Games developed by Marjacq Micro Ltd.
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JezzBall
JezzBall launched in 1992 as part of the windowed gaming revival that accompanied Windows 3.x. A bright spark in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack, the title brought a compact arcade challenge to home computer monitors. Its premise was simple, yet strangely absorbing: chase the clockwork sparkles of strategy while chasing down screens full of bouncing spheres. Players found themselves guiding a nimble crosshair, slicing vacant space into protectable wedges. The pace quickened with each level, while the painterly neon lines contrasted with basic grey UI. In those days a few months with this game felt like a crash course in reflexes and planning.
Core mechanics revolve around drawing straight lines from the crosshair to the screen edges to trap territory. When you manage to complete a wall from side to side, the enclosed area converts to safe territory that disappears from the enemy set of balls. Every line you draw must dodge the fast bouncing jezzballs; if a ball touches the line during creation you lose a life. The round ends when a significant portion of playfield becomes captured, and moving to the next level increases ball speed and number. The balance between risk and reward tempts players to plan ahead rather than rush headlong.
Visually the game leans on a crisp VGA palette with electric cyan and magenta lines cutting across a dark backdrop. The interface keeps a clean scoreboard, level indicator, and a handful of sound cues that punctuate traps and wins without becoming annoying. The aesthetic fits Windows 3.x hardware, delivering legible action on modest CRTs. Its design tolerates novices yet rewards repetition; a rookie learns to anticipate ball rebounds, while a veteran choreographs complex partitions with minimal movements. The overall feel is lean, almost industrial, yet oddly poetic when the screen fills with safe color as the last gap closes.
Over time JezzBall became a touchstone for early PC puzzle gaming, a memory shared by retirees of the 90s and collectors of vintage software. It demonstrated that a small concept could ignite long sessions and tense bursts of concentration. Emulated recreations and compilations kept it available for new audiences, where it still reveals that rapid planning and precise timing beat sheer speed. The game quietly influenced later minimal puzzle experiments, and fans still trade tips about exploiting level patterns and early Windows quirks. In short, JezzBall remains a bright relic of computational play from a lighter era.
Troika
Troika is an eclectic collection of games from Russia ranging from an average title to an interesting twist.
The first game, Rebel Planets, is an okay shooter that won't appeal to any Raiden players, though Metal Hearts is a fun puzzle game similar to Lucasfilm Games' earlier Pipe Dreams, with new twists: instead of just collecting the links together, you have to connect them so that you can shoot projectiles through them to destroy the metal hearts in each level. Some reflexes and good timing are also required, as you must 'throw' each link as it moves across the top or side of the screen.
The last game in the collection is Ivan's Time Machine, a medium puzzle game similar to Chip's Challenge but much simpler. The goal is to collect all the coins and other special objects in each level. Of course, there are obstacles in your way, such as boxes to push, single-use tiles that don't allow you to use them twice, and more. However, it's all pretty standard and you're likely to get bored in no time.
Overall, Troika is a fairly mundane collection of games that are obviously not the best Russian creation. Anyone expecting Pajitnov quality (of Tetris fame) will be sorely disappointed. Only Metal Hearts is interesting enough to keep me playing for a while, but the novelty wears off soon due to the lack of new surprises to keep the levels fresh. The other two games get tedious even faster.
