Mac game publisher MacPlay today announced plans to publish Mac versions of Bejeweled and Alchemy. The two games are puzzle titles developed by PopCap Games, and they’ll be available as a retail bundle.
Since its resurrection as a subsidiary of United Developers LLC in the fall of 2000, MacPlay has spent much effort to capture the hearts, minds and wallets of so-called “hardcore” gamers, with releases like Alien vs. Predator, Icewind Dale, Sacrifice and numerous other titles. Now the company is poised to appeal to the broader mainstream “casual gamer” crowd with this new bundle offering from PopCap.
Bejeweled and Alchemy are already popular diversions for online players at PopCap’s Web site — the company publishes a number of games for Web play through Java-enabled Web browsers, along with “supercharged” online downloads for PCs. MacPlay said that the Mac versions of these games include new features, sound effects, music, new game modes and high resolution graphics as well.
Bejeweled — also known as Diamond Mine — is an arcade puzzler where you have to line up three gems in a row either horizontally or vertically. More gems replace the ones you’ve already captured to collect points.
Alchemy, meanwhile, is another puzzler in which you must transform lead into gold. You do so by placing magic runes of different shapes and colors on a grid-like playing field. Each rune must match the adjacent square’s rune in color or shape — completing a row or column of squares transmutes that lead into gold.
Look for MacPlay’s release of Bejeweled and Alchemy to hit store shelves in June with a suggested retail price of US$19.99.
Note: When you purchase something after clicking links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Read our affiliate link policy for more details.