Specifications

Rainbow Web
by Marcel Defresne
I like solving problems. Whether it is a Sudoku or a Crossword, puzzles
keep the cobwebs from forming in the mind. The computer has an unlimited
number of software programs to keep me from getting bored. This summer I
have been playing a game called RAINBOW WEB. It is a new mind twister
that trains your logical sense and ability to think under time pressure. It is a
match three colours or more to remove the tiles type of game but it is set on a
spider web. It is not anything like tetris. This game has been around for awhile
and receiving Top-10 ratings on many game portals. However it existed only
for the IBM platform. I am pleased that the developers have gone over to our
side and written a Mac version. According to them, they are pleased with the
result and have become Mac fans themselves (not a surprise to us).
Rainbow Web runs under Mac OS X 10.3 or better and costs $19.95 (USD).
An evaluation version limited to 60 minutes of the gameplay is available as
a no-cost download from http://www.SugarGames.com/rainbow_web/mac/.
There was no problem installing it. The game starts with you at the gates of
a park. The seven colours that you will be matching are shown as well as a
specifi c pattern inside each sphere. This would allow identifi cation even if you
were colour blind. Once you click on the start icon you are taken to the menu
screen. It shows the level that you are at on the path to 60. The menu bar at
the bottom allows you to identify yourself (Players), choose full screen, show
hints and adjust the music and volume (Options), gives you the rules of the
game and the high scores. As in most games, you need to identify yourself as
the new player and then you can start.
The graphics are very well done and engaging. I particularly liked the theme
buildup for each of the twelve kingdoms along the way. I preferred playing
with the full screen. The colours are easy to identify. I sometimes have trouble
with the yellow and green in some games. This is not the case with Rainbow
Web. Each successful level brings on a new piece of the puzzle that is being
shown to you. The music that plays in the background is soothing. I often turn
off the background music on most games but their choice of music I found to
be relaxing.
Once you choose start from the menu bar you are taken to the select mode.
You can play the more exciting classic game that is time controlled or the relax
mode that is untimed. Your scores will be lower in the relax mode because you
will not obtain any of the bonus points gained from the time clock. I chose the
classic game and was immediately taken to level one. A spider web appeared
with spheres of fi ve colours scattered over the web at different nodes and the
letters of the word “pathway” imbedded in 7 of the spheres. The object was
to remove the spheres that had the letters in them. You must move adjacent
spheres by clicking and dragging one to the other. This interchanges the two.
As long as the new pattern has three spheres in a row or column with the
same colour, the move is accepted. If accepted, the three or more spheres are
removed, giving you points for the length of the line. Much of the game-play
revolves around developing solutions on how to make a line of three or more
spheres of the same colour. Once you have the line, the spheres disappear,
adding to your score. Of course, you are aiming to remove the seven lettered
spheres. Any others are used to help set up the pattern. A lizard with its tongue
out is your time clock. If his tongue is retracted before you have removed all
the letters, then you lose a life. You only have three to start with. A new life is
awarded with every 50,000 points scored. It took me awhile to discover that
aspect. You start each game level with spheres scattered randomly over the
spider web. The length of the word or phrase changes with each level requiring
more spheres to be removed in the same length of time.