Terrace Town - Levels 421 - 426 (Region 71)

[Phaedrakiki]

Nothing on the TL Blog (http://blog.teamlava.com/) about this island, and it hasn't been added to the JM Regions Master thread (http://forums.storm8.com/showthread.php?51491-Jewel-Mania-Regions-Master-Thread-(Updated-8-1-13)&p=727413&viewfull=1#post727413) yet, either. So these are just screenshots from my phone:


http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/d6981677-33eb-4468-85b0-33d5dab089b6_zps97a9ef0c.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/6d6cecc6-0eef-46e5-91d0-ad251d0f94a3_zps8984cd5d.jpg

What a cool place! Bean Dog's having a blast riding sidecar, cruising the streets on this island of Jewel Mania (https://www.facebook.com/JewelManiaGame)!


~*~*~

Note: Please disregard my horrible star ratings in the above screenshot! I'm still working on it, obviously (lol!) Oh, and I'm using the Halloween version of Jewel Mania (in case you're wondering about the Jack o' lantern...or why Bean Dog looks like Elvis!) ;)

[Phaedrakiki]

Level 421 36 glass in 1:35 (5JC.) Lots of snakes on this one, as well as lock and chain areas and "surprise" doom jewels. The top L&C has a 4-headed snake inside (with glass underneath the entire body,) and two 30-count locks on it. There are also two 60-count L&C at the bottom corners. They have regular jewels inside them, with glass underneath. All the glass on this level is double, and it's under all the snake heads, but not the snake bodies (just the one in the upper L&C.) The doom jewels that drop in have 25 second timers (I'm pretty sure, lol.)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/b1e801a1-c7bb-4e1b-ad6d-312276d206bd_zps2cf28d41.jpg

This one took several attempts, as there's so much going on here and not much time. But I finally got really lucky with several blaster + bomb combos back-to-back. They were towards the bottom, taking out all the snakes, followed by the glass underneath. They also took out doom jewels that were soon to detonate. I was worried about using a big combo, since sometimes you get too many falling in and you can't keep up with them. But it wasn't bad, thank goodness! I had been wondering what was in the bottom L&C's, as I hadn't been able to unlock them in previous attempts. I didn't have time to look, since I was frantically swiping and using the combos that were literally falling into place. So I took a screenshot when I heard the L&C unlock, lol. Just as the timer was running out, I swapped a diamond + blaster, which took out the last few glass. The "hardest-to-reach" spots on this are probably the bottom corners and the glass under the upper snake bodies. (That's where mine was left, on the one and only time I got very far!)

[Phaedrakiki]

Level 422 14 fire in 1:30 (5JC.) This level has doom jewels, snakes, and 3 lock and chain areas. One L&C has two 45-count locks (different colors) and 8 fire inside. The other 2 L&C have snakes inside, and each has a 30-ct. lock. There are also windows/cutouts, some which separate parts of board from the rest. Two flames are isolated at the bottom of the board (have to use special jewels for those!) On top of all that, additional doom jewels fall in occasionally (30 second timers, I believe.)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/85907558-1951-4024-b97a-6e8a6f1af588_zps5d04cf77.jpg

Unfortunately, I forgot to make notes on this, so I can't remember how I passed. I'm sure I tried to hurry and get the 45-count L&C's unlocked so I could fight that fire. The other L&C's aren't mandatory to unlock; although getting the snakes out of the way would give you better access to the flames (and with smaller jewel counts, they'll probably unlock first!) As for the single flames at the bottom, those can be put out as soon as you get a blaster lined up, or a blaster + bomb (won't come back.) Once the L&C in the middle opens, then the real fire fight begins!

[Phaedrakiki]

Level 423: Dig 21 meters in 50 moves (5JC.) This is one of those separated digging levels, where each area has to be completely cleared before it will scroll to the next. There's super dirt, wooden walls, restricted stone jewels and restricted ice/white blocks. There's also a gift (free reshuffle boost.) The bottom area is the most difficult, with more walls, the stone jewels, etc. Combine that with getting low on moves, it's probably the best spot to use the reshuffle boost. 'Course, any time you're stuck, it might be better than wasting moves...

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/a861f92d-8d87-480f-805a-3fcf16a983ea_zps7cf847c7.jpg
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/c417787a-9866-4722-8842-9c2a03d415e3_zpsd07cb208.jpg
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/b3317f0f-89d3-4c1b-8bc1-cdfecc438867_zpseab7515c.jpg
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/e79c9bf6-7620-4c54-99c7-08ab2753caef_zps48bec189.jpg
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/98708834-ad92-47c6-9ce4-34ff6f4c1447_zps900c72e5.jpg

I forgot to write notes on this one, but I remember it was pretty easy to make special jewels. Also, it was fun!

