Chicken Lines is a single player game where the player tries to get 5 or more chickens of the same breed (color) in a line to free them from the game board before all spaces (chicken roosts) on the board are occupied. New chickens are added to the board three at a time. The game features an 8x8 game board, 9 breeds of chickens, and 10 super chickens, each with a unique power to help the player free space or create chicken lines.

The game features two variants depending on the platform: Chicken Lines can be played as an application on Facebook with additional features and sub-games and stand alone game for iPad or iPhone.

History

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Chicken Lines V1 (1998)

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The original Chicken Lines game was designed in 1998 by Nenad Hrnjak as a freeware game:

Original, first version of Chicken Lines game
Original, first version of Chicken Lines game

Chicken Lines V2 (2003)

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A second version was released for PC by NebitNebit.com in 2003, and had over 250.000 downloads. Both versions (v1 and v2) where played on a 10x10 game board with 8 different kinds of chickens and 4 special chickens: Pilot, Ghost, Boxer and Joker:

NebitNebit.Com version of Chicken Lines desktop game, still available
NebitNebit.Com version of Chicken Lines desktop game, still available

This version is still downloadable from http://www.nebitnebit.com/chick/clinesgame.htm

Current Version

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Chicken Lines on Facebook
File:Chicken-Lines-Facebook-Logo.png
Developer(s)http://www.chickenlines.com
Platform(s)Internet, Facebook
ReleaseJune 2011
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

The latest version of the game (released 2011), features an 8x8 game board with 9 types of chicken, each one given a breed name, and 10 Super Chickens:

Latest version of Chicken Lines desktop game, available on Facebook
Latest version of Chicken Lines desktop game, available on Facebook

Game Play

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Object of Game

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The object of the game is simple: the player tries to make as many chicken lines as possible before the game board is full of chickens. Making lines or combinations of lines will earn points for the player trying to get the highest possible score.

Game Start

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At the start of each game, the player can choose up to 4 Super Chickens that will help the player get out of tight spots by freeing space on the board or help create chicken lines. Each super chicken has its own unique power. In addition, the player can choose a Super Starter Chicken (Master Cluck) that lets the player start the game with a x2 score multiplier. More multipliers can be earned as game play progress (maximum multiplier is x15).

Basic Game Play

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Game play begins with three chickens randomly placed on the chicken coop game board, an 8x8 grid where each cell is a chicken roost. 4 chicken coop doors are also randomly deployed on the board and act as obstacles.

The player clicks on a chicken to select it and then clicks on a free space to move it to the new position. The path must be free of obstacles (other chickens or chicken coop doors). After each move, 3 more chickens are added to the board, unless a chicken line is created, in which case the move is “free” and no new birds are added. The player can also use “chicken swap” which lets you exchange the position of two adjacent birds. The player can make two chicken swaps or one chicken swap and one move before 3 new birds are added to the board.

When 5 or more birds of the same color are placed in a line (vertically, horizontally or diagonally) the chickens are removed from the board and the player earns points depending on the number of birds in the line. It is possible to clear multiple lines with a single move, earning more points.

Game Score Multipliers

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Players can also earn game point multipliers. First the player must clear two chicken lines back to back. A new multiplier is then made available and added to the game board, randomly assigned to one of the next up chickens. If the player makes a line including the chicken holding the multiplier, the multiplier is awarded and any points made for subsequent chicken lines are multiplied by the current factor. Players can earn up to a x15 multiplier. The current multiplier is displayed by the super chicken Master Cluck in the upper left-hand corner of the game board.

