instead of one in every 70 gems).
Garbage Pattern
YGRRRB
GGGRYB
RGBYYY
RBBBYG
Story
On the distant planet of Krystar II lives an ancient alien civilization that survives by cultivating the energy generated by special crystals that refract specific wavelengths of light. The announcement of the Gem Attack tournament piqued the interest of the alien race, and Crystaloid was sent as an emissary to measure the worth of the other competitors. His powerful lucent beam attack and his innate knowledge of crystalline substances will surely be useful in his battles.
Strategy
Crystaloid is a defense-oriented character. Although his attack strength is normal, his Garbage pattern tends to group similar-colored gems together, making it easier for your opponent to build up large gems. Be especially wary of sending small attacks when using Crystaloid. On the other hand, his above-average defense combined with his special ability will allow him to survive large attacks more easily than other characters.
When playing against Crystaloid, you must keep in mind that Sapphires tend to save him from attacks that would otherwise be fatal to other characters. Try either finishing him off in one fell swoop, or constantly applying pressure so that one lucky Sapphire piece won't save him.
Oak
"Nature will prevail."
Attack: 70%
Defense: 110%
Garbage Strength: 7
Special Ability: Sends Garbage that can't be cleared by explosions. This Garbage cannot be removed until it turns into normal gems, except by using a Sapphire.
Garbage Pattern
GRGRGR
BGBGBG
GYGYGY
RGRGRG
Story
One thousand years have passed since the last time Oak left his sacred grove to execute his duties as the defender of the forest. As both humans and animals encroach on the forest lands, the time has come again for him to protect the peace and tranquility of nature's stronghold. Oak's slow and steady attacks are sure to wear down even the toughest foes.
Strategy
Oak's strength lies in his ability to build up his opponent's screen over time with his hard-to-remove Garbage combined with a great Garbage pattern. The longer a match goes on, the more cluttered the opponent's field will become, so Oak tends to win in battles of endurance, and his above-average defense is perfectly suited for this style of play.
When playing against Oak, you must be proactive in keeping your own field clear. Pay particular attention to column 4, as a drop from Oak takes at least 7 turns before it can be cleared at all. Also be sure to use Sapphires to your best advantage, as they are the only way to clear Oak's Garbage before waiting for the timer to expire. Finally, you must make larger attacks than usual when playing against Oak to offset his higher defensive power.
Houdini
"Feelin' lucky, punk?"
Attack: 120%
Defense: 110%
Garbage Strength: (random)
Special Ability: Random Garbage strength from 1 to 9 with each attack.
Garbage Pattern
YGYGYG
YGYGYG
YGYGYG
YGYGYG
Story
Houdini is a true master of gambling. Having won multiple poker, blackjack, and even slot tournaments, he now owns his own casino and lives a life of luxury. With the announcement of the Gem Attack tournament, Houdini now has a new game to try his luck with...
Strategy
Houdini is a true gambler, and the Garbage he sends may spawn with a timer as low as 1 or as high as 9. His Garbage pattern is also quite bad, but he makes up for it with the best attack and defense statistics in the game. His high attack power allows him to make large attacks very easily and crush his opponents quickly, but if luck is not on his side, a large attack could quickly backfire. Also note that because all 4 rows of his garbage pattern are the same, smaller attacks are not
Exploiting Houdini's Garbage pattern is the key to surviving his large attacks. Pre-placing green and yellow Attack Cubes is essential when playing against him, especially for column 4. In addition, smart placement of green and yellow normal gems can lead to the formation of large Super Gems by connecting the yellow and green columns of Garbage together.
Viper
"I'll ssstrike you when you leassst expect it."
Attack: 90%
Defense: 100%
Garbage Strength: 7
Special Ability: Deals 25% bonus damage with Chain attacks.
