> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rafflex.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rafflex.io/instant-win-games/gems.md).

# Gems

A gem mining game where customers uncover gems across a grid while trying to avoid the bombs.

***

### What Is It?

Gems is a mining style reveal game. Each ticket is played as its own round on a grid of 25 covered tiles. The customer taps tiles one at a time to uncover gems, filling up a **Win Meter** as they go. Fill the meter with all eight gems and that ticket wins its prize. Hit a bomb first and the round ends with a **Boom!**

It builds real tension, because every tap could be the one that fills the meter or sets off a bomb, and it suits customers who like to feel hands on with their reveal.

{% hint style="info" %}
In the **Game Type** dropdown, Gems appears as **Gems (New)**.
{% endhint %}

***

### Before You Start

The game only appears for customers when the competition has **at least one instant win**. If a competition has no instant wins, customers see their ticket numbers as normal but no game is played. See [Add Instant Wins](/create-your-first-raffle/add-instant-wins.md) to set up your prizes.

***

### Set It Up

1. In the admin panel, find the **Competitions** group in the left-hand menu and click **Competitions**.
2. Click **New Competition**, or click an existing competition to edit it.
3. In the right-hand column, find the **Game Type** dropdown and choose **Gems (New)**.
4. A **Gems Settings** box appears just below it, holding the options described further down this page. They are all optional.
5. Click **Create** for a new competition, or **Save changes** for an existing one.

{% hint style="info" %}
Gems works straight away with no extra setup. It comes with its own themed mine background, a **Normal** number of bombs and built-in sounds.
{% endhint %}

***

### What Your Customers See

The game plays on the order confirmation page, straight after checkout, underneath the customer's ticket numbers.

1. A game panel appears with the **GEMS!** heading and the **Win Meter**. The meter shows eight empty gem slots and a count such as **0 / 8 Gems**.
2. Above the meter, the customer can see which ticket they are playing (for example **Ticket #1234**). If they bought more than one ticket, it also shows their progress, such as **Game 1 of 5**.
3. Below the meter is a five by five grid of covered tiles. The customer taps any tile to uncover it.
4. Each safe tile reveals a sparkling gem and lights up the next slot on the meter, with a chime that builds as the meter fills. When the meter is nearly full it starts to glow.
5. **If the ticket is a winner,** the eighth gem fills the meter, the win sound plays and the board celebrates with **You found all the gems!** and the prize name.
6. **If the ticket is not a winner,** one of the tiles uncovers a bomb before the meter is full. The bomb sound plays, the meter shows **Boom!** and the board shows **Boom!** with "Better luck next time".
7. When a round ends, the rest of the board is uncovered to show more gems and bombs.
8. The customer presses **Next Game** to move on to their next ticket, or **Skip All** to jump straight to their results. On the last round the button reads **View Results** instead.
9. Once every round is done, a **Gems Results** summary appears (see below).

{% hint style="info" %}
**Which tiles a customer picks makes no difference.** Each ticket's result is already decided the moment the order completes, and the game simply reveals it. A winning ticket will always fill the meter, and a ticket that has not won will always find a bomb, wherever the customer taps.
{% endhint %}

#### Site credit prizes

When a winning ticket's prize is paid as [site credit](/additional-settings/site-credit-and-wallets.md) on a paid competition, the win screen also shows a large multiplier above **You found all the gems!** (for example **5.00x**). This tells the customer how many times their ticket price the prize is worth, which makes a credit win feel like a real jackpot.

#### Skip this game

While a round is in play, a **Skip this game** link sits under the grid. It ends the current round straight away and shows the result for that ticket, without the customer needing to keep tapping.

#### Auto-play

Customers who would rather sit back and watch can let the game play itself.

1. They tap the **Auto** button in the top right corner of the game.
2. A small **Auto-play** menu opens. They choose a **Speed** of **Slow**, **Normal** (the default) or **Fast**.
3. They press **Start**. The game taps tiles on its own, moves on to the next round after each result, and shows the results summary at the end.
4. To take back control, they press **Stop** in the same menu, or the **Stop Auto-play** button that appears on the board between rounds.

While auto-play is running, the **Next Game**, **Skip All** and **Skip this game** buttons are hidden so nothing gets in the way.

#### The results summary

When every ticket has been played, the grid is replaced by a **Gems Results** box:

* **If the customer has won,** it says "You won 1 prize!" (or "You won 2 prizes!" and so on), followed by a list of each winning ticket number and its prize.
* **If nothing was won,** it reads "No gems found this time. Better luck next round!".

