Sword fighting is the noble art of Piratey combat and can be struck up via a Puzzle Challenge or Brawl, or joined after a Sea Battle when the two Crews meet face to face.

A Swordfighter groups the falling pairs of blocks into colors, then uses the corresponding breaker pieces to shatter the groupings and send vicious sword attacks to his foes. These attacks fall onto the victim?s screen as either silver pieces that slowly turn to breakable colors, or the more sinister and potent swords, that hack through other pieces before breaking into silver blocks. It is in the balance of building attacks to shatter and leaving space to defend that lives the art of a Swordfighter.

Controls

When Sword fighting, pieces fall in pairs from the top of the screen. You can move the falling pieces with the keyboard as follows:

Shattering Pieces to Strike Blows

Pieces come in four colors, and there are two different types: solid pieces, and cutout ?breaker? pieces that cause shatters.

When a shatter piece contacts a solid piece of the same color they shatter. The shatter also goes on to clear every connected piece of the same color. These shatters send proportionate attacks to your opponent.

Of course your opponent will also be shattering pieces and striking blows against you, at least if they?re not a lily-livered coward quaking in their boots.

In order to inflict devastating blows, the diligent student of Sword fighting will need to master the art of creating large solid blocks of a single type of piece. Even better is shattering multiple large blocks in cascading chains of shatters.

How Sword blows turn into Pieces

Sword strikes made against you fall on your puzzle as silver swords of varying size. After your next drop these swords will break into silver blocks. On the next turn those silver blocks will show a sword image (like regular pieces but without the color). Finally, on the fourth turn the revealed silver blocks will turn into their respective colored pieces and can be shattered or joined like any other.