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How do you play Marbles: Lights out?



1. Introduction and needed items



Marbles: Lights out has quite a short history, but is the second-best game I've made outside Hit-a-bump version 6. Though, this game has five levels of difficulty, here's a list on what you'll need for all levels of difficulty:

1 Lite-Brite box [standard edition]
x sheets of paper [varies, depending on how many rounds you do, the more rounds, the more paper; do not use the black paper that comes with the Lite-Brite, instead, use standard printer paper]

For each level of difficulty, you'll need these extra items depending on your difficulty setting.

Easy difficulty:
90 marbles*
2 large marbles**
120 lite brite lights

Easy-medium difficulty:
85 marbles
2 large marbles
150 lite brite lights

Medium difficulty:
80 marbles
1 large marble
180 lite brite lights

Medium-hard difficulty:
75 marbles
1 large marble [limited use]
210 lite brite lights

Hard difficulty:
70 marbles
240 lite brite lights

Custom difficulty:
Anywhere from 60 to 100 marbles
0, 1, or 2 large marbles
Anywhere from 20 to 240 lite brite lights

2. Game setup



Setup is rather easy. First, get out the lite brite box [the object with the light inside that is turned on to light the image] and the number of marbles for your difficulty setting you chose. From there, count the number of lights needed for that difficulty setting. Next, take out a sheet of copier paper and center it along the board. When centered, poke a light peg through the paper in one of the holes. Then, when you get that light peg in, reposition the paper to as center as possible and poke another one in on the other side. Now for the fun part, create your own design with the other lights that meets these standards:

  1. The pattern must stretch from left to right 90% or more of the way [no more than six lights at the maximum from any side combined [two on the left and four on the right for example at six].
  2. The pattern must be two holes from the top [except the far sides on the right and left edges] at the most, but okay as a rare occasion [the diagram below shows an example; no marbles could get "trapped" in here as if you have it too high, you're not going to be able to knock them down where it gets stacked past the top, which would mean you'd have to start over again].
  3. The pattern may not go any lower than 10 holes from the center marks [the red dots on the bottom indicate this].
  4. The pattern must have at least two cages, depending on difficulty [The diagram shows you 9 cages, 7 below the dark cyan line and 2 hidden in the corner; a cage is defined as: an area, in which when a new game starts, that no marble, when dropped from any location, can get into the area without first knocking one or more lights out]:
    1. 2 cages for easy
    2. 3 cages for easy-medium
    3. 4 cages for medium
    4. 6 cages for medium-hard
    5. 8 cages for hard
    6. at least 1, but an unlimited high end
  5. All lights must be used for the level.
  6. You must have a line of lights on each side of the design as shown in the image below in blue.
  7. If you make a mistake and change your mind on a very few holes, you can move the light without worry. Just make sure you mark an "x" over the bad hole(s) when you are complete.
  8. You must have it so that you must "dig" down [as the image shows in dark cyan].
  9. Color of lights makes absolutely no difference so pick any color and position it.
  10. The image you create can be anything you can dream of that meets any of the above standards.
  11. Difficulty doesn't enhance your image other than the fact you get more lights to put in.
  12. You can only use single light pegs, not the grouped ones in the newer version of Lite Brite.


These images below shows you each of the concepts illustrated. Areas marked as green are good, but areas marked as red are bad.

This image below gives you a perfect example of a good design I already made that shows you all aspects of the design rules. The image looks like that of a table with two chairs off to the sides on a carnival-style platform.



For the notes on the color-coded sections, see the design rules above. Light gray, though not mentioned, represents a spot in which no light peg is there. The red area has no light pegs, instead it's empty, but illustrated to show you the no-light zone.

When finished with the design, set one or more marbles in each of the cages, preferrably one marble. Then, randomly place other marbles in areas where they won't roll. Two examples of such places are where the table is and under it. Under the chairs is a cage as you can't normally get a marble in there until you remove the light.

3. How to play (all levels)



Take a marble [avoid the big ones] and position it so that it is near the top [or anywhere, but preferrably the top as you'll get more speed] and let go of it. If marbles drop, don't take them. If the marbles fall out of the holder and onto the floor, you can take those. If a light falls into the gutter [that's where the bottom of the box is where most marbles will fall into; noted by the red in the image and below this on the bottom of your lite brite.], do not take it. If a light falls onto the floor at any moment, take it and set it aside. Never push lights back in when they are loose as you're giving yourself a big disadvantage that way.

Easy level



You need to get at least 30 lights from the board. Clearing the caged marbles is not necessary. You also need to clear all the marbles in the cages. Other marbles that weren't originally in the cages are okay and you can still finish. Lights take several hits to take out. Once you have at least 30 lights from the board removed and freed some of the caged marbles, you can then take out all the marbles and lights and start with a new design and play another round.

