Timeball
Timeball is a puzzle video game released by NEC for the TurboGrafx-16. The object of the game is to guide a ball along pieces of track by moving tiles like a sliding puzzle. The game's name in Japan is Blodia, an anagram of Diablo, the title of a computer game upon which Blodia is based.
Timeball
- Date
- 1990
- Publisher
- NEC
- Genre
- puzzle video game
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Documentary summary
Timeball is a puzzle video game released by NEC for the TurboGrafx-16. The object of the game is to guide a ball along pieces of track by moving tiles like a sliding puzzle. The game's name in Japan is Blodia, an anagram of Diablo, the title of a computer game upon which Blodia is based.
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wikidata · Q2381277
In this article
The object
The object
Versions of Blodia were released exclusively in Japan for the original Game Boy and the X68000. A spin-off titled Blodia Land: Puzzle Quest was released for the Famicom, replacing the ball with cartoon dinosaur-like characters. These versions were developed by Tonkin House and published by Broderbund.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Timeball • Publisher — TurboGrafx-16 NEC, Hudson Soft X68000, Game Boy Broderbund, Tonkin House • Developer — Now Production • Programmer — Manuel Constantinidis (original game) • Released — TurboGrafx-16 February 23, 1990 NA: September 12, 1991 • Genre — Puzzle • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — TurboGrafx-16, Game Boy, X68000
Gameplay
Gameplay
• Illustration — Players must arrange the tiles so the ball traverses all pieces of track. The grid on screen is composed of tiles. Some tiles have a piece of road, and a black tile represents "the void", an area where one can drag the tile nearby in order to complete a road which will be taken by a ball that will follow the path. Players must arrange the tiles such that the ball traverses all sections of track. The ball can be sped up by pressing a button. If the ball reaches a tile without a piece of track, it falls out of play. The game also includes a level editor which allows for the creation of custom puzzles. An earlier "prototype" version without the level editor was published for the TI-99/4a and other computers as "Diablo" in 1985.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Japan
Named but not plotted · 1
Timeball is associated with Japan.
Country
Release and reception
Timeball was released as Blodia for the PC Engine in Japan on February 23, 1990.
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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