The object of the game is to get the highest score you can, before the grid
fills up by lining up 5 or more pieces of the same colour.
There are a number of different coloured pieces in a square grid. The number
of colours and the size of the grid are adjustable. A piece can move horizontally
or vertically (unless it is blocked by another piece, against the side of the
grid or in a corner).
To move a piece you click on it and it will start pulsing to show that it is
selected. Once the piece is selected clicking on an empty grid cell will move
the selected piece from its current position to the new cell you have selected,
if there is a clear route for it to get there. If it cannot get to the selected
cell because its path is blocked by other pieces it will make a sound* and stay
where it is, still pulsing.
When the piece gets to the new position the game will check to see if you have
created a line of 5 or more pieces. If you have you will be rewarded with a
score based on the number of pieces and the line (or lines) of pieces will be
removed from the grid. If you haven't made a new line, 3 more pieces will
be added to the grid.
The game continues in this way until the grid is filled.
| The simplest form of line is 5 pieces in a straight line. | |
| However as the line is not removed until there are 5 pieces together, by leaving a space between two groups of 4 pieces when you move a piece to the centre you will make a line of 9. | |
| Continuing in this way it is possible to get to the highest scoring pattern of 30 pieces. | |
You get 10 points for completing a line of 5 pieces. For every additional piece
you add to that total the score gains more points, which advance in a logarithmic
manor up until 18 pieces, at which point you get a large fixed score for each
piece.
6 pieces will score you 12 points, 7 scores 14, 8 scores 18 and so on. You will
have to find out for yourself the score for 30 pieces.
Lines and LinesFG share the same code but have different graphics. LinesFG was meant to superceed Lines but I kept lines around for owners of lower powered machines or people that didn't have the space for the graphics. The gameplay is the same in both versions.
I would appreciate if you find any bugs or things that don't seem right if you
could contact me about it. If you enjoy the game feel free to contact me about
that too. If you don’t enjoy the game I suggest you stop playing it.
The graphics above are from the Macintosh version of the game, however the rules and movements are the same.