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I Have An Addiction

Updated on March 28, 2013

What Is An Addiction?

First, let me give you the definition of an addiction. An addiction is a physical or psychological dependence on a substance or a continued activity despite the negative consequences associated with it.

My addiction is to match games. You are thinking that this is not too bad...but you are totally wrong. It is just as bad as any other addiction or maybe even worse than some other addiction you could have. I will show you in the following modules exactly why I think this is a bad addiction.

Photo Credit: All of the images in this lens are mine. Please do not copy.

Grandma Marilyn at her computer
Grandma Marilyn at her computer

How Do I Know I Am Addicted?

My confession

I know I am addicted to these games because once I start them I can't get away from them for hours. When I say hours, I mean hours. I usually spend no less than 6 hours on these games and usually more. If I can't get one of them to work, I go on to another one. I tell myself that I need to quit because I need to make super, work on my lenses, go grocery shopping, or whatever. But, I don't quit. I continue playing the games. It is an obsession. I really must continue trying to get a better score.

Following are some of the games that I am addicted to. I try to stay away from them as much as I can. I tend to play them a lot when I get depressed. It is something that is repetitious and doesn't take much thinking other than do the 3 gems match each other. I love the ones that are challenging. The more challenging the better.

To Match 3 Games

Bejeweled 3 Game Choices for PC
Bejeweled 3 Game Choices for PC

Are you Addicted

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Bejeweled Blitz Badges & Scores Offline
Bejeweled Blitz Badges & Scores Offline

Bejeweled Blitz

Was my favorite game

I played Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook for quite some time but it was so small I could barely see it and you had to have a good connection to keep it going. So when they offered it for sale so you could play it on your computer at home. I bought it on February 4, 2011. You still played against your friends. You just weren't in Facebook. To compete against your friends, you had to connect to Facebook though.

In December 2012, PopCap quit supporting the PC version of this game. I had to search around for another game to take up my time. I used to love competing against everyone else. I can still play the game on my PC and compete against myself. It's just that that gets boring. OR, I could go on facebook and play the game against my friends even though it would be rather small on my laptop and hard to see.

Photo Credit: Photo does not show anyone's scores but my own.

Bejeweled 3 - My pick to replace Bejeweled Blitz

When PopCap decided not to support the PC version of the Bejeweled Blitz, they sent me a letter giving me a code for a free game from all of their other games. This is the one I opted for. It was as close to Bejeweled Blitz as I could get.

Bejeweled 3
Bejeweled 3
This is a wonderful game where you can pick what mode you would like to play. First, you have an option to play your game in either the full screen version or a smaller screen. The full screen comes in handy on a laptop. Once you opt to play the game, you have 4 different versions of the game to play. 1. The Classic game - this version is the original version of the game and is not timed. 2. Zen game - this version is an endless game that can be used to relax your mind and body. 3. Lightning game - this version will get your heart to pounding as you are timed and have to hurry to get your points. You collect time gems to charge up for bonus games. 4. Quest game - this one contains 40 different little minigames for you to play. Plus, you have 4 Secret Modes that you unlock as you play your other versions. I have managed to open Poker and Ice Storm. Still have 2 more to go. Badges are awarded for different feats. There are 65 of these. If you enjoy the match 3 type of games, you will love this one. UPDATE 1-9-13: I just opened another Secret Mode. It is called Diamond Mine. It is really cool. I found myself playing it for the last 2 days for no less than 6 hours each day. I think I need to stay away from this one or I will never get any work done.
 
Jewel Quest Heritage Family Tree
Jewel Quest Heritage Family Tree

Jewel Quest Heritage

A game with a challenge

This game is really interesting. Not only do you have to match the jewels or whatever shows up on the screen. Each phase has a different theme to challenge you. You are going through a family tree of Natalie Pack. As you go through each one of the members of her family tree, you must finish the challenge that they throw at you. An example of one of the challenges is to cage some apes while you are trying to get all of the squares gold by matching gems. I found some new types of challenges in this game that I had never had before. This is really a game that you need to try.

UPDATE 1-9-13: I just finished all of the levels of this game. Boy, this was some challenge. Now it says that I can pick and choose which ones I want to replay and they will be more difficult. Now to decide if I want this challenge. LOL

Passages 3 Game
Passages 3 Game

Where Did This Addiction Start

It wasn't where I thought it was

After much reflection, I realize that I blamed the wrong game for starting my obsession with match 3 games. It wasn't Bejeweled or Jewel Quest. In reality, it started a long time before I even knew that Bejeweled Blitz existed. The very first games that I became addicted to were Centipede and Frogger on the Commodore 64 and Atari systems. Then came a game for the PC called Passages 3. This was my first experience with matching in a game. This did not match 3 like items but matched colors or image in the game instead. I would sit and play this for hours on end.

So when you begin to wonder where your addictions start, look beyond your conscious memory and start digging into your sub-conscious. You might be surprised what you find.

My Stats on Trizzle
My Stats on Trizzle

Oh, NO!

Another Game To Be Addicted To

I was watching my NCIS on TV the other day and they advertised their game site called Character Arcade. I went to check it out to see what they had. Lo and behold, I found another game that I am addicted to now. It is called Trizzle. You match 3 of the little characters and will get a medium character. Match 3 of these medium characters and you get a large one. Match 3 of the large characters and you get more moves. So far, I am not too far but it is really cool.

Oh, yes, you save up points for gifts like downloads of your favorite show.

This picture is of my statistics on Trizzle.

Blackbox

I love getting comments from my readers either good or bad. It shows me that someone is stopping by and reading my articles. If it is bad, then I will correct the fault.

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