Shariki

Shariki
Developer(s)	Eugene Alemzhin
Platform(s)	PC (DOS, Windows)
Release date(s)	1994
Genre(s)	Puzzle game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Shariki (Russian: Ша́рики, "The Balls") is a puzzle game by Russian programmer Eugene Alemzhin, developed for DOS in 1994. The goal of the game is to gain progressively higher scores by matching three or more balls of the same color in line (vertical or horizontal). These balls then explode and a new ones appear in their place. The game is over when no more combinations are possible in the game field.

Remakes

Original game mechanics from DOS version was used in some remakes, that was collected on game fan-site

• Shariki for Windows
• Super Shariki
• Falling Bubbles

Clones

Shariki proved to be a very influential game and eventually many games that closely matched its mechanics arose. Collectively known as "match three" games, these all revolve around the mechanic of creating a three-in-a-row line of identical pieces. They include:

• Panel de Pon / Tetris Attack developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo
• Bejeweled by PopCap Games
• Jewel Quest created and published by iWin
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords developed by Infinite Interactive and published by D3 Publisher
• Aurora Feint game for the iPhone and iPod Touch
• Candy Crush Saga

External links

• Article Shariki: The Predecessor of Bejeweled and Puzzle Quest
• Museum of Shariki games (in Russian)
• Online version of Shariki game