Tumblestone

{{Video game infobox

| title = Tumblestone

| image = Tumblestone cover.jpg

| publisher = Nighthawk Interactive

| designer = Ty Taylor

| programmer = Alex Schearer

| artist = Vega Castañeda

| writer = Justin Nafziger

| platforms = Linux, macOS, Wii U, Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch

| developer = The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild

| released = {{Collapsible list|title={{nobold|July 12, 2016}}|Linux, macOS, Wii U, Windows|July 12, 2016|Xbox One|July 16, 2016|PlayStation 4|July 26, 2016|Android, iOS|July 31, 2017|Nintendo Switch|October 5, 2017}}

| genre = Match-3, Action

| modes = Single-player, multiplayer

| border = yes

| composer = M.J. Quigley

| alt = The cover art of Tumblestone showing characters battling colored blocks known as tumblestones.

}}

Tumblestone is a 2016 match-3 game developed by The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild and published by Nighthawk Interactive. The game was digitally released on the Nintendo eShop{{Cite web |last=Theriault |first=Donald |date=June 29, 2016 |title=Tumblestone Dated For Retail And eShop |url=http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/42946/tumblestone-dated-for-retail-and-eshop |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630234513/http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/42946/tumblestone-dated-for-retail-and-eshop |archive-date=June 30, 2016 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=Nintendo World Report}} and launched for PC, Mac, and Linux on July 12, 2016. It was published on the Xbox One on July 16,{{Cite web |last=Riaz |first=Adnan |date=June 28, 2016 |title=Action Puzzle Game Tumblestone Receives a Release Date for Console, PC |url=https://hardcoregamer.com/videos/action-puzzle-game-tumblestone-receives-a-release-date-for-console-pc/214689/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624163855/https://hardcoregamer.com/videos/action-puzzle-game-tumblestone-receives-a-release-date-for-console-pc/214689/ |archive-date=June 24, 2023 |access-date=June 24, 2023 |website=Hardcore Gamer}} and released for retail on Wii U and PlayStation 4 on August 30, 2016.{{Cite web |last=Federico |first=Philip |date=June 30, 2016 |title=Nighthawk Interactive to Co-publish The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild's Action-Puzzle Game Tumblestone on PlayStation 4 and Wii U at Retail, Coming Aug. 30 |url=https://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/2016/06/nighthawk-interactive-to-co-publish-the-quantum-astrophysicists-guilds-action-puzzle-game-tumblestone-on-playstation4-and-wii-u-at-retail-coming-aug-30/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625012927/https://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/2016/06/nighthawk-interactive-to-co-publish-the-quantum-astrophysicists-guilds-action-puzzle-game-tumblestone-on-playstation4-and-wii-u-at-retail-coming-aug-30/ |archive-date=June 25, 2023 |access-date=June 24, 2023 |website=Capsule Computers}}

The Nintendo Switch version was released on October 5, 2017.{{Cite web |title=Tumblestone (NS) |url=https://www.vgchartz.com/game/221613/tumblestone/?region=All |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625012926/https://www.vgchartz.com/game/221613/tumblestone/?region=All |archive-date=June 25, 2023 |access-date=June 25, 2023 |website=VGChartz}} Since its debut, Tumblestone has been critically acclaimed for its take on the puzzle genre.

Gameplay

= Main game =

Tumblestone is a 2D puzzle game that tasks the player with clearing every square, known as tumblestones, from a board. In Tumblestone{{'s}} story mode, the player progresses through a map of 12 worlds. Each level has an enclosed space that is filled with colored squares; the player must keep matching three squares of the same color until the space is clear. Modifiers are added to the gameplay for each world, including gray blocks that toggle on and off called "togglers" and multicolored blocks called "wildcards" that when selected can pair with any color on the wildcard itself.{{Clarification needed|reason=Okay, so I need some help on this sentence. I know how wildcards work in this game, but I'm really not sure how to clearly structure this sentence. Wildcards work like this: If a wildcard is selected, the player may choose any color on that wildcard. However, if a single colored tumblestone is selected before a wildcard, then the wildcard must go with that color. Each time the player uses a wildcard, one color is subtracted (the color the player selected). TL:DR You use wildcard, you pick any color on there and one color says bye|date=June 2023}}

The player may choose to skip levels with tokens earned midway through a world.{{Cite web |last=Janes |first=Ryan |date=November 13, 2017 |title=Tumblestone Review |url=https://www.nintendo-insider.com/tumblestone-review/ |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=Nintendo Insider |archive-date=June 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604221540/https://www.nintendo-insider.com/tumblestone-review/ |url-status=live }} At the end of each world, the player battles in a "puzzle race", a challenge in which the player must clear a grid three times before the upcoming character does.

= Side games =

== Single-player ==

Tumblestone has three single-player arcade modes. Heartbeat Mode involves the player constantly eliminating blocks from a descending wall, Marathon Mode has a glass wall as its main twist, and Infinipuzzle has an infinite grid of blocks on which the player has to focus to clear grids for as long as possible.{{Cite web |last=Latshaw |first=Tim |date=July 29, 2016 |title=Tumblestone Review (Wii U eShop) |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/wiiu-eshop/tumblestone |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=Nintendo Life |archive-date=June 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604221538/https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/wiiu-eshop/tumblestone |url-status=live }}

== Multi-player ==

Plot

Queen Cleo, the ruler of a desert kingdom, encounters colored blocks with faces known as "tumblestones". Cleo meets the Goblin King, who discovers that an ancient artifact known as the "Tumblecrown" exists. The Goblin King ventures to other lands.

