is a computer puzzle game

Computer puzzle game

Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic, strategy, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion....

 featuring tile removal originally released under the name Chain Shot! in 1985 by Kuniaki Moribe (Morisuke). It has since been ported to numerous computer platforms.

History

SameGame was originally created as Chain Shot! in 1985 by Kuniaki Moribe. It was distributed for the Fujitsu

Fujitsu

is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....

 FM-8/7 series in a Japanese monthly personal computer magazine called Gekkan ASCII. In 1992, the game was ported as SameGame to Unix

Unix

Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...

 platforms by Eiji Fukumoto, and to the NEC PC-9801

PC-9801

The NEC PC-9801, part of the PC-98 series, is a Japanese 16-bit microcomputer manufactured by NEC.- History :It first appeared in 1982, and employed an 8086 CPU. It ran at a clock speed of 5 MHz, with two µPD7220 display controllers , and shipped with 128 KB of RAM, expandable to 640 KB...

 series by Wataru Yoshioka. In 1993, it was ported to Windows 3.1 by Ikuo Hirohata. This version was translated into English by Hitoshi Ozawa, and is still available from his software archive.
In 1994, Takahiro Sumiya ported it to Macintosh

Macintosh

The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

. This version has some gameplay differences—three, instead of five, colors—and is probably the most widely distributed of the original series. It was the basis for the Same Gnome and KSame variations created for Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

.

Game mechanics

SameGame is played on a rectangular field, typically initially filled with four or five kinds of blocks placed at random. By selecting a group of adjoining blocks of the same color, a player may remove them from the screen. Blocks that are no longer supported will fall down, and a column without any blocks will be trimmed away by other columns always sliding to one side (often the left). The goal of the game is to remove as many blocks from the playing field as possible.

In most versions, there are no time constraints during the game. However, some implementations gradually push the rows upward or drop blocks from above. Sometimes the player can control the number and timing of blocks that drop from above in certain ways. For example, on some implementations for the iOS, this can be done by shaking the device. The game ends if a timer runs out or if no more blocks can be removed. Some versions, including some versions for Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...

, include both portrait and landscape orientations.

Variations

In one variation, the game starts with no blocks on the field. Blocks fall down to the playing field, and must be removed before they reach the top. If they reach the top and overflow, the game is over. In some variations, such as Bubble Bang, circles or balls are used instead of blocks—which alters the gameplay, as the balls form different shapes than square blocks.

In three-dimensional variants, the playing field is a cube (containing smaller cubes) instead of a rectangle, and the player has the ability to rotate the cube.

Some versions allow the player to rotate the playing field 90 degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise, which causes one of two things to happen:

1. The left and right sides become the bottom and the top, and the blocks fall to the new bottom. The orientation switches between portrait and landscape. NeoSameGame for iPhone OS uses this approach.
2. The blocks fall to the left or right side, but the player must rotate the field back to portrait orientation (which is fixed). Bubblets Tilt for iPhone OS uses this approach.

In some variations, blocks can be removed when connected to blocks of the same color diagonally, not just horizontally and vertically. Some versions introduce new types of blocks. The different types of blocks interact in various ways with the play field; for example, one type might remove all the blocks in a row. An example of this is the "Revenge mode" in PocketPop Revenge (PocketFun) for iPhone OS.

Rules variations

1. The game ends when the playing field is cleared, or if the remaining blocks cannot be removed. At the end of play, the player receives a score.
2. When the playing field is cleared, instead of ending the game, a new level appears—usually harder, with more block types or lower time limits, or both. The condition for winning may vary between levels. Instead of clearing the whole level, for example, a certain score or a certain number of removed blocks must be reached. When the needed score is reached, in most versions the player is allowed to clear the rest of the level. If the player cannot reach the needed score—or if the timer runs out—the game ends, and the player receives a final score.
3. In an "endless" variant, the game starts with an empty field. The blocks or balls start falling down; but if they reach the top, new blocks stop falling, so they do not overflow—thus, the game never ends. The player can end the game at any time by waiting for blocks to reach the top, then performing a special action (for example, right-click instead of left-click).
4. Some versions have player lives
   1-up
   1-up , pronounced "one up", is a term in console video gaming that commonly refers to an item that gives the player an extra life, to complete the game. In certain games, it is possible to receive multiple extra lives at once...
   
   . If a player reaches a losing condition one time, the game does not end; instead, a life is lost. If all lives are lost, the game ends.
5. In the "continuous" variant, whenever a vertical set of blocks has been cleared and the remaining blocks have shifted to one side, a new, randomly-selected column of blocks will pop up on the other side, thereby allowing a game to be played for an extended amount of time.
6. In the "shift" variant, when a set of blocks has been cleared, all remaining blocks to the top and left will shift down and to the right.
7. The "megashift" variant is a combination of the rules of the "continuous" and "shift" variations.

