| InkBall | |
|---|---|
  Screenshot on Windows Vista | |
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | August 2004 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
InkBall is a computer game that is included with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 [1] and Windows Vista. [a] It employs the use of a stylus or mouse to draw lines to direct balls into holes of corresponding colors.
Points are awarded for putting colored balls in the correct hole, time left at the end of the round, and for breaking blocks. [2] The game is over when time runs out, or when a ball enters a hole of the wrong color. However, gray is a neutral color and therefore if a gray ball goes into the hole of a different color or if any ball goes into a gray hole nothing will happen. Some blocks have special properties, such as breaking when hit, opening and closing at intervals, changing the ball's color or making the ball accelerate. InkBall has a variety of difficulty levels, ranging from Beginner, to Novice, to Intermediate, to Advanced and finally to Expert. [2] As the difficulty increases, the time to move the balls into their correct hole(s) is dramatically lowered, and the overall complexity of the task increases substantially.
On Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, a pen tablet was required to play the game properly, as the mouse cursor was not visible inside the game window. However, pressing Alt twice while playing the game will cause the mouse cursor to show up. In Windows Vista, it can also be played using the mouse without any issues. [3]
InkBall is not available for later versions of Windows, and is removed when users upgrade from Windows XP or Vista to Windows 7.
Benj Edwards of the website HowToGeek.com ranked it as the 14th best game ever included in Windows, commenting that it is "surprisingly hard to do" but is a "fun challenge". [4] In a preview of the game on prerelease Windows Vista, Gamespot's James Yu thought that InkBall is difficult to play with the mouse as a controller. [5]
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