This Game Guide/FAQ is created for personal use only. You must not use it
for anything that gains profit. Specifically Magazines, Game Guides,
Commercial Web Sites, unless you have my written permission.
You’re also not allowed to rip off part/s of this Game Guide/FAQ and put
it on your own Game Guide/FAQ. Anyone doing this is guilty of plagiarism",
the act of stealing and passing off of ideas and words of another as one’s
own without crediting the source.
You also cannot use this Game Guide/FAQ as a guide for you to make your own
Game Guide/FAQ, you must do everything there is to do in the game yourself
or have others give info about your game and give them proper credit. You
can copy the layout though.
You can put this Game Guide/FAQ on your non-commercial or non-profit web
site provided that not a single character has been edited or removed and you
MUST have permission from me in order to do so. You can also, print a copy of
the entire FAQ/Guide or a part of it, provided you only use it for personal
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Remember "You don’t have to steal, just ask." - B.O.F.III
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2. Contact Information
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If you wish to ask me a question or make a suggestion, email me at
frozenfox[at]hotmail.com - and include "Jezzball" in the topic title.
Do note that I can not respond to every email I get, but I will try my
best to.
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3. Version History
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Version 1.0
===========
-About JezzBall Completed
-Strategies & Walkthrough Completed
-Submitted: 1 March 2005
-Created: 1 March 2005
-File Size: 15kb
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4. About JezzBall
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About
=====
JezzBall was created by Dima Pavlovsky of Marjacq Micro Ltd (now known simply
as Marjacq). Windows bought the JezzBall trademark in 1992, and packaged the
game as part of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack. The Microsoft Entertainment
Park (or Windows Entertainment Pack, as it is often known) is a compilation of
some very basic games, which are usually very simple to get into. The WEP
often came with Windows 95 when buying a new computer. It was also possible
to buy the Microsoft Entertainment Pack seperately.
Back Story
==========
Every good game should have a back story, and JezzBall is no different!
This is the story which accompanies the game:
"On a far-off world, a new kind of atom has been discovered. It's called a
Jezz, and you get paid galactic credits each time you trap one for shipment
back to Earth. The Jezz atoms preserve their energy best when tightly
confined, so the smaller the chamber you trap them in, the more galactic
credits you acquire.
The game begins in a large capture chamber with two Jezz atoms bouncing around.
With a click of the mouse, you can build a new chamber wall and trap the Jezz
atoms in a smaller space. But be careful, if you don't build your wall
completely across the chamber before it's hit by a Jezz atom, it won't
withstand the impact.
Be forewarned, JezzBall is not just challenging and great fun, but also
strangely soothing and satisfying. Once you start trapping atoms, you
won't want to stop!"
Playing The Game
================
The object of JezzBall is to trap Jezz atoms in the smallest possible
chambers. You make the chambers smaller with the wallbuilder. The wallbuilder
is the name given to the cursor, with which you can divide the arena. By
pressing the left mouse button, you can create walls. Pressing the right
mouse button switches between horizontal and vertical wall building.
Watch the Jezz atoms closely. The challenge is to gauge enough time to
anchor your wall on both sides of the chamber before it is struck by an
atom. If only one side of your wall anchors before being hit by an atom,
a partial wall is left behind but the cost is one chamber life. You
advance to the next level when the walls you build reduce the chamber
by at least 75 percent. If you reduce the chamber more than 75 percent,
you are awarded extra points. Each time you advance a level, an additional
Jezz atom is placed in the chamber. The more atoms you work with, the
higher your points. If the atoms are moving too fast, you can slow them
down, but you'll only earn half as many points.
There is a time limit for each game level in JezzBall. The more atoms
at play in the capture chamber, the more time you are allotted for
trapping them. The countdown clock is shown in the upper-right corner
of the screen.
Rules of the Game
=================
-Trap the Jezz atoms into smaller spaces in order to make at least 75 percent
of the chamber disappear. You can check on your progress by looking at the
area cleared at the bottom of the screen.
-The wallbuilder can sustain only a limited number of atomic hits. Each time
it is hit, it loses one chamber life. The number of lives left is displayed
in the upper-left corner of the screen.