Super Chickens

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The player can use super chicken powers at any point during the game. The player can select up to 4 (out of 9) different super chickens plus an x2 Master Cluck multiplier to use in each game. Each super chicken has a predefined number of times it can be used during the game. The number of instances depends on the power of the super chicken. The number of instances available or remaining is displayed below the super chicken on the game board. Super chickens include:

  • Sonic – Sonic lets the player jump a chicken to any free roost on the board or swap the places of any two chickens on the board (ignoring any obstacles).
  • La Niña – La Niña lets the player pluck a selected chicken off the board, clearing the path for your next move.
  • Rhode Island Red – Rhode Island Red will clear a row of chickens with a little chicken tap routine, freeing up space.
  • EZ’Lectricity – EZ’Lectricity shoots bolts of lightning north, south, east and west, clearing a column and a row of birds.
  • Zombryo – Zombryo spreads a temporary zombie plague, affecting a random number of chickens that are then cleared from the board.
  • Whack Wand – Whacky Wand randomly repositions all chickens (except the selected chicken) on the board.
  • Poultrygeist – Poultrygeist turns a selected chicken into a ghost that scares all the immediately adjacent chickens away.
  • Penny Coop Keeper – Penny Coop Keeper holds several keys that can open chicken coop doors revealing super chicken surprises that will use their super powers. But if the surprise is a duck, nothing will happen.
  • Yoker – Yoker turns a chicken on the game board to an egg which can be used as a multi-colored joker and can be a substitute when forming chicken lines.
  • Master Cluck – Master Cluck is the tenth super chicken but he keeps track of the player’s score multipliers and is not used directly on the game board.

Game Variants

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Chicken Lines can be played as an application on Facebook or downloaded for play on iPad and iPhone. Depending on the platform the game offers different features and functions.

Chicken Lines on Facebook

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This version of the game is a standard version of the game, however it includes additional features made for social networking. The basic game is played on an 8x8 grid. The player can choose up to 4 super chickens and an x2 Master Cluck multiplier. To use super chickens a player must expend “golden seeds”.

In addition to Game Points (main score), the player can earn Golden Seeds and Experience Points (XP) through game play. XP points are awarded for each line or combination of chicken lines cleared from the board. Golden seeds can be earned by creating a chicken line including a roost (cell of the grid) holding a golden seed. Golden seeds are randomly assigned to roosts on the board whenever a chicken line is made. A maximum of 3 golden seeds can be on the board at any given time. The player can also purchase “golden seeds” using Facebook credits.

As an application on Facebook, this version of the game also features sub-games and features, including:

  • 10x10 Hatch & Match, a bonus game where players can match super chicken heroes to friends to help them earn a bonus super chicken. The player first earns game points to hatch eggs revealing super chicken heroes. Once hatched the super chickens can be matched to friends (if they have accepted participation in the application on Facebook). Friends try to get 5 or more votes for a super chicken before the week is over. The chicken with the highest number of votes (over 5) can then be used as a bonus bird for game play for the remainder of the week.
  • Egg-Wrapped Gifts, where players can send super chickens as egg-wrapped gifts to friends for use in game play. Using golden seeds, a player can purchase a super chicken and special egg-wrapping to send to a friend as a gift. Friends, that have accepted participation in the game on Facebook, can then receive the egg-wrapped gift. To discover which chicken has been sent and use the super chicken in a game, the player must first hatch the egg using XP points which can be earned through game play.

Chicken Lines on iPad

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This is the standard version of the Chicken Lines game. The player can selected up to 4 super chickens to start each game, but must earn Master Cluck multipliers through game play (the game starts with a x1 multiplier).

Chicken Lines on iPhone

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This version is a scaled version of the iPad game, tailored to fit the iPhone screen. The game board is smaller, featuring a 4x4 grid or 5x5 grid where, depending on the grid, the player must get 3 or more or 4 or more chicken in a line, respectively. The player can select up to 2 super chickens (rather than 4) at the start of each game. The number of chicken breeds used is also reduced, 5 rather than 9, and the breeds are randomly selected at the start of each game.

Game Story

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The story of the game centers around Plumedini and his traveling circus of super chickens. Plumedini is a famous magician who travels the globe visiting farms setting chickens free using his magic chicken coop board. But getting chickens in a line is no easy task, and requires the help of the player and his band of super chickens to get the birds in order.