Development

While developing The Bridge, founder Ty Taylor met artist Vega Castañeda.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-21 |title=The list of games developed by Ty Taylor and Vega Castañeda - updated in 2025 |url=https://gg.deals/games/developed-by-ty-taylor-and-vega-castaneda/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=GG.deals |language=en-US}} In an interview, Taylor stated, "once [he] learned how to make videogames, [he] was always doing it".{{Cite interview |last=Taylor |first=Ty |interviewer=Anthony Ritchey |title=Seattle Indies Spotlight: Ty Taylor |url=https://www.seattleindies.org/seattle-indies-spotlight-ty-taylor/ |access-date=June 25, 2023 |date=January 15, 2019 |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126230406/https://www.seattleindies.org/seattle-indies-spotlight-ty-taylor/ |url-status=live }} The Bridge was released on Steam and won in the 2012 Indie Game Challenge for Achievement in Art Direction and Gameplay.{{Cite news |last=Tach |first=Dave |date=December 15, 2012 |title=GameStop cancels this year's Indie Game Challenge, future unclear |work=Polygon |url=https://www.polygon.com/2012/12/15/3771306/indie-game-challenge-2013-hiatus-gamestop |access-date=June 24, 2023 |archive-date=June 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625012925/https://www.polygon.com/2012/12/15/3771306/indie-game-challenge-2013-hiatus-gamestop |url-status=live }}

The concept for Tumblestone was invented during a 48-hour game jam, where he met writer Justin Nafziger and programmer Alex Schearer, the latter of whom had prior experience at Microsoft.{{Cite news |last=McGrane |first=Clare |date=January 23, 2017 |title=Seattle's 'thriving' indie game community gets creative at the Global Game Jam |work=GeekWire |url=https://www.geekwire.com/2017/seattles-thriving-indie-game-community-gets-creative-global-game-jam/ |access-date=June 25, 2023 |archive-date=June 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625012926/https://www.geekwire.com/2017/seattles-thriving-indie-game-community-gets-creative-global-game-jam/ |url-status=live }} The theme was "Rainbows and Perseverance".{{Cite interview |last=Taylor |first=Ty |interviewer=Steve H. |title=Ty Taylor on Tumblestone |url=http://www.somnambulant-gamer.com/2014/04/ty-taylor-on-tumblestone.html |access-date=June 25, 2023 |publisher=Somnambulant Gamer |date=April 8, 2014 |archive-date=June 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625012926/http://www.somnambulant-gamer.com/2014/04/ty-taylor-on-tumblestone.html |url-status=live }} Taylor worked with Nafziger, Schearer, and Castañeda to produce a prototype that began as a Space Invaders-like game in which the player has to shoot three identical, moving, colored ships in a row into still blocks using a specific concept.{{Cite interview |last=Taylor |first=Ty |interviewer=Seth Sommerfield |title=A Fiendish Conversation with Ty Taylor |url=https://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-culture/2015/08/a-fiendish-conversation-with-ty-taylor |access-date=June 25, 2023 |date=August 26, 2015 |archive-date=June 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625012926/https://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-culture/2015/08/a-fiendish-conversation-with-ty-taylor |url-status=live }}

At PAX 2015, Tumblestone was part of the PAX 10 program in which 10 indie games are selected for the public to playtest.

Reception

{{Video game reviews

| title = Reception

| MC = 71/100 (Xbox One){{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/tumblestone/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox-one |title=Tumblestone for Xbox One Reviews |access-date=October 4, 2023 |website=Metacritic}}
91/100 (PC){{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/tumblestone/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |title=Tumblestone for PC Reviews |access-date=October 4, 2023 |website=Metacritic}}
82/100 (Wii U){{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/tumblestone/critic-reviews/?platform=wii-u |title=Tumblestone for Wii U Reviews |access-date=October 4, 2023 |website=Metacritic}}

| Destruct = 8.5/10{{cite web |url=https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-tumblestone/ |title=Review: Tumblestone |last=Hancock |first=Patrick |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=Destructoid |archive-date=June 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604221538/https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-tumblestone/ |url-status=live }}

| NLife = 9/10

| NWR = 8/10

| OC = 81/100
71% Critics Recommend

}}

On the review aggregator website Metacritic, Tumblestone had average scores of 71, 91, and 82 for its Xbox One, PC, and Wii U versions respectively. On OpenCritic, the game has a "strong" approval rating, with a Critics Recommend score of 71%.{{Cite web |title=Tumblestone |url=https://opencritic.com/game/2962/tumblestone |access-date=December 10, 2023 |website=OpenCritic}}

= Accolades =

Tumblestone won the award for "Best Puzzle Game" at Intel Level Up 2015.{{cite web|url=https://software.intel.com/sites/campaigns/levelup2017/hall-of-glory/|title=Hall of Glory|access-date=2024-03-20|archive-date=2018-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826123418/https://software.intel.com/sites/campaigns/levelup2017/hall-of-glory/|url-status=bot: unknown}}