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Loco-Motion

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Arcade

Loco-Motion is basically an updated version of a sliding block puzzle game where the player can move pieces horizontally or vertically within a frame to complete a picture. However, the presence of a constantly moving locomotive complicates matters. The player controls the playfield and the aim i...

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Developer
Konami

Released on
1982

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Puzzle

Publisher
Centuri

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Loco-Motion is basically an updated version of a sliding block puzzle game where the player can move pieces horizontally or vertically within a frame to complete a picture. However, the presence of a constantly moving locomotive complicates matters. The player controls the playfield and the aim is to guide the locomotive around the tracks to collect the passengers waiting at the stations located around the edges of the screen.

The player uses a joystick to slide a piece of the track into the vacant square. The locomotive is always moving, but the player has the option of making it move faster to get to the passengers more quickly by using a button next to the joystick. The player must avoid crashing the locomotive into the dead-end barricades (shown as a yellow ‘X’), and also ensure that it does not run into the edge of the gap or a barrier at the playfield edge, either of which costs a life.

Loco-Motion

Overview & History

Released by Konami in 1982, Loco-Motion (also distributed in North America by Century Electronics as Gyruss contemporaries or under the alternative title Crazy Cop in Japan) is a remarkably ingenious puzzle-arcade game. Diverging from the standard shoot-'em-up formulas dominating the early eighties, this title challenged players not with fast reflexes for combat, but with frantic spatial reasoning and logistical route-planning. The conceptual storyline casts the player as a railway mastermind tasked with assembling a fragmented, puzzle-like train track grid before a relentless timer expires. As you progress through increasingly complex levels, the visual aesthetic transitions through whimsical cityscapes and abstract grid worlds, demanding sharp wits to avoid catastrophic derailments.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core gameplay loop of Loco-Motion revolves around sliding 15-puzzle-style square track tiles on a fixed grid while a miniature locomotive endlessly chugs along the interconnected rails. Players must strategically shift adjacent empty spaces to slide track pieces—containing straightaways, sharp curves, and dead-ends—forming a continuous path from the start point to the exit before the engine drives off an unbuilt edge. Adding to the tension, various colored bonus items and obstacles appear randomly on the tracks, requiring you to actively reroute the train mid-journey. Failing to construct a valid path in time results in a fiery crash, costing one of your precious lives and resetting the board.