Scoring

Most versions of the game give points for removing tiles at once, where or , depending on the implementation. For instance, Insane Game for Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...

 calculators

Comparison of Texas Instruments graphing calculators

A graphing calculator is a class of hand-held calculator that is capable of plotting graphs and solving complex functions. There are several companies that manufacture models of graphing calculators. Texas Instruments is a major manufacturer....

 uses ; Ikuo Hirohata's implementation uses the formula . The Bubble Breaker implementation for Windows Mobile uses the formula. The 2001 version released by Jeff Reno uses the formula .

Some versions also offer a large bonus for removing all blocks from the screen, or leaving no more than a certain number of blocks. Others reduce the final score based on the number of blocks remaining at the end of the game. Some game versions award bonus points for clearing the field quickly, encouraging faster play. The faster the player finishes the level, the bigger the bonus. Still others offer combination, or chain, bonuses for clearing the same color of blocks two or more times in succession.

Another scoring technique awards bonus points for each chain of a certain color that has a certain number of blocks (for example, two red blocks or 11 blue blocks). After receiving the bonus once, sometimes the bonus condition changes. BPop uses this scoring variation.

Some versions have a simple scoring system: each block removed is worth one point, and there is no bonus for removing more than two blocks at a time. This is seen in the Same Pets and Same Hearths variants.

Goal-based scoring

Some versions award scores based on the attainment of goals. This is typically seen in multi-level versions of the game. There are four primary scoring systems for such games.

In one variation, each level has a target score. The player's score starts at zero, and the player must reach the target score. At the beginning of each level, the player's score is reset to zero; the target score increases with each level.

Other versions have a cumulative target score. In these versions, the player's score carries over from level to level. As a result, if the player substantially exceeds the target score on a given level, they may enter the subsequent level having already met that level's target score, as well. BPop has a cumulative target score.

Some versions maintain the same target score for each level; such variations can be played indefinitely. In such games, the player typically loses due to poor planning or a lapse in concentration. Examples of such games are Same Pets and Same Hearths.

In games without a goal score, like Bonkers for iPhone, the goal is to clear the level completely. The game ends when the player fails to do so.

Visuals

Blocks typically appear as colored squares, circles, or spheres. Some variations use gradient shading to give the illusion of dimensionality. Other tile themes, or skins

Skin (computing)

In computing, a skin is a custom graphical appearance achieved by the use of a graphical user interface that can be applied to specific software and websites to suit the purpose, topic, or tastes of different users....

, include animals, hearts, stars, faces, Lego

Lego

Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

 blocks, and jelly bears. Designs may follow a theme, such as Christmas or monochrome. Most games have only one skin, but others allow choosing from multiple skins.

There is a special visual aspect in some versions; instead of separate blocks, games like iDrops and SameGameManiak feature bordered areas for adjacent blocks of the same color. Some have elaborate tile graphics, featuring pictures or patterns inside the tile, like KSame and Same GNOME.

Variations

Reveal the picture

The SameGame concept can be extended to a "Reveal the picture" game. A picture or photo is behind the blocks; it becomes increasingly visible as blocks are removed, until it is completely revealed. Examples include Same Pets, Same Hearts and the Nissan Cube

Nissan Cube

The Nissan Cube is a Mini MPV produced by Nissan for the Japanese market since 1998, and now sold in export markets such as North America and Europe.-First generation:...

 promotional app for iPhone.

Animation

Some games feature animation of one or more game events, such as cleared tiles bursting or expoding, or scoring animations (BPop, Bubblets Tilt).

Block highlighting

Some versions display which blocks are selected with a border around them (BPop), jittering of the blocks (BPop), or an increase of the size of the selected blocks (Bubblets Tilt). If the blocks are deselected (usually by dragging away from them, or tapping another block chain or a single block), the highlight is removed.

