''Color Lines'' () is a
puzzle video game
Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...
created in 1992 by Oleg Demin, Gennady Denisov and Igor Ivkin and published by Gamos Ltd.
Gameplay
It is a turn-based board game. The playing field is a grid of 9 by 9 cells. The game starts with the 5 balls of random colors on the field. Each turn, a player can move any ball to another free cell in a way that its path should go through the other free cells only. If after the move there is a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line of 5 or more balls of the same color, all these balls disappear, and the player can make another move. If after the move there is no such line, the turn goes to the computer. Computer places 3 new balls of random colors out of 7 possible in random cells. The game continues until the entire field is filled with balls.
The goal of the game is to score the maximum number of points. If a player can place in line more than 5 balls of the same color, he receives significantly more points.
During his turn, the player can see 3 balls that will be placed on the next turn by computer.
Development
The first version of the game was released for
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...
in 1992.
According to the director of Gamos, Evgeniy Sotnikov, the author and developer of the game was Oleg Demin. But because he was working at
Moscow City Hall, his management wouldn't approve his association with Gamos.
For that reason, the very first version of the game listed Olga Demina, the wife of Oleg, as the author.
In 1995 the game was ported to Windows 3.1 and Windows 95.
Due to weak copyright laws and widespread pirated software in Russia, by 1996 ''Color Lines'' had millions of players and was considered one of the most popular games among office employees, while the publisher sold only 300 legal copies.
Legacy
In 1996 the right for the game was sold to
Namco
was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...
,
and based on that the game ''Golly! Ghosts! Goal!'' was released, which is part of ''
Golly! Ghost!'' series of games.
Clones of ''Color Lines'' include ''Five or More'', which is part of the
GNOME Games, ''Rainbow Lines'', and ''Park-o-Nora''.
References
External links
* {{YouTube, 8GI4A-FGZKE, title=Color Lines Original
Video games developed in Russia
Puzzle video games
DOS games
Windows games
1992 video games