It was a fun,jewelled up puzzle game for it's time.
I guess you could say Columns was Sega's answer to Tetris and I think it's a good one too.The objective of this game is to line up 3 of the same colored jewels in a vertical or diagonal pattern to make them disappear and if the stack of jewels reach the top of the screen,you'll lose.
You cannot alter the shape of the pieces that fall from the top of the screen,you can only alter their color configuration.The pieces that fall from the screen will always be in a straight line.
I think this game was fun for it's time and a nice change to Tetris.It made you think ahead because sometimes there was multiple places where you could make a color pattern,but because the jewels that make a pattern disappear,the jewels above them will have to be removed and if you could make them fall into a place where they would make a color pattern with other jewels surrounding them,you could create combos of color patterns,because the color patterns could be made in vertical or diagonal lines.Also,the minimum amount of the same colored jewels required to make a color pattern is 3 but you can add more of the same colored jewels to these patterns and they will be removed when you create the color pattern.
As your score got higher,the pieces would fall down more quickly and make you think faster.
There's also a magic jewel that would occasionally fall down and whichever colored jewel it hits,it will make all the jewels of that color disappear.
There is many modes of the game you can play and it was quite fun to play this game against other people.
Besides jewels,you could use other types of pieces such as fruit.
The game is fun and relaxing,and I know it's an unfair comparison,but I would like to say I think the game isn't quite as fun to play as Tetris,but it's still a fun and enjoyable experience.
The game is nicely presented,the jewels are colorful and nicely shaped and a story is shown about how ancient civilizations used to play this game.
The music is relaxing and suits the ancient world theme of this game.
Overall it's a good puzzle game on it's own merits.