Versions

Versions of SameGame

Name	Author	Release Date	Platforms	Notes
Chain Shot!	Kuniaki Moribe	1985	Fujitsu FM 8/7PC‑8801PC‑9800N5200 (1988)Macintosh (1992)	The original iteration of the game. Had a 20×10 playing field and four colors.
Same Game	Eiji Fukumoto	1992	Unix Unix Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...	The first version titled Same Game; it increased the number of colors to five.
Same Game	Wataru Yoshioka (W. Yossi)		PC-9801
Same Game	Ikuo Hirohata (Japanese) Hitoshi Ozawa (tr. English)	1993	Windows 3.1	Added an optional large field of 25×15. The large field requires an 800×600 desktop resolution.
KSame Same Gnome Swell Foop				Based on Takahiro Sumiya's Macintosh version.
Undake 30: Same Game		1995	SNES Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...	Featured Super Mario Mario (series) The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and... -related icons: Mario's head, coins, Super Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, and Yoshi eggs.
ColorFall	Michael LaLena	1998	Java Java Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java... /Browser based	Added the concept of levels. Clear levels by removing a fixed number of colors. New colors are added every level. Five different versions are available.
Clickomania!	Matthias Schüssler	1998	Windows	Board size and number of colors are configurable. Originally the goal was only to clear the playing field, the number of blocks removed in one turn did not affect the score. This is still the default setting.
SameGame	Ronald van Dijk	1999	Amiga Amiga The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...	It has a 15×10 playing field and three colors.
Sega Swirl Sega Swirl Sega Swirl is a puzzle game that was created for the Dreamcast, Personal computer, and Palm OS. The game was included in various demo discs released for the Dreamcast , and is free to download and play on the PC.Sega Swirl was created by Scott...	Scott Hawkins (Sega Sega , usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world... )	1999	DreamcastAdobe ShockwavePalm OS Palm OS Palm OS is a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management...
MacStones	Craig Landrum	1999		Based on Same Gnome.
Cascade		1999	Psion Revo Psion Revo The Psion Revo, launched in 1997, is a PDA from Psion. It is the successor to the Psion Series 3 and a light version of Psion 5mx. It is software-compatible with the 5mx and has the same processor but is more lightweight , and substantially smaller...
Maki	Christopher G. Stach II	December 2000	Java applet Java applet A Java applet is an applet delivered to users in the form of Java bytecode. Java applets can run in a Web browser using a Java Virtual Machine , or in Sun's AppletViewer, a stand-alone tool for testing applets... /Browser based	Three difficulty levels, five colors, scoring, cleared board bonus, online high scoring.
PocketPop	PocketFun	2001	Pocket PC Pocket PC A Pocket PC is also known by Microsoft as a 'Windows Mobile Classic device'. It is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer, personal digital assistant , that runs the Microsoft 'Windows Mobile Classic' operating system...	Won a number of awards, including Best Game, in Pocket PC Magazine 2001.
Jawbreaker Jawbreaker (Pocket PC game) Jawbreaker is a port of SameGame for the Pocket PC bundled with the Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 operating system for PDAs. The operating system, and thus the game, was officially released on April 7, 2003. The game itself was developed by oopdreams software, Inc...		2003	Pocket PC Pocket PC A Pocket PC is also known by Microsoft as a 'Windows Mobile Classic device'. It is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer, personal digital assistant , that runs the Microsoft 'Windows Mobile Classic' operating system...
Bubble Shot	FingerFriendlySoft		iOS	A Bubble Breaker–compatible game where adjacent bubbles visually melt into larger bubbles. Includes additional "Folding" and "Black Hole" modes and static challenges.
bubbles.el	Ulf Jasper	February 2007	GNU emacs	Can display using graphics or text, according to availability
SameGame	Steve and Oliver Baker	2008	JavaScript	Online version that allows configuration of board size, number of colors and offers a range of alternative tile themes to play with.
Bubble Bang	Decane	January 2009	Web browser and iOS	Three-dimensional game using balls instead of blocks. The iOS version uses Nvidia PhysX for realistic physics. The web browser version requires Unity Unity (game engine) Unity is an integrated authoring tool for creating 3D video games or other interactive content such as architectural visualizations or real-time 3D animations. Unity's development environment runs on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, and the games it produces can be run on Windows, Mac, Xbox 360,... .
Pop'Em Drop'Em SAMEGAME	Hudson Soft Hudson Soft , formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...	March 23, 2009	WiiWare WiiWare WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
SameGame	Torbjörn Gustafsson	February 2009	Android (operating system)
Bubble Drop!	Gizmobuddy.com		Symbian S60 S60 (software platform) The S60 Platform is a software platform for mobile phones that runs on Symbian OS. It was created by Nokia, who made the platform open source and contributed it to the Symbian Foundation. S60 has been used by mobile device manufacturers including Siemens mobile, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Panasonic...	Includes the ability to selectively remove obstructing bubbles by using "tools", "acid", "fire", or "bomb", and with eight different gameplay modes of three and six colors. Players can submit high scores to a website.
ColorBalls	Pistooli	March 2010	Haiku OS Haiku (operating system) Haiku is a free and open source operating system compatible with BeOS. Its development began in 2001, and the operating system became self-hosting in 2008, with the first alpha release in September 2009, the second in May 2010 and the third in June 2011....
Click-o-mania HTML	Bugaco	January 2011	JavaScript JavaScript JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....	Written in GWT
Maki	appsburgers	September 2011	Android (operating system)

External links

• Bebbled for Android and iPhone with online scores
• Chain Shot! on Kuniaki Moribe's homepage
• Same Game in Javascript with levels on Fatih Akdağ's homepage
• Same Game in Javascript with source code on internet.com
• History of SameGame
• Takahiro Sumiya's Software
• SameGame for Amiga
• Clickomania
• Clickomania is NP-Complete
• ColorFall in Java for the browser from lalena.com Games
• Same Game for Windows by Ikuo Hirohata (1993)
• Same Game for Pocket PC
• Same Gnome for Linux
• Online version of SameGame in JavaScript
• Online demo of iDrops, an iPhone / iPod Touch version of SameGame
• Online version of Same Game, can be run on iPhone/iPod Touch
• Online version of Bubble Bang, needs Unity Player
• Bubble Shot (for iPhone/iPod touch)
• iPhone version of PocketPop
• SameGame for Android
• SameGame for Android by Itteco (2009)
• Play SameGame at FreshProgramming.com
• JSame - SameGame in Java
• bubbles.el for GNU Emacs by Ulf Jasper