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Marble Drop

Windows - 1997

Also available on: Windows 3.x

Year 1997
Platform Windows
Released in Germany, United States
Theme Puzzle elements
Publisher Maxis Software Inc.
Developer Maxis South
Perspective 3rd-Person
4.69 / 5 - 40 votes

Description of Marble Drop

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One of the most unique puzzlers in the same vein as The Incredible Machine series, Marble Drop plays like a cross between Dynamix's classic and the Japanese game of Pachinko.

Games Domain says it all about this excellent underdog: "In Marble Drop, you send some poor, innocent marbles who've done nothing to hurt anyone in their quiet, spherical life and send them on a helter-skelter journey around devious contraptions. Here's the twist. When your marble runs over certain sections, the paths are re-routed to different parts of the contraption. If the marble runs over a button, it might activate a "diverter" and send the next marble somewhere completely different. In essence, you have to visualise what will happen. Sometimes you can spot the principle immediately. Sometimes you can guess what might happen for the first couple of balls, and you have to just suck it and see thereafter. And sometimes you have no clue whatsoever!

There are a few further wrinkles to the game. Steel balls are 10% the price of coloured marbles, and so can be used as test marbles or to help release a catch when you don't want to use a valuable coloured marble. Black marbles are very expensive, but acquire the correct colour when they arrive in the target bin. You start with seven marbles of each colour. Any surviving marbles are carried forward into the next puzzle.

There are 50 puzzles in all (including 5 bonus puzzles which can only be accessed via combination locks which appear in certain puzzles). Each puzzle is decorated with very nice Leonardo-esque sketches. Cleverly, explanatory notes in da Vinci's own fair hand form part of the background. These help you understand what new pieces of equipment do, lending a nice learning curve to the game.

The sound effects employed are typical plinks and plunks, and they're pleasant enough. The range of devices used in the puzzles is quite varied, ranging from buttons, switches and plungers in early puzzles, and on to transporters, splitters, marble makers and other space-age devices in the later puzzles. Although the new gadgets seem bemusing at first, I found that upon replaying the levels once or twice I managed to score highly. After level 20, things start getting a little mad - perhaps a little too mad. Be warned - this is not a game for the faint hearted.

The main problem I have with the game is that the scoring system is pretty pathetic. Want to get a huge score? Just send marbles round one of the several puzzles which involve a timing or "perpetual motion" concept and go and have a cup of tea. Or play the same puzzle time and time again! My other main gripe is that I want to actually SOLVE the puzzles. Marble Drop allows you to, in effect, cheat by buying extra marbles at will by spending points. I think this takes a lot away from the game. Luckily, you can tell if you've solved the puzzle via the optimum solution if you get a 5000 point efficiency bonus at the end of the level. For purists, this is the only way to really get the most from the game.

When I first read the box, I thought this was a variation on The Incredible Machine. To some extent, I am disappointed that the concept wasn't taken this far. It would have been a lot of fun to draw your own tracks and use the 30 different equipment pieces to construct puzzles. Also, bear in mind that all you do in the game is drop marbles in funnels and watch. Sometimes the marbles needs specific timing, but on the whole this is not necessary. As such, the gameplay is rather limited.

Marble Drop succeeds in being a highly original puzzle game. However, it just misses out on a Silver award because it won't quite be every puzzle fan's cup of tea. I enjoyed it, and so might you if you have the patience this game requires."

Review By HOTUD

External links

Captures and Snapshots

  • Windows

Comments and reviews

Ismonda 2024-12-08 0 point

Ik zou dit weer zo graag spelen maar dat lukt niet met een iPad😞

fer 2024-07-01 0 point

this is awesome! I used to play it when I was a kid. I worked just fine on win10. I used the rip version and followed the step on the notepad. Thank you!

atpstudios 2023-12-08 1 point

Yes! in the "RIP version" NOT the iso download, in there I seen the "how to install" and its simple, just run the "marble.reg" then when your done the "marble.exe" will run!!!!!!!

Stingingpain99 2022-03-14 0 point

I wish I could find a copy of this game for PC to try and play it would be awesome if there was even a console version

QuilTheGreat 2021-08-15 -1 point Windows version

Hi Everyone! So I just wanted to say - if anyone tries to install the Windows 95 version on Windows XP SP3, then it may throw a 'This operating system is not capable of running Marble Drop' error. If it does, a quick fix I found was to trick it into thinking it was running on Windows 95 by enabling compatibility mode for 95.

Hope this helps someone! :)

José Roberto 2020-10-05 0 point

Há muito tempo tenho procurado esse jogo, fez parte da minha infância.

sarah 2020-07-19 0 point

there's a readme in the download that tells you what to run before running the .exe btw

Daniel 2020-06-09 -10 points

Anyone have a fix to play this on Windows 10?

Jeff 2020-05-28 0 point

I used to play this game as a kid!! Thanks for archiving it for us. It was so simple and relaxing, but hypnotically addicting.

Mr Curse Magnet 2020-03-06 1 point

I downloaded this game and tried to install it via D-Fend Reloaded on a Windows 10 computer. Whenever I open the installation files, there is a black window containing the code. I tried to press enter and then an error message pop-up saying "Cannot import marble.reg: Error opening the file. There may be a disk for file error."

Does anyone know a workaround?

... 2019-12-26 0 point

anyone know how to save your progress?

jackson 2019-06-01 1 point

i wish this game for a link.

jackson 2019-06-01 0 point

i like that game.

Dino 2019-05-21 0 point

Love Love this Game...

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Share your gamer memories, help others to run the game or comment anything you'd like. If you have trouble to run Marble Drop (Windows), read the abandonware guide first!

 

Download Marble Drop

We may have multiple downloads for few games when different versions are available. Also, we try to upload manuals and extra documentation when possible. If you have additional files to contribute or have the game in another language, please contact us!

Windows Version

DownloadRIP Version English version 39 MB DownloadISO Version English version 195 MB ManualEnglish version 750 KB

Game Extras

Various files to help you run Marble Drop, apply patches, fixes, maps or miscellaneous utilities.

ManualEnglish version 2 MB PatchPatch 1.1 English version 186 KB PatchVista Patch English version 100 KB

Windows 3.x Version

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