Luxor is only available to a limited audience.
Overview
Destroy the colored spheres by using your shooter to create matching groups of three or more. Eliminate them all before they reach your pyramid or the 5 minute time limit runs out. Catch the falling gems to score extra points.
Rules
Each game takes place on one of forty-one different maps. Each map has a path leading to a pyramid. Colored spheres will come rolling down the path in groups of thirty. If they reach the pyramid the game will end, so the objective is to destroy them all before they get there.
Move your shooter along the bottom of the screen, and launch the colored spheres to create groups of three or more matching spheres. When you create a match, the spheres will explode and be removed from the chain. When you create a gap in the chain, it will close up if the spheres on either side match. If new groups of three or more spheres are created, a chain reaction will occur and those spheres will be destroyed as well.
Each set of spheres has a scarab that pushes it along. Once you destroy all the spheres in the set, the scarab will explode and a gem will appear. Catch the gem to earn extra points. However, if you take too long to destroy a set of spheres, another set might collide with it and crush the scarab. If that happens, you won't receive a gem.
If you cause three explosions in a row (either by shooting or with a chain reaction) then a power-up will appear. Catch the power-ups for a variety of cool effects.
To finish the game successfully, you will need to destroy sets of spheres. A scarab indicator at the bottom of the screen will show you how many sets have entered play. Once you finish all spheres, you will receive a bonus based on how much distance you had remaining on the path and a second bonus for how much time you had remaining on the clock.
Controls
- Use the mouse to move your shooter back and forth along the bottom of the screen.
- Use the left mouse button to fire the sphere that is currently in the shooter.
- The right mouse button can be used to swap the current sphere with the next sphere. The color of the next sphere can be seen in the shooter's two claws.
- Catch gems and power-ups by positioning your shooter beneath them when they fall.
Scoring
When a match is made, 100 points are scored for each sphere destroyed. This includes matches made using the Wild Ball.
If multiple matches are made consecutively (either on consecutive shots or as part of a chain reaction) a combo multiplier is applied to all point values beginning on the third consecutive match. The multiplier is 3x for the third match, 4x for the fourth match, and 5x for each consecutive match thereafter.
100 points are scored for each sphere destroyed using the Fireball, Lighting Bolt, and Color Bomb power-ups. Any active combo multiplier will be applied, and as long as at least one sphere was destroyed with the power-up, your combo multiplier will remain in effect for subsequent matches.
5,000 points are awarded for each gem caught.
If all segments are destroyed, the distance remaining between the final explosion and the end of the path is measured. For each 1% of the total path distance that was left, 100 points are awarded.
All default Luxor games have a time limit of 5 minutes (300 seconds). If all segments are destroyed with time remaining in the game you will receive a time bonus in addition to the distance bonus. The time bonus is worth 333.33 points for each unused second. That is:
Time Bonus = (Time Remaining in seconds/<Length of Game>) x (100,000)
Example: Player completes all segments with 45 seconds remaining
Time Bonus = (45/300) x (100,000) = 15,000
No time bonus will be awarded if any segment reaches the pyramid or if time runs out before all six segments are destroyed.
Tips
- The combo multipliers can have a huge effect on your score. Try turning all the single spheres into groups of two, and then destroy them all in a row to get the highest amount of points.
- Swapping spheres with the right mouse button can often help you keep your combo bonus going longer.
- Try not to destroy big groups of matching spheres until you have a high combo multiplier in effect. You need to make five collapses in a row to reach the maximum point value.
- It's very important to catch the gems when they fall. Do everything you can to keep the scarabs from being crushed between two sets of spheres, since you lose the gem if that happens.
- Look out for tunnels and other spots on the gameboard that the spheres will pass under. Keep in mind that you can't match spheres if you can't fully see them - your shots will pass right over these areas!
- Don't forget to keep an eye on the pyramid! If you see it flashing, then the spheres are getting too close.