Zuma Deluxe

*Possibly the most addictive game we’ve ever offered, Zuma Deluxe is a uniquely thrilling experience in action-puzzlers.  As the stone frog idol of the ancient Zuma, you must explore and unearth the legendary temples.  Fire colored balls to make groups of three or more, but don’t let them reach the golden skull or you’re history!  With two exciting game modes, pulse-pounding sounds and music, Zuma Deluxe is an adventure you may not be able to pull yourself away from.* -RealArcade Official Description

**Zuma Deluxe**, also known as just **Zuma**, is a puzzle game developed by PopCap that was released in December 12th, 2003. It was available of the RealArcade client until it was discontinued in 2013.

## How To Play

Zuma is regarded as the original Sphere Matcher. However, it was inspired by a 1998 Japanese arcade game called Puzz Loop (which in November 2004, RealArcade distributed a PC version). The game has the player controlling a stone frog that shoots colored spheres to make matches of like-colored spheres. The game contains only two gamemodes. Adventure Mode and Gauntlet.

### Adventure

There are 13 stages in Zuma's adventure mode. 12 of the 13 stages are grouped into four sets of stages known in-game as "Temples". Each temple contains the same three sets of levels but temples 2 and 3 add extra levels on top of what the player has already seen. The most levels found in a stage of Zuma is 7. Zuma as a whole contains approximately 22 maps and 76 levels. At stages 4 and 7, purple and white spheres are added at both respective stages. Stage 10 does not add a new color, but for every level in stages 10-12, 5,000 points are required to fill the Zuma bar. Once the player beats the first 12 stages, they are taken to the 13th stage that consists of only one "Space" level that is longer than all the previous levels and has less color grouping. Once the player beats that level, they win the game. If the player loses all their lives on stage 13-1, they must beat all of stage 12 again before getting another chance at the space level.

To complete a level in Zuma, one most earn a set number of points to fill the progress bar, also known as the *Zuma bar*; while keeping the spheres away from the skull(s). When the level's goal is reached, a voice will exclaim, "Zuma!"; and the sphere trail will cut off. Unlike subsequent sphere matchers like Tumblebugs and Luxor, Zuma does not have a pusher sphere. Once the map is cleared, the player will earn bonus points from when the last spheres were destroyed to the skull. For levels with two paths, the player earns points for both paths. The player also earns bonus points based on the time it took them to complete the level. The faster the player completes the level, the more points are earned. In Zuma, one may also view the ace time by pressing 'T' on their keyboard at any point during gameplay. Every 50,000 points; the player earns an extra life. After completing the game, the player also earns 50,000 more points for every life they had when the game was completed.

### Gauntlet

In Zuma, the Gauntlet mode is a form of freeplay mode. There are two varieties of play in this mode, **Survival** and **Practice**. Regardless of which variety the player chooses, they may play on any map; including a randomly selected map. The first two maps, *Spiral of Doom* and *Osprey Talon*, are unlocked from the start. Other maps will be unlocked as the player progresses through Adventure Mode. There are also four skill levels; Rabbit, Eagle, Jaguar, and Sun God. Rabbit, Eagle, and Jaguar contain 7 levels each; but Sun God goes on forever (up to level 2^31-1, although that would take continuous years of gameplay).

In Survival mode, the player only gets one life. As they make matches and score points, the difficulty will continuously ramp up. In this mode, there are no breaks between individual levels; and the game only ends if the player loses their only life. If random is chosen for a game of Survival; the map will not change as the player progresses.

In Practice mode, the player begins with 3 lives but is capable of earning more through normal means. This mode has the player completing levels like they would in Adventure. As they progress, the sphere speed ramps up, making the levels harder. If random is selected for Practice Mode, the player will play through multiple levels; and it's even possible for the same level to be selected twice in a row or even more. The game ends if the player runs out of lives.

## Trivia

* Data miners and modders of Zuma have discovered that levels with three paths are possible. While levels only have one or two paths in the final game, it is assumed that three-path levels were planned at some point in development.