Easy-medium level



You need to get at least 40 lights from the board and to clear all the marbles in the cages and all others. You can have no more than three marbles other than the gutter and still finish the level. In other words, after you clear all the marbles in cages, you can have 0, 1, 2, or 3 marbles left on the board and you can continue with a new design [note: marbles in the gutter do not count toward this limit otherwise, it'd be impossible]. If you have 4 or more, then you must remove them until you get to 3 or less. As before, lights take several hits to take out.

Medium level



You need to get at least 55 lights from the board and to clear every single marble on the grid. You can only change to a new design when you have cleared all marbles. Marbles in the gutter do not count as usual.

Medium-hard level



You need to get at least 75 lights from the board and to clear every single marble on the grid. Marbles in the gutter do not count as usual. You cannot use lights you've already taken out to help you get more. For every time you use the big marble, you add 5 lights to the count. In other words, if you used it three times, you need to get 90 lights out. The maximum allowed is 120. Once you reach 120, you cannot use the big marble any more. Use it sparingly. Also, you can use lights already taken to help remove other lights, but only allowed five times. Beyond that, this feature is not available.

Hard level



You need to get at least 100 lights from the board and to clear every single marble on the grid. After every 20 lights taken out, you must add in four other marbles in any area. If they fall, simply replace them. If a group falls, replace them all. If you fail to do so and get another light before it happens, then you pay the penalty of having to get another 10 lights. If you never do it, you'll be getting 190 lights out which would literally be all but 50! Hopefully, you won't run out of marbles as you'd make it even worse. You cannot use lights you've already taken out to help you get more.

Custom level



You need to get anywhere from 25 to all lights from the board and clear all but [whatever number you choose] marbles from the grid. All features from the previous levels are up to you whether or not you want them. You cannot make up your own.

4. Other rules



When you run out of marbles from your stock, you can take all of the ones from two levels out without worry. What I mean by "two levels high" is any marble that is stacked above the second story. For example, if you have what is shown in the diagram below, you can take the marbles noted in green, but not those in red. These marbles are closer to falling over the edge. Marbles away from this spot are not allowed. If there are no marbles here, you can take marbles stacked 4 or more high without worry [3 for easy and easy-medium difficulty]. The diagram below shows you which marbles you can take:



Marbles in green can be taken regardless of difficulty. The red ones indicate that you must pay for them regardless of difficulty. The third level, just above the top of the reds in yellow, can only be taken during the easy and easy-medium levels. All marbles on this image are made half-transparent so you can see the background.

If that doesn't work, then you must pay five lights to your needed and take them from the other areas. Only take one at a time. If that one doesn't work, take another until it does while adding 5 to the "needed" count. For example, if you needed to get 75 and had to buy three, you'd have to get 90 instead. If the value exceeds what you can get plus ten [for example, if you have 180 lights in the board and the count is already at 170, then it's game over]. If the marbles are stacked to a point in which dropping is useless, you can plow them in. This means that you put a marble in an area where there is an opening and push. This'll knock out several marbles. If you feel the stack is getting too big and/or running low on marbles in which you don't want to pay, use the emergency backup marble, the big one. Because it is 3 times the mass, it'll have 3 times the impact force helping you with the lights and the marbles. Also, because of it's size, it can be removed twice as easily as the other marbles. You can also use the lights you have already taken out to fill in gaps to speed up the light removal process. However, you can only choose slots in areas where lights existed [this is why you have to mark an "x" on bad areas so you know this]. If you change your mind, move the light to another location before you drop a marble. Once you drop your marble, it stays there until it comes out again after repeated dropping of marbles. You cannot do this in the medium-hard and hard difficulty levels. It is limited in the medium difficulty level. You can do it all you want in the easy, easy-medium and custom levels. Regardless of difficulty, you cannot move one light already in a hole to an empty one.

Now that you know how to play, enjoy the game. After all, you can play at various difficulty levels to suit your knowledge and skill. If you have more marbles, there is a better chance to success. If you have more lights, the more you'll have to take out and sometimes, the harder your difficulty would be. Even your design can help the difficulty. Make any image you want! Sure, make that "table and chairs" image if you want, make a picture of a present, make very unique pattern, make anything you want [as long as it meets the criteria listed above! It's a great game that combines art and gaming together as one!

Footnotes:
* These are small marbles, typically 1 centimeter in diameter [2/5 inch]. They cannot be larger than 1.25 cm [1/2 inch], but too small and you'll have more trouble.
** The large marble is one typically about 2 cm in diameter [4/5 inch]. It's often called the shooter marble.