One-Line Puzzle Hands-On

TOKYO--At its press event yesterday, Nintendo showed off Intuitive Stroke (called One-Line Puzzle in the US), which is a launch title for the system in Japan. The objective of the game is simple to grasp. Each of the stages consists of black and white panels in different patterns, and you need to erase the panels by flipping them around and making them into rows that contain only one color.

The catch is that to flip the panels, you have to draw one solid line through the stage. All the panels that are underneath the drawn line will flip over once you finish drawing it. The line, of course, can be as long as you want, and it can be curved around. However, the line can't cross over itself, and you're only allowed to draw it just once per puzzle, which makes the game pretty challenging.

The demo at the show allowed us to try from a selection of about 20 different puzzle stages, but the final version should include far more. The game will feature three modes: challenge, in which the player will be required to play quickly but accurately; checkmate, where the player will need to take time to figure out how to beat the puzzles; and versus, which will allow two players to challenge each other.

We'll bring you more information on One-Line Puzzle as soon as it becomes available.