Garbage Pattern
RBBBBB
RBYYGY
RBRRGY
GGGGGY
Story
Viper is a member of one of the largest and most poisonous races of snakes in the Aztec jungle. Though not an official competitor in the Gem Attack circuit, he plans to eliminate the rest of the entrants one by one from the shadows and then proclaim himself as the winner. Viper's cunning wit and clever planning allow him to defeat opponents when they least expect it.
Strategy
Viper's normal attack power may be below average, but skilled players will be able to take advantage of his special ability to consistently make larger attacks than other characters would be able to. When playing as Viper, 2-Chains send almost 50% more damage than normal attacks, and 3-Chains net you a whopping 65% bonus, so make sure to perform Chain attacks whenever possible by planting Attack Cubes in strategic locations.
There's not much you can do to counteract Viper's special ability, but be sure to take advantage of his somewhat weak Garbage pattern by pre-placing green Attack Cubes and gems.
Spookster
"Spookster's the name, and tricks are my game. Eheehee!"
Attack: 90%
Defense: 100%
Garbage Strength: 5
Special Ability: Sends gray-colored Garbage to the opponent.
Garbage Pattern
BBRRRB
BYRBBB
BYGRRR
YYGGGR
Story
A michevious spirit, Spookster is only out to trick and confuse his helpless victims. He sees the Gem Attack tournament as nothing more than another opportunity to play pranks and get a good laugh out of them. However, his powers of ectoplasmic manipulation make him a solid opponent, especially when combined with the mindgames he plays on his foes.
Strategy
Spookster makes up for his below-average attack power and Garbage strength by disguising his Garbage so that opponents can't tell what color it is until it transforms into normal gems. This can be very confusing to opponents, especially if you attack multiple times in succession.
Memorizing Spookster's Garbage pattern is key to knowing how to deal with his attacks. Although you can't see what color the Garbage is, it still follows the Garbage pattern, so if you can memorize it, you'll be able to decipher what color it truly is. Pay special attention to the green, red, blue, red sequence in column 4. Aside from that, you can always rely on adjacent explosions to clear Garbage blocks if you're not sure what color they are.
Scarlet
"Double, double toil and trouble..."
Attack: 75%
Defense: 100%
Garbage Strength: (0)
Special Ability: Drops normal gems on the opponent's field instead of Garbage.
Garbage Pattern
YRGBYR
GBYRGB
YRGBYR
GBYRGB
Story
Scarlet is a powerful witch who has studied the art of black magic for many years. Riding on her flying broomstick, she casts magical spells on her opponents that leave them dazzled and bewildered. Together with her magic wand and her nameless black cat, she will prove to be a difficult foe to defeat. Her reasons for entering the Gem Attack tournament are unknown, but she must have some sort of plan up her sleeve...
Strategy
Although it might seem like sending normal gems instead of Garbage blocks is a disadvantage, Scarlet's "Garbage" pattern is arguably the best in the game, so it's not at all easy to dig through. In fact, it's even harder to dig through because you can't clear through it with adjacent explosions as with normal Garbage. The drawback is that Scarlet has a hard time sending large drops because of her low attack power. However, attacks that send only 2 rows of "Garbage" are still extremely effective with Scarlet.
Pre-placing red Attack Cubes in column 4 is extremely helpful when playing against Scarlet. In addition, you must try to make the best possible use of any Attack Cubes you receive, otherwise you will quickly become overwhelmed by jumbled normal gems with no way to eliminate them.
Garbage Man
"One man's garbage is another man's home!"
Attack: 100%
Defense: 120%
Garbage Strength: 9
Special Ability: Receives Garbage blocks instead of normal gems.
Garbage Pattern
BBYYRR
YYRRGG
RRGGBB
GGBBYY
Story
Not much is known about the elusive Garbage Man--only that he thrives on junk and hates hand sanitizer.
