Tumble Tubes

Two glass tubes arc up either side of the board. A funnel sits at the top. And a winding track runs back down toward four stacks of holders that are never quite the color you need. Every level opens with a board of loaded cartridges. Most carry nine marbles. Some carry far more. Tap one and its marbles rush up through the side tube, over the arc, and spill out of the funnel onto the track below. From there they tumble down, lane by lane, toward the holders. A marble that reaches a holder in its own color clicks into place. Fill that holder and it pops away, and whatever color was buried under it rises up to take its turn. Marbles with no holder to go to keep riding. They queue up behind one another, and the track has an end. Pack it with marbles that have nowhere to click in and the run is finished. You'll see it coming a few moves out. Getting out of it is the hard part. And not every cartridge is ready to fire. Some sit frozen. Some are buried under stone. Some are bolted into a frame and won't move until you clear what's around them. Which one you open, and when, is the whole game. HOW TO PLAY - Tap a cartridge to send its marbles up the tube and through the funnel - Marbles pour onto the track and tumble down toward the holders - A marble clears when it clicks into a holder of its own color - Fill a holder and the next color in that stack rises up behind it - Marbles with no matching holder stay on the track and take up room - Fill the track with marbles that can't clear and the level ends - Empty the board and finish every stack to move on ON THE BOARD - Cartridges from three marbles up to a couple of hundred - Frozen cartridges that need a few clears before they open - Stone tiles hiding what sits underneath - Boosters for when the track is packed and you need a way out NO TIMER Open a cartridge when you're ready. Sit and read the board for a minute if you want. Nothing on screen is counting down.