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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 5 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. Retrieved on 2008-06-15

External links[ | ]

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