Strategy
Garbage Man requires a radically different style of play because he builds up by dropping Garbage (with a timer of 3) on his own playing field. Thus, you must carefully build up groupings of Garbage that will form normal gem groupings for attacks. In addition, you must keep in mind that all of the Garbage blocks you place can be destroyed by adjacent explosions, so you must be careful not to destroy blocks that you are trying to use to build up an attack. Fortunately, Garbage Man's high defense makes it slightly easier to deal with his opponent's attacks, and his high Garbage strength can pose problems for opponents.
Garbage Man's main threat is his high Garbage strength. Dealing with his Garbage requires quick play, as well as clearing Garbage by using adjacent explosions. His high defense makes him difficult to eliminate quickly, but correctly-timed attacks will foil any attacks he attempts to build.
Pyro
"burn...Burn...BURN..."
Attack: 80%
Defense: 100%
Garbage Strength: 7
Special Ability: Each red gem or Garbage block sends 50% more garbage than usual.
Garbage Pattern
RYRYRY
YRYRYR
RYRYRY
YRYRYR
Story
A lava demon who was born from the molten magma in a volcanic eruption, Pyro's body temperature has never been successfully measured, as any temperature-sensing devices have melted upon contact with his body. Indeed, the only thing hotter than Pyro's attacks is his fiery attitude. Pyro has entered the Gem Attack tournament with the sole purpose of burning everything and everyone to ashes.
Strategy
Pyro is dependent on red gems for launching strong attacks. Playing him can be a bit of a gamble, since your attack power is determined in part by the piece randomizer and by your opponent's garbage pattern. Try to concentrate on building large red Super Gems, as gems of other colors are not that effective due to his weak base attack power. Also be sure to give yourself a reliable way to detonate groupings of red gems.
Pyro is deadliest when he manages to amass a large grouping of red gems or Super Gems. Try to pay attention to his field so you can realize when this happens. Then, either be prepared to face a large barrage of Garbage, or attempt to send a row or two of Garbage his way so that he can't detonate his attack. Also make good use of any Sapphires you receive, as they are greatly effective against Pyro's Garbage pattern.
Golem
"..."
Attack: 100%
Defense: 110%
Garbage Strength: 7
Special Ability: Sends Garbage in 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, or 6x6 squares. The square of Garbage drops in a random horizontal location on the opponent's field.
Garbage Pattern
Golem has no set Garbage pattern, but his Garbage groupings are formed from concentric squares of alternating colors.
Story
Created by an ancient sorcerer thousands of years ago, Golem is a magical being made completely out of stone. Incapable of speech, he has wandered the land aimlessly for years. The Gem Attack tournament has at long last provided him with the chance to face off against worthy opponents.
Strategy
Golem is a fairly unorthodox character to play. Small attacks with Golem are almost always a waste, as they will either result in only 1 Garbage block being sent, or a 2x2 square of Garbage of one color (which tends to form a Super Gem for the opponent). However, a 3x3 square of Garbage has a 5 in 6 chance of dropping 3 Garbage blocks in an opponent's 4th column. 4x4 and 5x5 squares of Garbage are even better, as they guarantee 4 or 5 blocks of Garbage in an opponent's 4th column. Thus, Golem can cause an opponent to face a quick defeat if they are not careful.
When playing against Golem it is especially important to keep your column 4 clear because he can raise it more easily than other characters can. However, the color pattern of his Garbage is not very good, so it can generally be cleared easily as long as you survive long enough.
Dino
"I am Dino. Hear me roar!"
Attack: 90%
Defense: 90%
Garbage Strength: 5
Special Ability: Super Gems send 25% more garbage than usual. Every cell of a Super Gem is worth 2.5 times its normal value, as opposed to 2.
Garbage Pattern
BBBBBB
YYYYYY
GGGGGG
RRRRRR
Story
Somewhere in the world, there exists a vast savannah where the only group of surviving dinosaurs is rumored to live. Dino is the leader of the group, and has entered the Gem Attack tournament to declare ultimate supremacy over anything and everything. His relentless attacks and power can be overwhelming for the weak and unprepared.
