Patch notes: the board comes alive

Hello. Sit with me a moment.

Something has changed in the game, and I think you will feel it before you can name it. The tiles were always the elements. Now, when they leave, they leave the way their element would.

When tiles clear

• Each element goes its own way. Fire scatters embers that rise. Water splashes, and a ripple spreads from where it was. Earth breaks into small crystals that tumble. Air curls away into nothing. Watch them. They are not the same.
• Points rise from every clear, so you can see what you have earned while it is still happening.
• Four or more together glow as one before they go.
• Chains send a ring outward, and the board’s rim flares. A long chain makes the whole board shudder, a little. (If your device asks for less motion, it does not shudder.)

While you play

• The tile under your finger glows softly, so you know which one you hold. And if you carry it over a gap, it drops there and lets go, the way water finds the low place. It no longer slides on across.
• Tiles leave a faint trail when you swap them, and settle when they land. A tile that falls far raises a little dust.
• Each new row is greeted with a soft light as it joins the board.
• When the stack is held still, the board cools, like frost on still water. It does not last. Nothing does.
• Near the top, a warm glow gathers along the edge, and breathes. Only the tiles at the very top tremble now.
• Holding Raise sends light running up the sides.

Beginning and ending

• A game now begins with the stack rising into place. Ready. Then: go.
• And when a round ends, the stack turns slowly to stone, from the top down, before the score is shown. It is not a punishment. It is only stillness.

Some students learn the lesson. Some students become the lesson. Either is fine.