[b]marble magicks[/b] is a unique (as far as I know) matching game with some math and physics. the in-game help sort of describes the basics and has interactive demonstrations of all the [b]power-ups[/b] (there are a lot) and a few tutorial levels, but I'll summarize things anyway.
drop colored balls from the top to create horizontal matches of 3 or more (connected balls will also get removed). [b]their numbers represent weight and point value[/b], 5 of the same on top of each other merges them and their values get combined, shown on the bottom. scales are in pairs, indicated by dividing lines and number colors down below. putting a ball on one moves the other up if it's lighter, [b]hurling already placed balls around[/b]. if they leave the screen, they turn into weightless/pointless barrels, one of the explosive power-ups. others change ball color or behavior, e.g. regular ball to bomb or stone, etc.
[u]arcade mode[/u] is the default on [i]normal[/i] difficulty, [i]easy[/i], [i]hard[/i], [i]extreme[/i] and [i]free[/i] have to be unlocked, but [b]gameplay customization[/b] is also available. starting and end level, next level goal, wildcard rarity and the amount of each power-up. level size too but it has to be unlocked as well. [u]versus[/u] is local 2-player mode, same difficulty and customization stuff applies. [b]mid-run saving is available in both modes.[/b]
the level, and with it the difficulty and marble and power-up variety, increases after every 50 drops by default. that's when a silver crystal shows up, gotta drop and create a threesome to clear the board and get a bunch of points. crystals are also used to [b]unlock more difficulties, customization options and songs[/b]. not sure how they work, I matched 4 in one game and had 15 to spend after. probably related to score and whatnot.
there's [b]no time limit[/b], just a distracting clock in the corner, but a [b]timer toggle[/b] got patched in quickly and there are separate [b]leaderboards[/b] for all the modes and difficulties, except versus.
there are also [b]23 puzzle levels[/b], this is where the [b]6-level tutorial[/b] can be found. they're all unlocked from the start, you get a description of the situation, make it happen. I couldn't in most cases but that's neither here nor there. a major shortcoming is [b]the lack of a restart and retry button in the pause menu and the level complete screen[/b], even though restart is available in other modes.
[b]rebindable controls[/b] after a patch, by default it's arrows for player 1, asd for player 2, space to select stuff, enter doesn't work. mouse and controller do, both in-game and in the menus. keyboard might be a better idea, especially if you're mathematically challenged like me, because if you move the claw over a column that would become heavier than the connected one after the drop, the numbers on the bottom start blinking. with the mouse it's one click to pick up the next thing, another to drop it wherever. faster but easier to make a mistake.
the game doesn't look great but not every match-3 has to have the same big fish/casual visuals. the music is pleasantly retro to match the graphics and [b]settings are pretty good[/b] but only audio toggles are available while playing a level. otherwise there are separate volumes, resizable windowed mode, some languages, the aforementioned timer toggle and various customization options and other unlockables. you can also listen to the available songs at your leisure and there's in-game representation of achievements called 'missions'.
it was in dire need of polish on release but quickly and mostly got fixed up based on feedback. it could still use more work and clarity but it's different enough to be worth a shot for a single dollar.