-If two atoms are free in the chamber, a wall in progress can be hit once.
On level one, a second hit by a Jezz atom ends the game. You are allowed an
additional hit for each atom in the chamber. For example, at level 7, the
wallbuilder can sustain six hits, with the game ending on the seventh.
A game ends when the wallbuilder is destroyed by atoms or when you run out
of time.
-The time left in the game is shown in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Playing time is increased for each level of complexity. The more atoms in
play, the more time you have to trap them.
-Each time you succeed in eliminating at least 75 percent of the chamber,
you advance to the next level and an additional Jezz atom pops into play.
Scoring
=======
JezzBall computes your score based upon how much of the capture chamber you
can eliminate. The chamber is divided into squares. You get points for each
square that you eliminate, including those squares knocked out by the
wallbuilder and empty areas that are cut off from the chamber. At the
beginning level, with two atoms, and at slow speed, you receive 3.5 points
for each square eliminated, 70 points for each vertical column, and 98 points
for each horizontal column. At fast speed the points are doubled. The
greater the number of atoms in the chamber, the more points you are awarded
for each square that you eliminate.
Bonus points are awarded at the completion of each level based upon how
completely you eliminated the squares of the capture chamber. The first level
of bonus points is given for each percent of space eliminated above 80
percent. The second level of bonus points kicks in for each percentage
eliminated above 90 percent. These bonus points increase according to how
many atoms are in play.
To see the highest scores: access the Game menu, and select High Scores.
Options
=======
New Game: Press F2 to start a new game, on level 1 with 0 points.
Pause: F3 pauses and unpauses the game, in case you need a toilet
break or something.
Speed Level: You can select Slow or Fast. This makes the atoms move slowly
or quickly, it also applies to the wallbuilder, and also
the countdown timer. Beware however, you will only earn half
as many points on Slow as you would on Fast.
Sound: On or Off - This is self-explanatory
If you complete Level 49, you will not get any Game Complete screen or
ending movie, but you will just get another level - Level 49 again, and
again and again.
Strategies
==========
-When starting out, play the game on Slow speed just to get used to it
-On the earlier levels, the best strategy is to split the area in two,
sepearting half the balls into each side. And then keep repeating
this strategy in each smaller area. When you're left with one ball in
a single area, it is very easy to reduce the size of that area.
-Trapping balls in funnels or chimneys is a strategy used by many
JezzBall players, as you can get many balls stuck in these, thus freeing
up lots of space
-Another tactic is to create rooms or boxes to trap the balls in. This is
done by sacrficing one or two lives to create the rooms.
-These tactics can be seen by watching the Demo part of the game
-Build vertical walls first. Because the screen is rectangular, vertical
walls aren't as long as horizontal walls, and you get a little more bounce
time to complete the span.
-The game help gives this strategy "Keep the wallbuilder away from the sides
of the chamber. Since walls grow in two directions at once, take full
advantage of this by centering the wallbuilder." - Note that this is only
applicable for early levels, as you have to lose lives to progress in the
later levels
-Try to divide the group of balls with each wall you build. This is especially
important when playing at levels with multiple balls. If you don't divide
the balls into smaller groups, each wall becomes more difficult to
build because the same number of balls are bouncing through an ever
smaller space.
-For higher scores, take your time on the lower levels. Remember that you
get bonus points for eliminating more than 80 percent of the chamber, and
additional bonus points for eliminating more than 90 percent. So on the
early levels, see how precisely you can isolate the balls. It is much harder
to gain points in the later levels.
Skip Level
==========
Press Ctrl, Shift, and F12 on any level to finish the level, and jump to
the next level. This is especially useful when you have only one life
remaining.
Infinite Lives
==============
(This is unconfirmed)
Type in "Lives" while playing the game
Next Version:
-Some Frequently Asked Questions
-Whatever you request
Credits:
-"A" Tadeo for the Disclaimer
-CJayC for putting this FAQ on his site, www.gamefaqs.com
-SNg and Hil for putting it on www.IGN.com
-Someone or other for this Game
-Microsoft for Windows and Notepad
-You for reading it
-And not reading the credits, personally I don't blame you
-They are rather boring
