Marble Drop

Marble Drop
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Developer(s)	Maxis South
Publisher(s)	Maxis
Platform(s)	PC
Release date(s)	NA March 30, 1997
Genre(s)	Strategy
Rating(s)	ESRB - Everyone
System requirements Windows 8MB RAM, 486/66 or faster, Windows 95, 2x CD-ROM, sound card, SVGA monitor supporting 256 colors.

Marble Drop is a puzzle game published by Maxis on March 30, 1997.

Gameplay

Players are given an initial set of 42 marbles divided evenly into six colors. These marbles are picked up and dropped by the player into funnels leading to a series of rails, switches, traps and other devices which grow more complex as the game progresses. The aim is to ensure that marbles arrive in the bin with the same color as the marble. Players must determine how the marble will travel through the puzzle, and how its journey will change the puzzle for the next marble. When a marble runs over certain sections of the puzzle, the paths are possibly re-routed or cut-off, temporarily or permanently. For example, if the marble runs over a button, it might activate a diverter that sends the next marble down a different path.^[1]

There are 50 puzzles in all, including five bonus puzzles which can only be accessed via combination locks which appear in certain puzzles. Each puzzle is decorated with very nice Leonardo-esque sketches. Explanatory notes in da Vinci's handwriting form part of the background, informing the player of new pieces of equipment and their effects. At the end of each puzzle, the marbles guided into their proper bins are returned to the player. Lost marbles must be purchased when they are needed to complete a puzzle. Steel balls are 20% the price of colored marbles, and can be used as test marbles or to help release a catch instead of using a valuable colored marble. Black marbles are very expensive, but acquire the correct color when they arrive in the target bin.

Levels

Each level is named after a historical scientist, philosopher, or mathematician.

1. Thales of Miletus
2. Tarquinius the Elder
3. Priscian
4. Xenophon
5. Galileo (Bonus Level)
6. Aristotle
7. Archimedes
8. Euclid
9. Eratosthenes
10. Polybius
11. Ctesibius
12. Ma Chun
13. Hero of Alexandria
14. Speusippus
15. Democritus
16. Brunelleschi
17. Archytas of Tarente
18. Christiaan Huygens (Bonus Level)
19. Philo of Athens
20. Cato the Elder
21. Philo of Byzantium
22. Hipparchus
23. Shao Ong
24. Dionysus Thrax
25. Geminus of Rhodes
26. Plato
27. Sripati (Bonus Level)
28. Marcus Tiron
29. Pliny the Elder
30. Vitruvius
31. Ts'ai Lun
32. Apollonius Dyskolos
33. Belisarius
34. Apollonius (Bonus Level)
35. Isidore of Seville
36. Chang Hsu-hsun
37. Gerbert d'Aurillac
38. Pi Cheng
39. Gui d'Arezzo
40. Su Sung
41. Guido di Vigevano
42. Salvino degliArmati
43. Albertus Magnus (Bonus Level)
44. Leone Alberti
45. Timdeharis
46. Giovanni
47. Kiddinu
48. Thabit Ibn Quarra
49. Gutenberg
50. Copernicus (This level is invisible)

References

1. ^ Hunsanger, Kevin (1997-03-19). "Marble Drop for PC Review". GameSpot. http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/puzzle/marbledrop/review.html. Retrieved 2008-06-15. 

External links

• Marble Drop at MobyGames