As you play Columns Max, pieces in the shape of a column appear at the top of the pit and drop toward the bottom. When a piece reaches the bottom, it stops moving and a new block appears at the top. While pieces are dropping, they may be moved left or right to control where they land. You will also notice that each piece consists of three small colored blocks. These small blocks that make up a piece can also be "rotated" while the piece is dropping, so that the top two blocks in the piece move down one position within the column, and the bottom-most piece jumps up to the top of the column.
By manipulating pieces in this way as they fall, it is possible to control the position of a piece and the layout of the colored blocks within it when it lands. The object of the game is to clear blocks out of the pit by creating matches, dropping pieces so that at least three blocks of the same color are lined up on a row, column, or diagonal. When three or more same-colored blocks are lined up this way, they will disappear and any blocks above them will fall down to take their place, making room for more pieces above. If these newly fallen blocks also form a match, then they too will be cleared in a 2nd level reaction. This process continues until there there are no more matching blocks to be cleared. Watch out, though, because the game ends when the pit becomes entirely filled with pieces, so the more blocks you clear, the more pieces you'll have room for, and the longer you'll be able to play.
Controls
You can use the keyboard to move the pieces and rotate the blocks as they descend. By default, the controls are configured to use the keys J, K, L, and the space bar. J and L move the piece left and right, K rotates the blocks, and the space bar drops the piece. Most people use the default key setup, laying three fingers across J-K-L and resting their thumb on the space bar. If you wish to change the keys used to control the pieces, the key settings can be modified using the "set control keys" item in the options menu.
Wilds
From time to time during the game, you may see a piece that contains a block with a picture of a jester/clown. These wild blocks can act as if they are any other color to help create matches of three or more same-colored blocks in a row. For example, getting two blue blocks and a wild block all in a row is treated the same as if there were three blue blocks in a row: the three will be treated as a match and will be cleared. Wild blocks can even act as different colors at the same time to create multiple matches involving different sets of blocks. Try using this fact to clear as many other blocks as possible with a wild.
Levels
The game begins at level 1, where the pieces fall relatively slowly and there are six different colors of blocks. For every 50 blocks that you clear from the pit, you will advance to the next level. At the start of the next level, you will receive a special piece with three wilds in it to help you. Place this piece wisely: if positioned well, it can clear more than 10 blocks at once! At each new level the pieces fall slightly faster than the last, adding to the challenge. In addition, the number of block colors increases to seven at level 5. Should you reach level 10, the speed and number of block colors will not increase any further, but staying alive for long at that level will still prove to be quite a challenge.
Scoring
Matching blocks and clearing them from the pit is the primary way to earn points. The number of points you receive for clearing blocks increases if you eliminate more blocks at one time: the first block involved in a match is only worth 10 points, but the second is worth 20, the third is worth 30, the fourth is worth 40, etc. This means that the number of points you earn can increase dramatically if you can clear many blocks at once. For example, clearing six blocks at once is worth 210 points, compared to just 120 points for clearing three blocks and then another three later.
"Chain reactions" in which clearing the blocks involved in one match creates another match are another way to increase your score. In other words, if you clear one group of blocks in a match, and the blocks which fall down to take their place form another match, you've created a chain reaction. For any blocks that are cleared in a 2nd level chain reaction, the point values are doubled. Point values are tripled for a 3rd level chain reaction, and so on, so that the points from a multi-level reaction can really add up quickly.
You will also receive 5 points for each row that a piece falls when you drop it, as an incentive to play quickly and drop the pieces before they have fallen very far into the pit.
Correspondence
Columns Max was written by Steve Chamberlin, a part-time shareware author. If you need to contact me regarding the game, use the addresses below. As shareware is only a hobby for me and not my "real job", I can't promise that I'll have time to reply to every email or letter I receive, but I will read and consider every one of them. Thanks for supporting Columns Max!
