Crystal Mines II is a puzzle

Puzzle

A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...

 video game designed by Ken Beckett (who also served as lead programmer) for Color Dreams

Color Dreams

Color Dreams was a company that developed video games for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System . While most companies that developed NES games obtained an official license from Nintendo to produce game cartridges, Color Dreams was unusual in that it developed NES games without an official license...

 and licensed to Atari

Atari

Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...

, who published it as a cartridge for their Atari Lynx color handheld game console

Handheld game console

A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...

. The game was a sequel to Crystal Mines for the Nintendo Entertainment System

Nintendo Entertainment System

The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...

. The original Lynx game features 150 levels and 31 bonus levels. The levels were designed by Scott Davis, Danny Sosebee, Lee Rider, Joel Byers, Jim Treadway, Gabriel Beckett and Ron Degen. Music was designed by Ken Calderone, and graphics were by Nina, Dan Burke and Ken Beckett.

In 2000, Songbird Productions

Songbird Productions

Songbird Productions is a game development studio that develops games for the Atari Jaguar and Atari Lynx. It was founded by Carl Forhan in 1999, and is located in Rochester, Minnesota.- Games published :* Ponx * Lexis * Protector...

 produced a sequel, Crystal Mines II: Buried Treasure on CD-ROM for Microsoft Windows. This CD-ROM required the original game and a Lynx to PC serial cable to run, allowing the editing and creation of all new levels. This was followed in 2003 by a cartridge release of Crystal Mines II: Buried Treasure with the original 181 levels and 125 new levels.

In 2010, Home Entertainment Suppliers

Home Entertainment Suppliers

Home Entertainment Suppliers Pty. Ltd. is an Australian company that distributes computer games and gaming equipment. HES offices are based in Riverwood, Sydney....

 released ports of Crystal Mines II for the Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

 and iPhone

IPhone

The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...

under the title Crystal Mines.

Gameplay

The backstory to the game has the player remotely guiding a robot down a series of mines, to collect crystals of different colors (and worth different point values). Along the way, the robot encounters wooden blocks, which can be blown up or sawed through, boulders of different types, dirt, which can be shot away with the robot's blaster, and a variety of monsters. The robot can also discover shields, radioactivity protection, deposits of copper, silver and gold, and caches of TNT. The metal deposits become bonuses to the player's score, while the other items can be used to complete various levels of the game.