PixlBit

Plotting

Released: 1989

Pitch: Clear the screen of blocks by throwing, bouncing, and matching similar blocks.

Plotting is a strange puzzle game that I nearly wrote off for being incomprehensible, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It's actually a rather deep and satisfying experience...once I puzzled out how to play it.

The goal of plotting is to reduce a pile of blocks down under a certain numbr threshold. You do this by throwing blocks from the left to the right and matching blocks (many levels have a graded ceiling that allows you to bounce the blocks onto the tops of the stacks). Here's where it gets confusing. When you match blocks, they push in together and the number of matching blocks disappears and the next block in line bounces back to you for your next move BUT that block is replaced with one of the matched blocks. So if you match a group of red circles and the next block past them is a green square, the green square is what you will throw on your next move but it will be replaced in the pile with a red circle. (There are blue triangle pieces that are actually the Taito logo. I thought that was a nice touch.) If you bounce a piece back to yourself that cannot match anything on the next turn, that's a miss. After four misses you lose the level and must insert another quarter. I loved the strategy and planning necesarry to get rid of as many blocks per move as possible while still making sure you could use the block you'd end up with.

Plotting nearly obfuscated me into ducking out early and moving on, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It's a fun puzzle game different enough from any other I've played to easily hold my attention...once I figured out how to play it.