Klax

Klax is a single-player or two-player action puzzle game.

The player controls a small paddle at the end of a sloped conveyor ramp as colored tiles tumble toward the bottom of the screen. The objective is to catch these tiles before they fall away, place them into a set of bins, and arrange matching colors into scoring patterns called Klaxes. The game has no story-driven premise, characters, or setting beyond its abstract arcade presentation.

A Klax is formed by placing at least three tiles of the same color in an unbroken horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line. When a Klax is completed, the matching tiles disappear, the tiles above them fall downward, and the player receives points. The basic task is simple, but each wave changes the required objective, the speed of the tiles, the number of colors in play, or the number of tiles arriving on the ramp at once.

The player moves the paddle left and right to catch incoming tiles. Up to five tiles can be stacked on the paddle before at least one must be placed or thrown back. Pressing the action button drops the top tile from the paddle into the bin directly below, so tile placement depends on both paddle position and stack order. The player can also send the top tile back up the ramp to delay using it, or speed up the ramp when waiting for tiles to arrive more quickly.

The bins form a five-column, five-row playfield. Because the playfield is limited, careless placement can quickly block useful spaces or make later patterns difficult to complete. Completed Klaxes clear space, and falling tiles can sometimes create additional matches or chain reactions. Diagonal Klaxes, longer lines, simultaneous Klaxes, and chain reactions are worth more than basic matches, making score optimization a separate goal from simply surviving the current wave.

Each wave begins with a specific requirement. Some waves ask the player to create a set number of Klaxes of any kind, while others require horizontal Klaxes, diagonal Klaxes, a target score, or survival through a certain number of tiles. Only matches that fit the current wave objective advance the To Go meter, although other Klaxes can still clear space and award points. The game includes 100 waves, with periodic opportunities to start at or jump ahead to later waves.

Failure can occur in two main ways. If too many tiles fall past the paddle and into the drop zone, the drop meter fills and the wave is lost. The game can also end if the bins become completely filled before the wave objective is completed. The allowed number of dropped tiles varies by wave or selected starting point, and mistakes may carry forward until the next reset point.

Scoring is based on completed Klaxes, pattern complexity, remaining tiles, and empty bin spaces at the end of a wave. Wild tiles can appear and function as any color, allowing more flexible patterns and complex clears. Higher waves introduce faster tile movement, more colors, and stricter objectives, requiring quicker decisions and more careful planning.