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Zaz is a free, open-source arcade puzzle game in which you clear incoming balls by lining up three of the same color. The twist is that you pick each ball from the moving path itself, and your vehicle rides a path of its own that changes from level to level. The project describes the game as loosely based on Luxor, Zuma, and Puzzle Bobble.
How the game plays
Balls travel along a route toward the player. Instead of receiving a randomly assigned ball, you choose from the balls on the path and position them so that three of the same color meet. Clearing a group removes those balls, and the goal in every mode is to keep the incoming stream from overwhelming you.
The vehicle is the second half of the design. It moves along its own path, and the project says that path varies by level. Where you can aim and when you can fire therefore depends on the level layout as much as on the ball colors in front of you.
Game modes
Sequential mode
Sequential mode lets you start at a chosen level and keep playing through successive levels until all of your lives are lost. Levels unlock as you progress. The bundled documentation describes score and extra-life rules, but this guide does not reproduce the exact point thresholds, so check the documentation shipped with your build if you need them.
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Survival mode
Survival keeps you on a single level. The challenge escalates in two ways: the balls move faster, and additional ball colors are introduced. According to the project documentation, another color is added every two minutes. Some bonuses are excluded in this mode, including the reverse and bomb effects.
Level sets: Professional and Easy
- Professional includes all levels and is designed to be demanding.
- Easy is a modified subset. It offers more bonuses, larger balls, and slower movement.
Some Easy levels use a kids mode. In that mode the laser is always active, and bomb or reverse bonuses can appear more than once in a level. If you want a gentler introduction, Easy is the set to start with; if you want the full design, use Professional.
Bonuses
The documentation describes the following bonus effects:
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- Laser aiming assistance, which helps with targeting.
- Pause, which temporarily stops a path’s feed of balls.
- Slowdown, which reduces the speed of incoming balls.
- Reverse, which changes the direction of movement. It is excluded in Survival mode.
- Bomb, which clears balls. It is excluded in Survival mode.
Level editor and custom level sets
Zaz includes a built-in level editor, and its documentation explains how custom level sets are loaded. Custom sets are scanned at startup, so a level set added while the game is running will not appear until the next launch. The editor is opened from the command line with the documented -e level_name argument. The project documentation does not give a full step-by-step editing workflow, so the editor is best approached by reading the bundled documentation alongside the existing level sets.
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The project’s official download page lists three distributions: source code, a Windows installer, and an Amiga version. Android is documented separately in the project news. Each platform’s status is recorded below as of the source date, not as a guarantee of current availability in October 2026.
| Platform | What the project documents | Current status |
|---|---|---|
| Source code | Listed on the official download page, with build dependencies (see below) | Listed on the official download page; the page does not state a date for the most recent code change |
| Windows | Installer listed on the official download page | Not stated for current versions after the 1.0 release on September 3, 2010 |
| Amiga | Added in April 2010 per project news. Supported hardware named: AmigaOne G3/G4, SAM EP440/SAM FLEX with AmigaOS 4.1 Update 1, and Pegasos with OS4.1 Update 1 | Not stated for October 2026; the listed hardware and OS are historical |
| Android | Release announced October 28, 2010 per project news | Not stated for October 2026; no current download was confirmed in preparing this article |
In practice, treat the Windows installer and source code as the most direct starting points, and treat the Amiga and Android entries as historical records unless you can confirm a current download on the project’s own pages.
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Building from source
The official download page lists the following libraries for building Zaz from source:
- SDL 1.2
- OpenGL
- Theora 1.0
- Vorbis 1.2
- Ogg 1.1
- FTGL 2.1.3
- SDL_image 1.2
Use these exact versions when preparing a build environment, since the project lists them specifically.
Creators and release history
- Remigiusz Dybka: code, graphics, and design.
- Leonard Ritter (paniq): music.
- Kinga Dybka: quality assurance.
- Version 1.0: released September 3, 2010, according to project news.
- Level count: the project news says the game had 23 levels in its August 23, 2010 update.
The project’s website describes the terms in its own words: “You are free to download it, free to play it, free to modify, love and hate it.” That statement describes the licensing spirit of the project rather than a current licensing summary, so consult the source code for the precise license.
Rank #4
How Zaz compares with Luxor, Zuma, and Puzzle Bobble
The project names these three games as loose inspirations, not as models it copies. A practical comparison comes down to four questions:
- Ball selection: do you pick from the moving path itself? Zaz says yes.
- Vehicle movement: does the player’s shooter follow a route? In Zaz, it follows a path that varies by level.
- Survival mode: is there a single-level endurance mode with rising speed and added colors? Zaz offers one.
- Custom levels: is there a built-in editor? Zaz includes one, and it loads custom level sets at startup.
Answer those four questions for any title in the genre to see where it sits relative to Zaz.
Who it is for
Zaz suits players who want a free, straightforward arcade puzzle game with a choice of an easier level set and a demanding one, and who may want to build their own levels. Its platform details are historical, so anyone planning to play on a specific system should confirm the download on the project’s official pages before installing.
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For a more detailed look at the wider genre, you can also browse the video game guides on this site.
Sources: the project’s official website and download page, and project news (2010). The LinuxLinks overview from 2023 describes Zaz as a “multi-platform arcade action puzzle game.”
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