Inertia Gem Slide
Inertia Gem Slide is all about momentum. You control a green ball on a grid, and once it starts rolling it does not stop until something halts it. Along the way it picks up gems, and your goal is to collect every one without rolling over a mine.
Since you cannot steer mid-roll, each move is a small plan. Nothing needs installing, so it is easy to try on a laptop between classes.
How to play Inertia Gem Slide
The ball can travel up, down, left, right or along any of the four diagonals. Click or tap somewhere on the grid in the direction you want, or use the arrow keys and number pad.
Gray raised blocks are walls; the ball stops right before one. Circles with a dashed outline are stop squares; roll onto one from any side and you come to rest right on it. Cyan diamonds are gems that the ball grabs as it passes. Black spiky balls are mines, and touching one ends that roll.
The status bar counts the gems still out there and says COMPLETED once none are left. Hitting a mine is not the end: undo the move and keep going, though a death counter keeps score of your slips.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roll in a straight direction | Arrow keys or number pad 8, 2, 4, 6 | Left-click on that side of the ball | Tap on that side of the ball |
| Roll diagonally | Number pad 7, 9, 1, 3 | Left-click diagonally from the ball | Tap diagonally from the ball |
| Take the next hinted step after Solve | Space | — | — |
| Undo, redo, new grid | U / R / N | Undo, Redo and New buttons | Undo, Redo and New buttons |
Tips
- Follow the full line with your eyes before you move. The ball stops only at a wall or a stop square, so check the entire path for mines.
- Treat stop squares as stepping stones. A route that hops between them is far easier to predict than one that relies on walls.
- Walls that touch only at their corners still leave a diagonal gap the ball can roll through.
- Grabbing a gem tucked into a pocket is only smart if some direction will carry you back out safely.
- If you are stuck, press Solve and then tap Space to step through the suggested route one roll at a time.
If you like Inertia Gem Slide, try these
Black Hole SquareMoves that carry until something stops them feel similar to the pushes here, where every arrow shoves squares toward a hole.
Gravity GolfMomentum you cannot cancel is the challenge again, only the ball curves around planets on its way to a tiny marker.
Questions
What happens when the ball hits a mine in Inertia Gem Slide?
That move counts as a death and the ball is lost. You can undo it right away and try another direction. The game keeps a running tally of deaths in the status bar.
Can the ball move diagonally?
Yes. It travels in eight directions. Keyboard players use the corner keys of the number pad. Pointer and touch players aim at a spot diagonally away from the ball.
Is there a hint system?
The Solve button works out a route and shows an arrow for the next move. Pressing Space follows that arrow one step at a time.
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