Plumedini character from Chicken Lines
Plumedini character from Chicken Lines

The game story has been extended to include biographical details of each super chicken, each one having its own tale. The tales (as collected in Plumedini’s Weird Tales of Super Chicken Freaks) is the fruit of information gathered from Plumedini himself by the fictitious author Cob Watson (actual author Brady Woodson). Each super chicken is the alter ego of an “ordinary” bird coming from one of the breeds:

Chicken Super Chicken Super Chicken Bio Breed Name
Hopper character from Chicken Lines
Hopper character from Chicken Lines
Sonic character from Chicken Lines
Sonic character from Chicken Lines
Sonic – Sonic is one kickin’ chicken that could care less about pecking order! With a degree from RSU (Rocket Science University) and a passion for extreme sports, Sonic can jet chickens anywhere you like thanks to his patented Burst-a-Flightless-Bird PackTM (AA batteries included). Orange Zinger
Popper character from Chicken Lines
Popper character from Chicken Lines
Master Cluck character from Chicken Lines
Master Cluck character from Chicken Lines
Master Cluck –Talk about the learnéd edge! Each time you get a line of chickens, this little cluckulator will multiply your score. Chalk it up to chicken mathematics. It’s the best way to count your chickens before they hatch! Brown Round Belly
Billy character from Chicken Lines
Billy character from Chicken Lines
Rhode Island Red character from Chicken Lines
Rhode Island Red character from Chicken Lines
Rhode Island Red – For Rhode Island Red all the world is a stage. With his top hat and tails, his twinkle toes will get all the chickens in a row doing the Can-can. Rhode Island Red
Bud character from Chicken Lines
Bud character from Chicken Lines
Poultrygeist character from Chicken Lines
Poultrygeist character from Chicken Lines
Poultrygeist – This ghost loves to play “fowl” when he cries cock-a-doodle-doo! Wherever he appears in the chicken coop, his ghoulish pranks make the surrounding chickens disappear! Black Barn Mystic Hatch
Bitsy character from Chicken Lines
Bitsy character from Chicken Lines
La Nina character from Chicken Lines
La Nina character from Chicken Lines
La Nina – Some say she is a renegade lucha libre wrestler, others an atmospheric phenomenon coming off the pacific ocean… The myths are many! But she is just a humble thief with a heart of gold, stealing from the rich to free the poor (1 chicken at a time). Pink Parasol
Betsy character from Chicken Lines
Betsy character from Chicken Lines
Penny Coop Keeper character from Chicken Lines
Penny Coop Keeper character from Chicken Lines
Penny Coop Keeper – This busy-body bird may look like an innocent nanny, but she’s a master locksmith, keeping skeleton keys for opening chicken coop doors. If you’re lucky, you might unlock a hidden bonus. Violet Busybody
Marty character from Chicken Lines
Marty character from Chicken Lines
EZ‘lectricity character from Chicken Lines
EZ‘lectricity character from Chicken Lines
EZ‘lectricity - This super chick has gone a little haywire. His mother blames it on his roosting on the weathervane during an electric storm. ZAP! Give him a cluck and lightning bolts flash north, south, east and west! But don’t worry, its only cover fire so the chickens can get away. Blue Weather Jersey
Chug character from Chicken Lines
Chug character from Chicken Lines
Zombryo character from Chicken Lines
Zombryo character from Chicken Lines
Zombryo – Can a bad egg get any worse!? With Zombryo it’s like Dawn of the Undead Chickens. If you let Zombryo loose in the hen house, chickens will scatter like cemetery ghouls on Halloween night. Green Guzzler
Geek character from Chicken Lines
Geek character from Chicken Lines
Whacky Wand character from Chicken Lines
Whacky Wand character from Chicken Lines
Whacky Wand – With a cluck-cluck here and a cluck-cluck there, when this whacky wizard waves his magic wand all the chickens in the chicken coop are repositioned on the board thanks to his spells of randomization. Speckled Leghorn
Peep character from Chicken Lines
Peep character from Chicken Lines
Yoker character from Chicken Lines
Yoker character from Chicken Lines
Yoker – This chicken loves to clown around, turning all chicks of a certain color back to eggs. Eggs are played as multi-color jokers. If it doesn’t bring a smile to your face, then the yolk’s on you. No tellin’ (egg)

See Also

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[[Category:Puzzle video games]] [[Category:Facebook applications]] [[Category:Windows games]] [[Category:Facebook]] [[Category:2011 video games]]