Columns for Amiga takes Sega’s Game Gear puzzle classic to Commodore hardware

Columns is coming to the Amiga, with developer Ceonello turning Sega’s Game Gear edition into a new conversion for Commodore’s 16-bit machine. It’s still an alpha build, so don’t expect a finished release yet. The core game is already running, though, and Ceonello has chosen a clear target: this is a conversion of the Game Gear version rather than a mixture of ideas pulled from the arcade, Mega Drive and other editions. Current development uses an Amiga 500 target, with testing carried out through emulation. Keyboard controls are working at present. More input options could arrive later as work continues.

Game Gear Columns, now on Amiga

The choice of Game Gear gives the project a distinct identity. Columns appeared on plenty of Sega hardware, but the handheld edition had to fit its familiar jewel-matching playfield onto a 160 × 144 pixel screen. Ceonello is carrying much of this compact presentation across to the Amiga, including graphics based on the handheld release.

There’s no big visual overhaul in the current alpha. Instead, the project sticks close to Sega’s portable version and concentrates on getting its rules, layout and play flow running on Amiga hardware.

A higher-definition graphical reskin has been discussed for a later build. For now, the original-style artwork remains in place. There’s no confirmed release date either, and Ceonello hasn’t presented the alpha as a finished product. So, what’s playable? The familiar Columns loop.

Three jewels, plenty of trouble

Columns uses a simple idea. A vertical piece made from three coloured jewels drops into the playfield. You can move it left or right and cycle the order of its jewels before it lands. Match three or more jewels of one colour and they disappear.

The trick comes from how those matches work. Horizontal and vertical lines count, but diagonal lines count too. Clearing one group drops pieces above it into empty spaces, which can set off another match. Long chains can follow from a single move.

Speed increases as play continues, leaving less time to arrange each falling column. Fill the playfield to the top and the run ends. It’s easy to grasp in seconds, yet its scoring system rewards planning several moves ahead. Columns asks you to think about where each jewel will land, where the next gap might appear and whether one clear can trigger another.

Some Sega releases include Flash Columns, a variation with a different goal. A flashing jewel sits beneath an existing pile and the player has to clear a route down to it. It turns the usual score chase into a more direct puzzle.

Columns started on a computer

Sega is closely linked with Columns, but the game didn’t begin in one of its arcades. Programmer Jay Geertsen created the original in 1989 on an HP-UX computer. Versions for other computers followed, including Macintosh and MS-DOS, before Sega acquired the rights and brought Columns to its own machines.

By 1990, Sega had versions running in arcades and across the Mega Drive, Master System and Game Gear. The Game Gear release arrived near the start of the handheld’s life and became one of its early puzzle titles.

Its small screen forced a tighter presentation, but the main rules survived intact. Players still dropped groups of three jewels, reordered them during descent and chased horizontal, vertical and diagonal matches.

The handheld release included alternative visual sets for the pieces, including fruit, dice and playing-card symbols. Two players could compete using Sega’s Gear-to-Gear cable, provided each player had the required hardware and game.

Ceonello keeps the conversion focused

Using Game Gear Columns as the template gives Ceonello a fixed version to work from. There’s no need to combine decades of ports, sequels and variations into one package. The target is already clear.

For an Amiga conversion, it makes sense. The Game Gear edition uses a compact playfield, modest sprite work and controls suited to quick movement. Moving those elements onto an Amiga 500 is a more contained job than redesigning Columns from scratch.

The current alpha is still early. Keyboard input works, the Game Gear-inspired graphics are present and the central matching system is running. Control support and any optional graphical changes remain areas for later development. For now, Ceonello’s Columns project is exactly what it claims to be: Sega’s Game Gear puzzle game being rebuilt for the Amiga, one falling column at a time.

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Game Gear Columns, now on Amiga

Three jewels, plenty of trouble

Columns started on a computer

Ceonello keeps the conversion focused

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