Columns (Game Gear)
1990 · Puzzle · Game Gear
Overview
Columns for Game Gear is a jewel-matching puzzle game in which vertical columns of three coloured gems fall from the top of the screen and must be arranged so that three or more matching gems align horizontally, vertically, or diagonally to clear them. The handheld version brought Sega's arcade puzzle hit to a portable format with minimal compromise.
Deep Dive
Columns was Sega's answer to Tetris — a falling-piece puzzle game with a different spatial logic. Rather than fitting irregular shapes into complete rows, Columns required players to arrange falling columns of three coloured gems so that matching colours aligned in any of eight directions. The cycling mechanic — pressing the button rotated the three gems within the column before they landed — was the primary skill expression, as rapid, accurate cycling positioned gems optimally in sequences that created chain reactions. The Game Gear version preserved the arcade original's core mechanics faithfully and added features appropriate for handheld play. The Flash mode — a variant where players had to clear specific highlighted gems before the stack reached the ceiling — gave the game objective variety beyond the standard survival mode. Sega's consistent visual identity for Columns — ancient Egyptian iconography for the gem designs and background art — translated well to the Game Gear's display. Columns was a pack-in game with some Game Gear hardware bundles, making it one of the most widely distributed Game Gear titles and a primary introduction to the platform for many players. The game's simple rule set and unlimited play depth made it ideal for portable sessions, and it served as Sega's competitive counter to the Tetris/Game Boy combination that Nintendo had used to establish the handheld market.
Developer Story
Columns was created by Jay Geertsen and licensed to Sega, which released it in arcades and on its home systems. On the Game Gear it was bundled with the handheld in North America.
Did You Know?
- Columns was released as a pack-in game with certain Game Gear hardware bundles in North America, making it one of the most widely owned Game Gear titles despite not being one of the platform's highest-profile releases.
- Columns uses a diagonal matching rule in addition to horizontal and vertical matching, making chain reactions that exploit diagonal alignments the game's highest-skill scoring technique.
- The original Columns arcade game was developed by Jay Geertsen, an American programmer, and licensed to Sega — one of the few cases in this era where a Sega arcade title originated with a Western developer.
Sources & further reading
- Columns (video game) — Wikipedia