#### Sound controls

A speaker icon in the top right corner, next to the **Auto** button, lets the customer mute or unmute the game at any time.

***

### Customisation Options

Gems has its own settings that appear once you choose it as your game type. You will find them in the **Gems Settings** box, directly under the **Game Type** dropdown on the competition's edit page.

#### Number of Bombs (Visual)

Choose how many bombs are shown on the board when a round ends and the remaining tiles are uncovered.

| Option                 | Notes                |
| ---------------------- | -------------------- |
| **3 Bombs (Easy)**     |                      |
| **5 Bombs (Normal)**   | This is the default. |
| **8 Bombs (Hard)**     |                      |
| **10 Bombs (Extreme)** |                      |

{% hint style="warning" %}
**This setting is for looks only.** It changes how many bombs customers see on the board after a round, and so how risky the board feels. It does **not** change anyone's chance of winning, and it does not change how many prizes are won. The names Easy, Normal, Hard and Extreme describe the feel of the board, not the odds. Use it purely to set the mood you want.
{% endhint %}

#### Custom Sounds

Each sound is optional. They must be **MP3** files of no more than **200KB** each.

| Setting                           | When it plays                                      | If you leave it blank          |
| --------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| **Custom Gem Reveal Sound (MP3)** | Each time a gem is uncovered (see the note below). | The built-in gem chimes play.  |
| **Custom Bomb Sound (MP3)**       | When a bomb is hit and the round is lost.          | The built-in bomb sound plays. |
| **Custom Win Sound (MP3)**        | When the eighth gem is found and the round is won. | The built-in win sound plays.  |

{% hint style="info" %}
At the moment, Gems always plays its own built-in gem chimes as each gem is uncovered, even if you upload a **Custom Gem Reveal Sound**, so there is no need to upload one. Your **Custom Bomb Sound** and **Custom Win Sound** are used as normal.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="success" %}
**Keep sounds short.** A gem sound of well under a second and a bomb or win sound of one or two seconds work best. With auto-play on the **Fast** speed, gems are uncovered quickly and long sounds will overlap.
{% endhint %}

#### Background Image

Gems comes with a themed mine background already in place, so this is optional. Upload your own image to put your branding behind the game.

* **Format:** PNG, JPEG or WebP.
* **Max file size:** 2048KB.

The image is stretched to cover the whole game panel and centred, so the edges may be trimmed slightly on different screen sizes.

To add one:

1. In the **Gems Settings** box, click the **Background Image** upload area, or drag your image onto it.
2. Wait for the upload to finish.
3. Click **Save changes** (or **Create** if this is a new competition).

To go back to the built-in mine background, remove the image and save the competition again.

{% hint style="info" %}
The grid, meter and text sit on top of your image, so a darker, fairly plain image works best. Busy or very bright backgrounds can make the gems and the white text harder to read.
{% endhint %}

***

### Tips for a Great Gems Game

* **Use short prize names.** The prize name appears on the board when a round is won and in the results list, so "£250 Cash" reads better than a long description.
* **Think about the bomb count.** More bombs make the board look more dangerous once it is uncovered, which some audiences love. Fewer bombs give a friendlier, lighter feel. Either way the odds stay the same, so pick what suits your brand.
* **Check it on a phone.** Most customers play on their phones. Use the mobile view in **Preview Game** (below) to make sure your background still looks good on a small screen.

***

### Want to try it first?

Once the competition has been saved, a **Preview Game** button appears just under the **Game Type** dropdown. Click it to open the **Game Preview** page, where you can play Gems with your own settings before any customer sees it.

* The **Game Settings** panel on the left holds the same **Gems Settings** described above. Any change you make, including a new upload or bomb count, shows in the preview straight away.
* The **Live Preview** on the right plays the game with a few sample tickets, some of them winners. Nothing is entered and no one is charged.
* Use the desktop and mobile buttons above the preview to see both layouts, and the circular arrow to replay the game.
* Click **Save** when you are happy. Your changes are not applied to the competition until you do. Click **Back to competition** to return to the edit page.

{% hint style="info" %}
The preview uses your real instant win prizes, so it is most useful once you have added them. If the competition has no instant wins yet, it shows some example prizes instead so you can still check the look.
{% endhint %}

For other ways to check a game before launch, see:

{% content-ref url="/pages/llkGYVvQNWvOv6PJtv5g" %}
[Preview a Game](/instant-win-games/test-a-game-type.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}