Squarez Deluxe!

Sometimes the best game is one that takes five minutes of your time and then lets you go. Squarez Deluxe is exactly that kind of thing — a DOS puzzle that looks simpler than it actually is. No tutorials, no frills, just a pure problem in front of you: match colored squares into rows and columns so they disappear, and rack up as many points as you can before the board fills up.

It's a distant cousin of Tetris, one that its creator would probably have nothing against. There are falling blocks, there's a square board — but instead of assembling shapes, your task focuses on matching. Squarez Deluxe will take any column or row of the same color and erase it. Three of the same next to each other, gone. The remaining pieces fall down. New configuration, new opportunities, things start adding up fast.

The controls are dead simple — arrow keys or mouse, you position the blocks and they fall. The graphics are straightforward, no unnecessary frills — the squares have colors, the background is quiet, the sound is subtle. The game draws you in naturally through repetition. At first it seems easy. Then you realize that a good block combination is hiding from you. Then you see how your next move leads into a dead end. The game logic gradually sucks you in.

In the nineties, Squarez Deluxe filled the space between major titles — not a legendary hit, but a reliable little square puzzle for those moments when you want a few minutes without exploring the world or solving a complex plot. Short sessions, clear victory conditions, you can immediately see what you're good at and where you're losing ground. Simple, repeating graphics without any flash keep up the pace.

Today Squarez Deluxe will appeal to those looking for a logic puzzle without modernist gimmicks. It's not a game that plays with you — it's your quiet opponent, and you have to show it that you've got the logic. It runs in the browser without hassle, sound is optional, and half an hour flies by like three minutes. You'll enjoy it mainly because the game design idea still holds up.