Game:

Lumines: Puzzle Fusion (2004)

Duration: 1:03

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2

So how about that whole Mayan apocalypse thing? Did your world end properly enough? You might've noticed that mine did for a couple of days, but it's really more self-inflicted than anything else, so I can't blame any so-called ancient prophecies or whatever on that.

In fact, it bugs me that people refer to it as some kind of predicted end of days, when really... as far as I know, it's just where the Mayan calendar finally ran out of cycles to count. It's an ancient case of Y2K! Are we all new-Mayan compliant out there? Because we might not actually get a new calendar, so maybe we ought to switch off of operating systems that don't rely on chiseled stone. Those things are more of a hassle than punch-cards, I tell ya!

Anyway, since I think the "predicted" cutoff has passed for everyone around the world, it's probably safe to say that if you're reading this, you made it. Congratulations! Just be sure that in the case of catastrophic instant-onset armageddon you let me know when the world ends with you.

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Puzzle Mode
Puzzle 3: Small Checker

Now here's an interesting twist... the goal for this puzzle is to intentionally create a formation of the absolute worst thing you can ever do to your Lumines matrix. That is, tightly-packed alternating-color blocks makes for one of the most annoying things to have to clean up after yourself in any play. So... don't do it! Except here. Do it!

The thing about checkered patterns in your Lumines pieces is that it's not as easy to avoid or intentionally create without really thinking about what will happen when you split your current piece across uneven existing formations...and as far as I can speak from personal experience, that's a slow-building acquired skill in terms of pattern recognition. The better you can pick up on this, though, the happier you'll be when you're dealing with the checkered 2x2 piece when it comes up, because it can often enough become a neatly-layered formation if you find a good place to drop it.

The only other place that can get you into serious trouble is the pesky "no touching" rule for the spare blocks of the same color you're building your formation in. So it's not enough to get the pieces split up to create the right shape, which can be attention-consuming enough, but then you'll probably notice only after the fact that your ministrations have resulted in an invalid formation, which particularly given what you're working on will be much harder to foresee the consequences of trying to clear it away than usual. It's not easy doing what you naturally shouldn't be doing just because the game gives you (limited) permission!

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