Strategy
Dino is all about making big attacks. His normal attack power is below-average, so you will send more Garbage only if you stack smartly and build Super Gems as much as possible. Despite his below-average Garbage strength, Dino's Garbage pattern is very difficult to dig through because each row is a different color. However, try to avoid sending small attacks at all costs, otherwise the opponent will receive many red gems to use as ammo for a counter-attack.
Dino's attacks can be overwhelming because of his strong Garbage pattern, so be sure to pre-place red Attack Cubes in column 4 to prepare for them. In addition, practice clearing Garbage using adjacent explosions (before it turns into normal gems) in order to dig through his Garbage pattern more easily.
Berserker
"MURDER...DEATH...KILL."
Attack: 75%
Defense: 110%
Garbage Strength: 7
Special Ability: Deals 175% damage when your board is at least 50% full.
Garbage Pattern
BBYYBB
RRBBRR
GYRRYG
GYRRYG
Story
In the mountains of Kra-Duk-Na there lives a being who is known only as the Berserker. Living alone, he has developed an inhuman strength from fighting the mountain beasts that inhabit the area. Almost nothing can stop him once he becomes enraged, and he seems determined to crush anyone who would prevent him from becoming the champion of the Gem Attack tournament.
Strategy
Don't be deceived by Berserker's low base attack power. When his board is mostly filled and he becomes "enraged", his overall attack becomes 131%--the strongest in the entire game. The key to winning with Berserker is to keep your board mostly full and then launch massive attacks to crush your opponents. Small attacks are to be avoided, especially because the lower 2 rows of his Garbage pattern are identical and can cause Super Gems to form for your opponent. Be sure to keep an eye on Berserker's character sprite throughout the match--when he turns red, he has become enraged and will do bonus damage.
Berserker is only a threat when the majority of his board is full. When playing against him, you must avoid letting him launch a large attack in his "enraged" state at all costs. Also be sure to take advantage of his weak Garbage pattern--stacking red gems in columns 2 and 5 can lead to large Super Gems being formed after Berserker attacks. Finally, pay special attention to the timing of your attacks. In order to send powerful attacks, Berserker must put himself in danger by filling his own board, so try to take this opportunity to finish him off.
Advanced Details and Technical Information
(For experts only!)
Formulas
Garbage Formula
Every block that is exploded has a certain point value:
Normal gems: 1 point each
Attack Cubes: 1 point each
Garbage blocks: 0.25 points each
Each cell of a Super Gem: 2 points each
For Dino, each cell of a Super Gem is instead worth 2.5 points. For Pyro, each red normal gem is worth 1.5 points and each cell of a red Super Gem is worth 3 points.
Next, the Chain bonus is applied. The multiplier for a Chain of length N is N^(1/4). For example, a 3-Chain would result in the point total being multiplied by 3^(1/4)=1.316.
If you are playing as Snake, you now multiply by an additional factor of 1.25 if you made a Chain attack. If you are playing as Berserker and at least half of your field was full before you made the attack, you multiply by an additional factor of 1.5.
Next, we multiply by the attacking character's attack power, and then divide by the defending character's defense power.
If a sapphire piece was used in this attack to explode any other block (the only way to avoid this is to put the sapphire piece in the bottom row), then we multiply by a penalty of 0.5.
Finally, we divide by an overall garbage scaling factor of 1.2, and then round down to an integer to obtain the final amount of Garbage that is sent. This Garbage amount gets added to the "pending Garbage" for the other player.
Garbage Placement
Pending Garbage only drops after you place your active piece (and after any explosions happen). Note that it is possible for pending Garbage to accumulate, so the effects of multiple small attacks will be treated exactly the same as one large attack if you wait long enough.
