Same Game

How to play Same Game

Same Game is a classic puzzle from the 1980s, also known as Chain Shot or Clickomania. The board is filled with coloured blocks. Each colour also has its own shape, so the blocks are easy to tell apart.

Goal

Score as many points as you can by removing blocks. If you remove every block, you earn a big bonus.

Turn by turn

1. A group is two or more blocks of the same colour that touch side by side or above and below. Corners do not count.
2. With a mouse, point at a block to see its group light up and the points it is worth, then click to remove it. On a touch screen, tap once to pick the group and tap it again to remove it.
3. Blocks above the gap fall down. If a whole column becomes empty, the columns to its right slide left to close it.
4. A single block on its own cannot be removed.
5. Press Hint to flash the biggest group on the board, and Undo to take back a move.

Scoring

A group of n blocks scores n×n points. Two blocks give 4 points, five give 25 and ten give 100. Clearing the whole board adds 1,000 points. Your best score for each level is saved in your browser.

Levels and keyboard

Easy is 10×10 with three colours, Medium is 12×12 with four, and Hard is 15×12 with five. With the keyboard, focus the board, move with the arrow keys, press Enter to remove a group and H for a hint.

End of the game

The game ends when no group of two or more is left. Like matching colours? Try Color Flood.

Strategy tips

• Grow groups before you pop them. Because points are squared, one group of 12 scores far more than three groups of 4. Remove other colours first so a colour can join up.
• Pick one colour to save. Leave your most common colour alone and let it gather into one huge group near the end.
• Work from the bottom. Moves low on the board shift many blocks at once and create new groups. Moves at the top change little.
• Watch for lonely blocks. A single block with no partner left can stop you clearing the board, and the clear bonus is worth a lot.
• Use Undo to explore. Try a move, see how the blocks fall, and take it back if it splits a group you wanted.