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Columns

Sega Genesis

Sega Genesis

Drift back to ancient Phoenicia and challenge yourself with Columns, a game favored by middle eastern merchants. In this mesmerizing pastime, tinker with your riches to align glittering jewels across, down, or diagonally. As you line up colors, the gems vanish and more sparklers drop from abov...

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Developer
Sega Enterprises

Released on
1990

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Sega Genesis

Requirements
Sega Genesis

Downloads
Puzzle

Publisher
Sega of America

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Drift back to ancient Phoenicia and challenge yourself with Columns, a game favored by middle eastern merchants. In this mesmerizing pastime, tinker with your riches to align glittering jewels across, down, or diagonally.

As you line up colors, the gems vanish and more sparklers drop from above. The challenge increases as the jewels fall more rapidly. You must quickly align them before the columns reach the top.

You don’t have to be a joystick whiz to excel, even at the hardest levels. Try Flash Columns and make a flashing jewel disappear before time runs out. Enjoy solitary games, or play with a friend.

Imagine yourself on the warm Mediterranean coast, or drifting over a languid sea. Forget the passage of time, and tickle your mind with Columns, the brilliant game of strategy and skill.

Columns

Overview & History

Released by Sega in 1990 for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Columns was Sega's strategic answer to the falling-block puzzle craze ignited by Tetris. Drawing heavy aesthetic inspiration from ancient Phoenician and Greco-Roman mythology, the game drops players into a mesmerizing world of sparkling jewels, cascading columns, and hypnotic, echoing chiptune melodies composed by Tokuhiko Uwabo. Rather than featuring a traditional storyline, the game immerses players in an archaeological treasure hunt, where clearing jeweled monoliths unlocks increasingly ornate mythical backgrounds, ranging from sunken ruins to heavenly temples. Though originally designed by Jay Geertsen and later ported to countless platforms, the Genesis version remains iconic for its crisp pixel art, lightning-fast responsiveness, and the fiercely competitive two-player duel mode that ruined many friendships in the early '90s.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike vertically stacking tetrominoes, Columns tasks players with managing descending vertical triads of three distinct, randomly generated jewels. The core objective is to align three or more identical gems horizontally, vertically, or diagonally to make them vanish and score points. As players clear lines, the difficulty ramps up, causing the jewels to drop at breathtaking speeds. Adding crucial tactical depth is the "Magic Jewel," a glowing rainbow artifact that acts as a wild card, instantly obliterating every gem on the board matching whatever jewel it lands upon. The game features multiple modes, including Endless play, Flash Columns (where you must dig down to clear a blinking target at the bottom), and a strategic VS mode where clearing multiple rows sends heavy, disruptive "garbage" blocks tumbling onto your opponent's board.