• Created by Jay Geertsen at HP in 1989 for HP-UX, Sega later licensed this falling-block puzzle game for arcades and various consoles.
• Players arrange vertically falling stacks of three jewels to match three or more of the same color horizontally, vertically, or diagonally to clear them.
• A special multicolor jewel appears periodically, destroying all jewels on the field that match the color of the jewel it lands upon.
• While the arcade version is abstract, later ports like SFC and Columns Crown added characters like treasure hunter Cure to provide context.
• The Master System version launched in NA/EU in 1990 but skipped Japan, featuring unique backgrounds and jewel sizes compared to other versions.
• It received high praise globally; Wizard magazine even rated the Sega CD version a B+, describing it as similar to Tetris but "a bit better".
• Fans enjoy the "chain" system and aesthetic, though some find the oriental music and repetitive gameplay "sleep-inducing" during long sessions.
• It is noted for difficulty; the narrow field and reliance on "diagonal matches" make it harder to recover than Tetris or Puyo Puyo.
• The series expanded with sequels like Columns II and III, eventually featuring collaborations with Sakura Wars and Osamu Tezuka characters.
• Originally titled "Drops" during testing, Sega later provided the game's source code to assist in developing the arcade version of Puyo Puyo.
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