Video games - Columns

Home > Listing Index > Video games > Columns (video game)

	Video games - Columns

Columns (also called Jewels) is a puzzle arcade game and console game with many similarities to Tetris
, which was released by Sega in 1990.

Description

The game takes place inside a tall well-shaped playing area, as in Tetris. Columns of three different symbols (such as differently-colored jewels) appear, one at a time, at the top of the well and fall to the bottom, landing either on the floor or on top of previously-fallen columns.

Whilst a column is falling, the player can move it left and right, and can also cycle the positions of the symbols within it.

If, after a column has fallen, there are three or more of the same symbols connected in a straight line horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, those symbols disappear. The pile of columns then settles under gravity. If this causes three or more other systems to become aligned, they also disappear and the pile settles again. This process repeats as many times as necessary. It is not uncommon for this to happen three or four times in a row - it often happens by accident when the well is becoming crowded.

Occasionally, a special column called the Magic Jewel appears. The Magic Jewel flashes with different colours and when it lands, it destroys all the jewels with the same colour as the one underneath it.

Like Tetris, the columns fall faster and faster as the player progresses. The goal of the game is to play for as long as possible before the well fills up with symbols.

Other game modes

Some ports of the game offer alternate game modes. These include:

Flash columns: The player must mine their way through a set number of lines to get to a flashing jewel at the bottom. It is scored by the time it takes to achieve this.

Doubles: Where two players work together in the same well.

Time trial : Three minutes to get the highest score.

Ports and sequels

Two sequels were produced titled Columns II: The Voyage Through Time and Columns III: Revenge of Columns. Because Columns was made by Sega, versions were made available on the Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Game Gear, Saturn, and Dreamcast. Additional versions of the game have also been made available on TurboGrafx-16, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation 2.

As with Tetris, Columns has been cloned many times on different computers. There was an Amiga clone called Squigs, and there is also an online Java game heavily based on it called Yahoo! towers, which allows up to eight players to compete against each other.

Music

One of the most recognizable songs in Columns is called Clotho, presumably after the Greek flavor of some of the game's art. The other main songs include Atropos and Lathesis.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Columns (video game) ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Columns (video game); it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Video games - Columns

Description

Other game modes

Ports and sequels

Music

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay