Columns is a game similar to Tetris, except that the falling blocks form a straight column and you can rotate the order of the blocks in addition to moving it to the left and right. BE SURE TO TRY HARD MODE ! Move the column by TAPPING/Clicking to the sides of the column or Press the arrow keys ( <-- --> ). Rotate the column blocks by TAPPING/Clicking on it before it lands, or pressing the Up/Down arrow keys. [Tapping above the column will rotate Up; tapping on any block in the column will rotate Down] Press SPACE to drop the column as it is. You can also TAP/Click well below the column to drop it. Left-handed players can also use WASD controls in place of the arrow keys. Press P or the PAUSE Button to pause and unpause the game. Press ? for the HELP menu Press 0 (zero) to mute or unmute the sound. Press B to boost the difficulty level (permanent for current game). Score points for groups of 3 or more blocks. STAR blocks (and WITCH HATS) will match all other blocks. MYSTERY blocks will reveal themselves after 3 turns, before which they match nothing. Get bonus points for clearing rows or the whole board. The game ends when the board fills up and any block or the column lands beyond the top of the board. Most Importantly: Have Fun! I recommend switching to Hard Mode in the menu once you get used to the game. I made this game for my nephew, after he became interested in Scratch! dave Columns3m v0.998, currently the final release
== TIPS == DROP (space) the column to start your next turn. Press BOOST (B) for a faster game. Choose HARD MODE for a challenge, once ready. Now with Hallowe'en Theme during Oct-Dec! Play with a touchscreen, keyboard, or mouse! Have a look at the HELP and MENU options: - Adjust GAME SPEED and DIFFICULTY MODES - Many display options, MOBILE FRIENDLY - Volume controls, Saved games, Leaderboard == Mobile Friendly == This game handles very well on an iPhone (Safari). Selecting "Narrow Screen" from the menu will optimize most UI elements for a centralized display, supporting the player zooming in to maximize the game board on a phone screen. Other touchscreen devices should likewise work great with a suitable browser. == Starting and Saving the Game == Please be sure to press the Scratch GO Flag button to start the game for the first time. If you don't see any blocks when you press "New Game", the project was probably stopped. You can play the game without an account! An account simply allows your data to persist between sessions. The game starts slowly and speeds up over time, to give players an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the mechanics. If you find it too slow, the menu provides several options to speed things up or add challenge (use Boost and enable Hard Mode, for example). The game supports an active Community Leaderboard as well as Saving and Loading games. Some features require a Scratch account for persistence. Note: Your *username* will be used to label game saves and high scores. You must be promoted to a full "Scratcher" to be able to update persistent data (that can take two weeks of being active on Scratch, sorry :'( ). == Discuss == A project thread for Columns3m may be found here: Credits: Thanks to and for reporting issues with my Leaderboard. Thanks to for early testing and feedback. I used or modified some of the default Scratch assets to spiff up this project. I appreciated that they were there! == MENU Options (M) == - Shows currently selected modes - Choose between Regular and Narrow Screen Layouts, to help with playing on phones. The Narrow layout also increases the tolerance for clicking "on" the column. - Toggle the input granularity option (or press i -- see below) - Toggle Dark Mode on/off (also changes block appearance) - Load and Save Games (8 shared but user-protected save slots) - Display Community Leaderboard - GAME MODES: Enable larger columns, Flooding, and Mystery Block mechanics in HARD or INSANE mode - BOOST the current game difficulty level (or press B): this increases the difficulty by ten levels immediately and may be applied to add up to 30 levels of difficulty - Choose between Large (7x14) and Small (5x10) game boards. - Choose a BLOCK STYLE: the default Fruit or optional Solid blocks - Adjust game VOLUME (mute or unmute pressing 0) - Set GAME SPEED to adjust difficulty, from half as fast up to twice as fast. Difficulty will also naturally increase as time elapses. - You may also open or close the menu by pressing M == Remix Options == This is a very complicated project, but some easy ways to Remix this game could be: - Customizing the Block costumes - Changing the number of Fruit types - Customizing the Sound Effects, Music, & Backgrounds - Customizing the board dimensions and column size - Advanced: Adding new game mechanics or modifying existing mechanics; Altering block highlighting effects E.g., Maybe the columns can rotate sideways or can match by wrapping around sides ! :O == Performance and Troubleshooting == Touchscreen and Mouse controls are now much more responsive and accurate. You may still find that Keyboard controls are more suited to the increased game speed at higher difficulties. The game was deliberately designed to start slowly and includes an Easy Mode, allowing new players time to familiarize themselves with the game and its mechanics. Many players wish to play a FASTER game, however, for which several options have been provided: larger column sizes; added mechanics; game speed slider; level boost (B); and game board size options. See the menu! The performance of the game was improved substantially, allowing for a considerable range of game speed over 60 levels of difficulty. To get a taste for a faster game, try pressing Boost (B) three times to add 30 levels of difficulty to your game. Alternatively, load the 2.8M game save for an example of a Hard game in the low 50s. If you would like a more difficult game, but not necessarily a faster one, I recommend enabling HARD or INSANE game modes at the default speed. Due to space limitations, further detail about Performance and a Troubleshooting FAQ has been moved to the following project thread post: (An arcade game based on Columns from the 80s-90s.)
