Strat-O-Gems Deluxe

Strat-O-Gems Deluxe is a new Atari 2600 game by John Payson, originally created for the 2005 Minigame Competition that bears similarities to Columns, Jewel Master, and Salu’s Acid Drop. In Strat-O-Gems Deluxe, colored gems fall from the top of the screen in groups of three. Any time three or more adjacent gems of the same color line up vertically, horizontally, or diagonally they will disappear. Any gems above them will then fall down; if these create new groups of three or more gems, those too will disappear, leading to chain reactions. Your job is to score as many reactions and chain reactions as possible before the gems reach the foul line. If any gems remain over the foul line after all reactions are complete, the game will end.