Several novel linear, either planar or tubular, flux-switching permanent magnet (FSPM) brushless machines with different winding configurations and mover slot/stator pole combinations are proposed and compared, with particular reference to the tubular format. Coil connections are determined from the coil back-EMF vectors. The influence of major design parameters, such as the split ratio, the stator pole width, the mover back-iron thickness and the mover tooth width, on the thrust force, when the copper loss is fixed, on the electromagnetic performance is investigated by the finite element (FE) analyses. It shows that although the proposed linear FSPM machines have very simple winding configurations and much easier to manufacture, their electromagnetic performance are comparable with that of more conventional linear FSPM machines.