When pending Garbage is dropped, it gets placed in columns as follows:
1) First, complete rows of 6 pieces of Garbage are dropped. 2) If there are between 1 to 5 Garbage blocks left over that didn't form a complete row, they are placed randomly in columns that have space for them. However, column 4 will always be picked LAST. In other words, assuming no columns are full, a drop of 5 Garbage blocks will NEVER result in any Garbage being dropped in column 4.
The exception to these rules is Golem. Golem's NxN squares of Garbage blocks get placed randomly without regard to the column 4 rule. Golem's Garbage is colored as follows: the outermost square of blocks is colored randomly, and then going inwards the concentric squares follow a sequence of red->green->blue->yellow->red->...
Note that Garbage patterns wrap around for attacks that are larger than 4 rows, so the 5th row of a Garbage drop will be colored according to the bottom row of a character's Garbage pattern.
Piece Randomizer
Both players receive the exact same piece sequence (except for Neko, who receives no blue pieces). The probability of an individual gem being an Attack Cube starts at 15% and increases to 40% as the match goes on, in increments of 0.4%. So the probability of the first gem (the bottom gem of the first active piece) being an Attack Cube is 15%, and the probability of the second gem (the top gem of the first active piece) being an Attack Cube is 15.4%, and so on. Sapphire pieces are not generated at random, but are given at predetermined intervals--every 70th piece will be a Sapphire (except for Crystaloid, who also gets Sapphires every 35th piece).
Timings
Gem Attack runs at 60 FPS, so each frame is about 17 msecs. The animation rate of the characters is 10 FPS.
Holding left or right will cause the active piece (if there is one) to be moved one column. After 8 frames, if the button remains held, the piece will move one more column each frame thereafter.
When a piece is active, it falls one row every 60 frames. If it can't fall one row, it is instead locked into place and dropped at its current location as if you had dropped it yourself. After a piece drops, there is a 4-frame lock delay before gems start exploding. The interval between one gem exploding and an adjacent gem exploding is 5 frames. The explosion phase ends 10 frames after the last exploding gem starts exploding. After explosions, gravity is applied and blocks fall at a rate of one row every 2 frames. After falling, there is an additional 4-frame lock delay, and then additional explosions start. If there are no more explosions, garbage drops from the top of the screen (again falling at one row every 2 frames). After garbage drops, there is an additional check for explosions (when playing against Scarlet it is possible for a Garbage drop to immediately cause an explosion), and then a new active piece spawns.
Miscellaneous Notes
When playing as Garbage Man against Spookster, your own Garbage blocks will turn gray as you drop them. Be careful!
Likewise, when playing as Garbage Man against Oak, your own Garbage blocks become indestructible! This can be both a blessing and a curse...
Berserker's character sprite turns red when at least 50% of his playing field is full. Keep an eye on his sprite to gauge whether he will to bonus damage.
A Sapphire that is dropped in the bottom row of the playing field will explode without any additional effects.
Pieces rotate around the bottom starting piece. If you try to rotate a piece and the rotation would result in an invalid position, the following sequence of placements is tried in order:
-Rotate the piece + shift it one column to the right. -Rotate the piece + shift it one column to the left. -Rotate the piece by 180 degrees by having one gem travel across the other. -Rotate the piece by 180 degrees by having both gems swap places.
The playing field is 6x11 cells. If there is only one empty row at the top of your field, your active piece will spawn one row higher than normal, so that the top gem is not visible.
"Warning" is displayed when between 1 and 5 Garbage pieces are pending. "Caution" is displayed when between 6 and 11 Garbage pieces are pending. "Danger" is displayed when 12 or more Garbage pieces are pending. Note that this corresponds closely (but not exactly) to the thresholds for the 3 different character attack animations (which are 1, 4, and 12).
There are certain situations where multiple Super Gem formations are possible. In these cases, the disambiguating rule is to check for Super Gem formations starting from the bottom-left and going across and then up. Wider Super Gem rectangles are favored over taller ones. In certain cases, this may cause an already-existing Super Gem to restructure itself. Note that Super Gems cannot form in mid-air.