Marble Path

Marble Path is a marble shooter set on a mossy temple floor deep in the jungle. A chain of glossy marbles rolls out of a stone gate and along a carved track that winds round the floor towards a hole. In the middle sits a stone frog that turns to follow your aim and holds the next marble in its mouth. Fire it into the chain: land it next to two or more of the same colour and they pop, the gap closes behind them and, if the marbles either side of the gap match as well, the chain rolls back together and pops again for a combo, with a deep stone thunk on every link.

Thirty levels are spread over six temples on the map, and each has its own track: spirals that wind in towards the frog, S-curves that snake down the floor, loops that pass under stone bridges where the marbles vanish for a moment, and twin rivers with two chains at once. Every level holds a set number of marbles in the gate, and you win when the gate is empty and the last marble on the track has popped. The deeper you go, the faster the chain rolls and the more colours it brings. Marbles that carry a sign are power-ups: one slows the chain, one rolls it backwards, one is a bomb and one gives you a laser sight for a few seconds. Stars come from your score, and every level has been played to the end by the game's own autopilot.

Survival is the quick, endless version: one long spiral, marbles that never stop coming and a chain that speeds up the longer you last, with your high score saved in your browser. It asks as much of your brain as of your aim, because the best shots line up the next chain reaction. Aim with the mouse and click to fire, or tap where you want the marble to go on a phone; swap the marble in the frog's mouth for the one on its back with a right-click, Tab or a tap on the frog. P pauses and M mutes.