California man ‘beats’ Bejeweled 2

When the programmers behind Bejeweled 2 designed the game back in 2004, they had never thought a player could possibly reach a score of 2,147,482,575. That’s why they set it as the maximum possible score. Steel contractor Mike Leyde proved PopCap wrong, becoming the first person to ‘beat’ Bejeweled 2.

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When the programmers behind Bejeweled 2 designed the game back in 2004, they had never thought a player could possibly reach a score of 2,147,482,575. That’s why they set it as the maximum possible score. Steel contractor Mike Leyde proved PopCap wrong, becoming the first person to ‘beat’ Bejeweled 2.

Leyde achieved this score back in March 2009, but PopCap decided to sit tight on the announcement until they could verify that the 2.147 billion score was the real deal. The company has confirmed that it was indeed valid, being reached in the 439th level after matching more than 4.8 million gems over the course of three years.

“If you’re going to invest time in something, you might as well be as good at it as you possibly can,” Leyde said. “I really enjoy the thrill of victory – like when I won my first stock car race or when I bowled a perfect 300 game.”

Leyde isn’t the only Bejeweled player with something to celebrate. Joanne Guieb of Indianapolis has just been crowned the winner of Bejeweled Blitz‘s Month of Madness Tournament, netting herself a brand new Mazda 3.

Another Bejeweled winner will be crowned in the coming weeks with PopCap’s Show Your Bejeweled Love contest. If you think your love of Bejeweled trumps all others, entries in the contest as being accepted until May 26th.

[via Yahoo! Games]

Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.