Come Women’s Day, and we can’t stop thanking all the awesome women who’ve shaped Bejeweled and continued to support it over the years. This includes several women at EA/PopCap who have worked hard to make this game successful and all our players who have remained loyal to this game throughout.
This year, we decided to chat with a few of our long-time players and get their views on the ever-evolving journey of Bejeweled, their fancy ideas for Rare Gems, and how they define their roles in today’s society. Featuring Lauren Lepse-Habig (Moderator for the Official Fan Club on Facebook), Kitty Prisco (a loyal player and admin of Awesome Bejewelers), Kari Gem Kennedy (a hardcore fan whose status on Facebook is literally ‘works at Bejeweled’) and Jay Mather (a humble son and a proud father who hopes his daughter would love Bejeweled as much as he does).
We had a blast talking to these players and we hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.
Q: Can you share a brief introduction about yourself?
Kari Gem Kennedy: Hi. My name is Kari. I’m from Georgia, USA but currently living in Tennessee. I’m a private assistant content editor and work at home, which I love. I’m a proud cat mother of 3 cats and love all animals. I come from a big family and have 3 brothers, two sisters and a nephew.
Lauren Lepse-Habig: My name is Lauren Lepse-Habig and I'm from New York state. I sell cars for a living (which is still a male dominated industry) and am a BB addict. It's my stress release, or sometimes the cause of my stress when I can't get something accomplished.
Jay Mather: All I can say is I am a great guy, I have a daughter and I love playing this game.
Kitty Prisco: Hello! My name is Kitty and I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. A. I am a retired health professional and stay at home caregiver to my precious sister. I started the group of ‘Awesome Bejewelers’ five years ago with the aim of letting people know they are AWESOME!
Q: Since when are you playing Bejeweled Blitz?
Lauren Lepse-Habig: I played the original Bejeweled on the computer eighteen years ago. It was my sister's and I took a guilty pleasure from it. I found the app on my phone three or four years ago.
Kari Gem Kennedy: I started playing back in 2012. I was inspired by the first Hunger Games movie. There was a scene in it where one of the tributes was showing off her skills in a game and I wanted to play a game similar and found Bejeweled Blitz. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked.
Jay Mather: Wow, that’s interesting Kari! I started playing Blitz about 5 years ago.
Q: Do you have friends and family who enjoy playing Bejeweled Blitz with you?
Kitty Prisco: My group is my family. I wanted a fun-loving group that’s filled with members who enjoy this game as much as I do. I began the group by organizing simple contests. Parties won during the week were played during double pay out. Over the years, it’s grown and become what it is today.
Lauren Lepse-Habig: That’s sweet, Kitty! I got my mom to play Bejeweled but she's very casual about it. And I met most of my friends through this game by wanting people to share gems, mystery treasures and parties with.
Kari Gem Kennedy: Same here. Most of my close friends I’ve met from playing Bejeweled.
Jay Mather: My mum plays Bejeweled too. And hopefully my daughter will play after she grows up.
Q: Do you have any favorite Bejeweled memory to share?
Kari Gem Kennedy: Every time I’m able to send out big parties to members and make them perfect is a great memory.
Lauren Lepse-Habig: I don’t have a favorite memory as such. I enjoy playing and the challenges that come with it.
Jay Mather: Well, I have loads but they’re all personal.
Q: What are your favorite Boosts/Rare Gems?
Kitty Prisco: My favorite Boosts are Scrambler, Color Blast and Extra Time. And my favorite Rare Gems are Hamethyst and Carat Cake!
Kari Gem Kennedy: Right now, my favorite boosts tend to be Rarifier, Hocus Focus, and Extra Time, and my favorite Rare Gem would be the High Roller but ask me again in a few months and these answers are bound to change.
Lauren Lepse-Habig: I love High Roller too and I use Rarifer, Hocus Focus with Extra Time to get high scores. But I love Scrambler, Mystery and Color Blast for other purposes. I must add I dislike Detantor.
Jay Mather: I like them all. I use different Boosts and Rare Gems to complete various Keystones.
Q: If you had the chance to design a Rare Gem, what would that be?
Kari Gem Kennedy: If I could design any rare gem it would be a sunrise gem, that would end with the sunset as a prize.
Lauren Lepse-Habig: Mine would be something I've been asking for a while. A color changing gem like Coralite but for green gems. We have one for every color but green.
Kitty Prisco: I think I would design a multi-colored rose. Roses are an expression of love, and we could use it to let our friends know that they are being thought of!
Jay Mather: Well, I would go for something that blows the board up with massive high scores.
Q: How do you balance your life and your passion for games?
Kari Gem Kennedy: I get the rare treat of being able to play Bejeweled whenever I want, since I work at home. I balance it out between breaks from work and letting it be my stress relief during the day. I don’t play it when I’m around friends and doing other tasks, which balances it all out.
Kitty Prisco: I balance my life and my passion for games by having fixed hours for the latter. I spend four hours in the morning and four hours in the evening to play (when I am not fishing)!
Lauren Lepse-Habig: I play during my down time or when I need a distraction from life. It only seems to interfere when reset is coming or explorers is about to expire, and I didn't finish… but that's the addict talking.
Jay Mather: Not sure how I balance but somehow, I do it, lol!
Q: How do you think the role of women is evolving in our society today?
Kari Gem Kennedy: Women's roles have changed a great deal and have had a huge impact in society. Women can apply for a variety of jobs now that they couldn't years ago. It still can be hard on women in the work place and women tend to be treated differently than men but not like it was long ago. I believe that it's made women stronger together from everything we've had to endure on a variety of levels.
Lauren Lepse-Habig: Women have such a prominent voice now. We are being heard and respected. We still aren't equal, but we are creeping closer and closer to equality. We are finally being recognized as a force to be reckoned with and it's amazing to be a part of that change.
Jay Mather: I completely agree with Kari and Lauren. I think women have an amazing role to play in our world. Being a proud father, I am glad that when my daughter would grow up, she’ll have plenty of opportunities and that’s how it should be.
Kitty Prisco: From Adam's rib to the backbones of women left behind in World War II (prominently a man’s world), women have been evolving!
We have made great strides by coming out of the comforts of our homes and taking places of men who worked in factories and other employments held by those brave soldiers who went to protect our country.
Women of today have become lawyers, judges, doctors, auto mechanics, truck drivers and what not. We have women who are Heads of State and running for the Office of the Presidency!
All over the world, women have made a tremendous advance to evolving in today's' society.
I am not only proud of our women of today, but proud of everyone or anyone who is working on uniting and loving the earth we live on.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts on this Women’s Day! Go forth and be AWESOME and keep on blitzing!
Kari Gem Kennedy: Yes, thank you for this opportunity.
Jay Mather: Thank you!
Lauren Lepse-Habig: Thank you EA/PopCap for this and keep blitzing everyone!