InkBall is a
computer game that is included with
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Windows XP, which is the next version of Windows NT after Windows 2000 and the successor to the consumer-oriented Windows Me, has been released in several editions since its original release in 2001.
Windows XP is available in many languages. In ...
2005 and
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...
except the
Starter and Home Basic editions. It employs the use of a
stylus or
mouse to draw lines to direct balls into holes of corresponding colors. On Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, a
pen tablet
A graphics tablet (also known as a digitizer, digital graphic tablet, pen tablet, drawing tablet, external drawing pad or digital art board) is a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images, animations and graphics, with a spec ...
was required to play the game properly, as the mouse cursor was not visible inside the game window. However, pressing Alt twice while playing the game will cause the mouse cursor to show up. In
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...
, it can also be played using the mouse without any issues.
InkBall is not available for later versions of Windows, and is removed when users upgrade from Windows XP or Vista to
Windows 7
Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...
.
Points are awarded for putting colored balls in the correct hole, time left at the end of the round, and for breaking blocks.
The game is over when time runs out, or when a ball enters a hole of the wrong color. However, gray is a neutral color and therefore if a gray ball goes into the hole of a different color or if any ball goes into a gray hole nothing will happen. Some blocks have special properties, such as breaking when hit, opening and closing at intervals, changing the ball's color or making the ball accelerate. InkBall has a variety of difficulty levels, ranging from Beginner, to Novice, to Intermediate, to Advanced and finally to Expert.
As the difficulty increases, the time to move the balls into their correct hole(s) is dramatically lowered, and the overall complexity of the task increases substantially.
See also
*
List of games included with Windows
Video games have been included in versions of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting from Windows 1.0x, all published by Microsoft. Some games that have appeared in ''Microsoft Entertainment Pack'' and Microsoft Plus! have b ...
References
External links
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005: Tools to Use with Your Tablet PC
{{Windows Components
2004 video games
Discontinued Windows components
Microsoft games
Puzzle video games
Video games developed in the United States
Windows games
Windows-only games