U.S. Soldiers Get Bejeweled Twist For Christmas

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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U.S. Soldiers Get Bejeweled Twist For Christmas


PopCap Games has announced that the first 500 boxed retail copies of Games For Soldiers [http://www.popcap.com/games/bejeweledtwist], a non-profit organization that distributes videogames to U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We really appreciate 1-158 Infantry Battalion [http://www.popcap.com] who launched the organization after returning home from a one-year deployment in Khost, Afghanistan.

"So-called 'casual' games like Bejeweled, Zuma [http://www.popcap.com/games/peggle] are hugely popular with military personnel of all ages, ranks and backgrounds," he continued. "These games lend themselves to the occasional and haphazard 'down time' common to military life in combat areas, and provide some distraction and even stress relief in what are often high-adrenaline and/or high-anxiety environments."

Williams laid the groundwork for Games For Soldiers during his time in Afghanistan, when he began contacting game publishers seeking donations for his unit's Morale, Welfare and Recreation center. His group, the only one in existence that focuses solely on providing troops with videogames, accepts contributions from both individuals and companies; PopCap, along with 2K Games [http://www.microsoft.com], were recently cited by Williams for donating "an utterly massive number of games" to the cause. Bejeweled Twist is currently available for download at the PopCap Games website, and will hit retail shelves on November 18.


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TsunamiWombat

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Sep 6, 2008
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"What the fuck is 'Bejwelled Twist'?"
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500 US Soldiers, Nov 18 2008
Ahh but seriously. It's a nice gesture I guess, but ONLY 500 copies? Try 5,000 then i'll be impressed.
 

reaper_2k9

Keeper of the Beer
Oct 22, 2008
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That's a nice thing to do maybe more game companies should do this if they haven't already.
 

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
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TsunamiWombat said:
Ahh but seriously. It's a nice gesture I guess, but ONLY 500 copies? Try 5,000 then i'll be impressed.
I think it's a safe bet that PopCap will be adding to that figure in the future, since it's been a regular donor to the program for some time now. As for the figure itself, bear in mind that they're not giving a copy of the game to every soldier; the games will be installed in rec centers, rear areas, etc., where they'll be accessible on shared computers. 500 copies will actually go quite a long way.
 

calelogan

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Jun 15, 2008
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No doubt; an interesting approach. I guess it works both ways, generating interest in games for those who in some cases would not be; and also exploring the stress-free benefits of gaming in a war-environment.

It pleases both the developers/publishers and soldiers, because they are able to reap the benefits of "spreading the word" and "gaming", respectively.