How to play Color Lines
Color Lines is a calm turn-based puzzle on a 9×9 board. Move one ball each turn and line up five or more of the same colour to clear them.
Every move that clears nothing lets three new balls drop in. The game ends when the board fills up.
Rules
- Pick a ball and move it to any empty cell it can reach. Balls travel up, down, left and right through empty cells and cannot jump over other balls.
- Five or more of one colour in a row, column or diagonal disappear.
- If your move clears nothing, the three balls shown under "Next" drop onto the board. Their landing spots are shown as faint seeds.
- A line of n balls scores n × (n − 3): 10 for five, 18 for six, 28 for seven. Several lines made at once each score on their own.
- Each colour has its own symbol, so you can play without telling colours apart.
- Your game is saved automatically, so you can close the tab and carry on later.
Controls
- Click / tap a ball
- Select it (click again to deselect)
- Click / tap empty cell
- Move the selected ball there
- Arrows / WASD
- Move the keyboard cursor
- Enter / Space
- Pick up or drop a ball
- Esc
- Deselect
- N
- New game
Tips
- Longer lines are worth far more: holding out for six or seven pays off.
- Move balls onto the seeded cells to block bad drops — a blocked ball lands somewhere random instead.
- Keep open corridors on the board; once balls are boxed in you lose the moves you need.
About Color Lines
Color Lines was created in 1992 by Oleg Demin for the Russian studio Gamos, with graphics by Gennady Denisov and Igor Ivkin. It was a sensation on DOS PCs across the former Soviet Union and quietly conquered Western offices too, because a turn-based game with no clock is the easiest thing in the world to leave open behind a spreadsheet.
This remake keeps the 9 × 9 board, three new balls a turn and the five-in-a-row rule, and adds a symbol on every colour, keyboard play and an auto-saved game.
Questions
Is this the original Color Lines?
No. It is an original browser remake inspired by the 1992 Gamos game, free with nothing to download. The board, the three new balls a turn and the five-in-a-row rule are as you remember them.
How is the score calculated?
A line of n balls scores n × (n − 3): 10 for five, 18 for six, 28 for seven. Several lines cleared with one move each score on their own.
Can a ball jump over others?
No. A ball travels up, down, left and right through empty cells only, so it needs a clear path to where you want it.
Is my game saved?
Yes. The board is saved locally in your browser as you play, so you can close the tab mid-game and carry on later.