Zuma
Zuma Information & Game Rules
Make your way through the temple complex in the ancient city of Zuma, using the stone frog idol to defeat an ancient curse in this thrilling action puzzler! Fire magical orbs to make sets of three, but don't let them reach the golden skull or you're history!
Zuma consists of three levels with colored stone balls rolling along a set course. If the orbs reach the end of the course (marked by a golden skull), an ancient curse ends the game! A warning sound will play when the orbs get too close to the skull, so pay attention! Aim the stone frog and left-click to shoot the orb - groups of three or more will be cleared. A preview of the next orb can be seen through the frog's back - switch to that piece by right-clicking.
There are various bonus pieces throughout the game that affect the game play. Experiment with them all in order to find which ones best work with your gaming style.
Game Scoring
Exploded orbs count for 10 points each.
A combo is initiated when multiple explosions are triggered with one shot. The first explosion is scored normally; the second gives a bonus of 100 points, the third 200, the fourth 300, etc.
A chain is created when at least five subsequent shots generate five subsequent explosions. The 5th explosion results in a bonus of 100 points. The bonus for each subsequent explosion is calculated by taking the previous bonus and adding 10 points. Therefore, the bonus for the fifth explosion would be 100, the 6th would be 110, the 7th would be 120, and so on.
If a gap is created along the path, an orb can be fired through that gap to cause an explosion on the other side. This bonus ranges from 10 to 500 points. A large gap is worth 10 points, while a gap approximating the size of an orb is worth 500. If multiple gaps are cleared in a single shot, the best of the bonus scores is multiplied by the number of gaps to calculate the scoring bonus.
Another way to score points is to shoot coins that appear in certain areas along the path; shooting a coin results in a bonus of 500 points.
The Level Bar will slowly fill up, based on the number of explosions (shooting a coin counts as an explosion for the purposes of filling the level bar). The number of explosions needed to fill the bar increases with the difficulty of each level.
A bonus is awarded at the end of each level, based on the distance from the last destroyed ball to the entrance of the skull's mouth (bonus = 25 points per 60 pixels).
There is also an additional time bonus, depending on the amount of time left in the green level timer. If the bar is full, 7,000 points are awarded. If the bar is empty, zero points are awarded.
Game Strategy
- Plan for combos. They're the secret key to the mysteries of Zuma!
- Use the special pieces wisely; they can turn a potential loss into a spectacular win!
- Don't forget that you can right-click to switch to the next piece; it can be a life saver at times!
- Got two orbs on the frog you can't use yet? Shoot them off screen!
- Sign up for video game addiction counseling... You'll need it!