[Phaedrakiki]

Level 424: 13 fire in 25 moves (5JC.) This level has snakes, restricted jewels, black jewels, and a lock and chain area with another snake inside. The L&C has 4 locks, all different colors with a 15-count on them. There's a restricted gift in the upper left area--separated from the main board. You'll need special jewels to get it, but it's a handy one for this level (a free fire extinguisher boost.) The fire area at the bottom left has a window in it, which makes it really difficult to clear. There's no direct access to the flames, and the jewels don't always fill in (so diamonds won't help.)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/f46ac825-8f57-4e5d-a3d2-92e0d5fd5807_zps569bac82.jpg

Try to clear the restricted jewels and/or snakes to give you more room to work. This also gives you access to some of the fire. Hopefully, you can get a blaster + bomb down there, or another combo...to extinguish everything! This level took me lots of attempts to get the right setup, but it was a lot of fun. The moves are very tight, but I enjoyed this! :D

[Phaedrakiki]

Level 425: 30 glass in 1:15 (5JC.) This level has snakes, crates, ice/white blocks, restricted jewels, black jewels, and lock and chain. Doom jewels drop in during the round, as well (30 second timers, I think.) The L&C area has a 30-count lock and a snake inside (with glass underneath.)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/07bfdc2b-5eeb-4954-abaf-4351f36cf95f_zps191a5596.jpg

The time on this level is ridiculously short. I tried it a bunch of times, but couldn't even get close. I kept trying though, and finally got lucky. I used a diamond + blaster, followed by a second one (swapped 'em while the first combo was still detonating!) I made another diamond just as the clock was counting down. Since it was looking so promising, and I didn't know how long it would take to get luck like this again--I ended up pressing the "more time" button. I made another diamond, and used them for doom jewels and the last snake. I was so happy to pass this level, cuz it was very stressful. Of course, it's followed by another timed level. They put SO many on this island!!! :mad:

[Phaedrakiki]

Level 426 Dig 9 meters in 1:15 (5JC.) You really have to hustle on this one. It has lots of super dirt and restricted jewels. There's also doom jewels buried at 3 & 4 meters; you have to dig down & clear them within the 30 seconds on their timers.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/e30e8aaf-7560-42dd-82f8-360b65f453af_zpsd117b915.jpg
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/343a9467-1a2b-4d18-b762-03ec804cbb51_zps5d07344b.jpg
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/02a20456-b7de-48ab-9820-f1dc21d3e354_zps30df99d4.jpg
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/400%20up%20-%20JMD/f0eab453-985a-4f00-9572-05bd65247309_zps1c6e2b5f.jpg

I really struggled getting by those doom jewels at first. And when I did get by them, I'd run out of time after getting only a few meters down. I was also making mistakes, like moving too fast and missing combo opportunities, etc. But I gradually got better at getting down to those doomies quickly, and then making fast and smart matches.

I finally passed this with lots of blaster + bombs, one after another. It was like combo, scroll, combo, scroll...next! ;) I think I also got lucky with having fewer doom jewels drop in during the round I passed. Woo-hoo, I was so glad to pass this one. Thought I'd be stuck here a long, long time...

I actually am stuck, though...on a level on the next island, Forgotten Shrine (http://forums.storm8.com/showthread.php?60302-Forgotten-Shrine-Levels-427-432-(Region-72)). Good luck to you! :)

[limonepledge]

I'm really glad to be done with this island as it was super hard. I am dreading the next one though...

Updates:

Level 421: Has 20 more seconds making it 1:55.

Level 422: Now has 30 more seconds making it 2:00.

Level 423: Increased 10 moves to 60. I hated the separations on this level. I generally used to think that times levels and fire level were the worst, but nope. This was even worse than timed fire levels. I rarely ever got to the third section, and sometimes I used all 60 and wasn't even able to get through the first one. I think finishing it was luck.

Level 424: Now has 35 moves, an increase of 10. My only suggestion is to keep restarting until you get a starting move that will **** one of the snakes and open up a little bit more room.

Level 425: 40 mores seconds! Now it's at 1:55. I think all that extra time helped because I used the entire time to get through.

Level 426: Is at 1:30 with 15 more seconds. This one took a few tried, I ended up clearing it after getting two diamonds that cleared the bottom couple rows of super dirt. Those are hard to get through!

For some reason I didn't mind the timed levels as much as in the past, maybe because I hated 423 so much... but it's nice to be moving on!