About this game Jewel Legend
Development notes
Mana instead of a move limit
In autoplay tests, swiping every 0.65 seconds simply won. A move limit would have broken the HP-and-K.O. structure, so I added a refilling mana bar and made refunds the core: plain threes lose mana, specials about break even, chains profit. The AI's fastest pace, 2.1 seconds, matches the 2.08 seconds per move a human's mana allows.
Why the bomb is a diamond
A 3×3 bomb cleared 9 squares, barely more than a line gem's 8, though L, T and + shapes are harder to make; a 5×5 would wipe 39% of the board. A radius-2 diamond clears 13 squares (20%) and deals about 63 damage against a line's 33.
An AI aimed at 55%
The practice AI never touches damage, since the same move must hit equally hard for both sides; it varies only its pace and how far down its ranked move list it picks. After each match it steps toward a 55% player win rate, faster in the first five matches and on streaks: from a fresh start, four straight wins take the next rival from Trainee III to Legend III.
Rush Time doubles mana, not damage
Practice once ended only by K.O.: in simulation, two low-skill players ran a median 190 seconds, and matches went flat once a lead opened. Bigger hits would let one lucky cascade decide a match, so the last 30 seconds give more moves instead. Comeback wins from 250+ HP behind rose from 3–10% to 12–24%.
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