Columns (video game)

Did You Know?

• In Japan, Game Machine listed Columns as the eighth most successful table arcade unit of April 1990.
• Columns was Japan's fourth highest-grossing arcade game of 1990.
• Mega placed the game at number 34 in their 'Top Mega Drive Games of All Time'.

Gameplay

The playing area is a tall, rectangular well. Columns of three different symbols, such as differently-colored jewels, appear one at a time at the top and fall to the bottom, landing on the floor or on previously fallen columns. While a column is falling, the player can move it left and right and cycle the positions of the symbols within it. After a column lands, if three or more identical symbols are connected horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, those symbols disappear. The pile then settles under gravity, potentially causing further matches and chain reactions. Occasionally, a special column with a multicolor Magic Jewel appears; it destroys all jewels of the same color as the one beneath it. The columns fall faster as the player progresses, and the game ends when the well fills up. Some ports include alternate modes: Flash columns, Doubles, and Time trial.

Development

Columns was created in 1989 by Jay Geertsen, a software engineer at Hewlett-Packard, as a personal project to learn X11 programming on HP-UX. After sharing it with colleagues, two of them ported it to Macintosh and MS-DOS. Sega became interested and acquired non-exclusive commercial rights after HP deliberated for about six months. HP donated the proceeds to the United Way and retained rights to distribute the original X11 version with HP-UX.

Ports

In 1990, Sega ported Columns to arcade and then to the Sega Genesis, with nearly identical versions. It was the first pack-in game for the Game Gear, featuring a rearranged soundtrack due to sound chip limitations and a more artistic design; players could change jewels to fruit, squares, dice, or playing card suits. Compile and Telenet Japan developed and published an MSX2 version in 1990. The game appeared in compilations such as Sega Genesis Collection (2006), Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, Sega Genesis Classics (2018), and on the Sega Genesis Mini. It was released on Nintendo's Virtual Console for Wii in 2006 and on the Nintendo Classics service in December 2022. An iOS port was released but later withdrawn by Sega.

Legacy

Many sequels and spin-offs were produced, including Columns II: The Voyage Through Time, Columns III: Revenge of Columns, Columns '97, and Sakura Taisen: Hanagumi Taisen Columns 1 & 2. Versions appeared on the Master System, Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega CD, Game Gear, Saturn, Dreamcast, PC Engine, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation 2. A Super Famicom version was released in Japan via the Nintendo Power service. The Game Boy Color version, Columns GB: Osamu Tezuka Characters, featured characters such as Kimba and Astroboy. A mobile phone version, Columns Deluxe, was released in 2008.