Glyph

Wrapper Application artwork

**Glyph** is a puzzle game developed by Sandlot Games. It was released on September 30, 2006, and was available to download until the client shutdown in 2013.

## Description

*Glyph* is a match-three game. The player needs to save the world of Kuros by completing antique sculptures in 125 levels in five different worlds. Get three or more stones in one group so they disappear. If you manage to make enough matches, you will get one of six artifacts which act as the game's powerups. Making more matches can boost the artifact's power if not used right away.

## Overview

The game has five "worlds" with 25 levels each, with each one representing a specific element. 1 being Wood (green), 2 being Fire (red), 3 being Water (blue), 4 being Metal (yellow), and 5 being Aether (light blue).

Starting a new Quest Mode game gives you three lives, and these are the only three lives you'll get, so plan on going back to the menu and restarting if you get stuck and can't make any more moves so you don't lose them. There is a timer on the bottom right corner, and making matches or using artifacts will refill the timer. If the time runs out, you'll lose a life.

There are eight colors/types of stones. Every level has between three and five colors, except for level 5-2 which has only one color.

Click on groups of three or more identical stones to release their energy and dig through the rock below. After clearing enough stones and breaking all the rock below, a glyph fragment is discovered. Every five levels, there is a Simon type memory game where you have to watch, remember, and click on three patterns in order to complete the glyph.

The stone colors for the current level are displayed on the bottom of the screen. If any of them are marked with an X, that color can still be matched, but it will not dig through the rock below. For example, if the blue stone has an X on it but red and green doesn't, only red and green stones will dig through the rock.

As you progress through the levels of Glyph, more gameplay elements show up:

Black obsidian stones act as blockers and cannot be matched by clicking on them. All artifacts except Color Dissolve and Stone Sorter can destroy these blocker stones. If there's green smoke coming out of them, they act as "viruses" and will spread to surrounding stones if not cleared quickly so use your artifact as soon as you can on these pesky ones.

Solid rock squares also act as blockers, but they cannot move at all and only the Flash Bomb artifact can destroy it. Cannot be affected by Row/Column Break, Stone Sorter or Color Spread.

Chroma bombs are represented by a circle with a color in the center. If the stone's shape is on it, it'll destroy only all stones of that color. If it doesn't, it'll cycle through all the stone colors on the board. Click it to destroy all stones of that color. Recommended on colors marked with an X.

### Artifacts

There are six possible artifacts you can get in the Quest Mode. The artifact you get when making matches is always random. Artifacts start off with small power and if not used right away, can be boosted to max power.

* Flash Bomb: Destroys stones and other objects in a certain radius. If boosted to max, destroys the entire board. Is the only artifact that can destroy Solid Rocks.
* Row Break: Destroys a row of stones horizontally. Small destroys one row, medium destroys three rows and max destroys five rows.
* Column Break: Destroys a column of stones vertically. Small destroys one column, medium destroys three columns and max destroys five columns.
* Color Spread: Spreads a color of your choice to all surrounding stones. If boosted to max, turns the entire board one color. Very useful artifact, but do not use this on colors marked with an X.
* Color Dissolve: "Dissolves" (removes) all of one color of your choice, so it has the same effect as the Chroma Bomb, but on your color of choice. Recommended to use this one on colors marked with an X.
* Stone Sorter: Rearranges all the stone colors (and obsidian stones) into groups. Small rearranges only a portion, medium partially rearranges the whole board, and max rearranges the whole board perfectly.