Hardcore Mode- Strategy and High Score Discussion

[Nitpicker]

Respect, Joby! I still haven't broken a half mill myself…

I've been wondering how it's possible to get so high scores –*do you build a lot of chains, or just focus on clearing the balls as quickly as possible?

(And you don't remember what level you got to, do you?)

[amatsu]

Just got this one this morning.

[carlodalid1]

Getting past half a million ! First of all amatsu, I would like to congratulate you for crossing the half a million mark! I never believed someone could do it. I am myself way behind half a million mark man. Its good to see your dedication and passion for the game that you crossed half a million. You could be a living motivation for those who wanted to reach the same goal. Having to see someone do it, I'm sure a lot of people would be moved to do the same.

[abbw]

i did over 800k once, but i had to delete drop7 because i had exams and i couldn't put my phone down. unfortunately, i didn't keep a screenshot i just reinstalled a few days ago, and here's what i've got so far. i tend not to complete games if it looks like i'm going to get less than 400k, tho...



i try to avoid making numbers disappear until i have no other choice. i try to make sure every number that disappears will break at least 1 (preferably more) grey pieces. and i try to always put higher numbers on top of lower numbers... that's all i got.

anyone else have any tips?

[b123]

Originally Posted by abbw

anyone else have any tips?

I do the opposite. I try to pop bubbles as soon as possible, on the off-chance that it starts a chain reaction.

Yet to beat 500k; my best is about 450k.

Can't post a screenshot; iPhone 3G + iOS 4.

[peterjdonaldson]

Originally Posted by abbw

anyone else have any tips?

I don't want too many people catching up, but I am sure most people pick up the same must-dos. If I share, maybe someone else will too and I might learn something. My best on hardcore is 659,671

• set up "bunker-busters", where you put for example a 4 on a 5 when 5 is in 4th row. It blows up the 5 and those around it, 4 falls into the hole and adds a secondary blast to pop the damaged greys open
• keep 6's away from the outermost colums, if you get one on both sides, you need to build upwards quickly to pop the 6 as you cannot get rid of them in rows. You cannot have a row of 6 6s when there is a 6 in 1st and 7th positions
• when you get 2s and colums are above half way up, put them on a plateau as either a 1 or a 2 goes very nicely next to it and will get rid of both. When you combine with the number of the row you place the 2 on, you have 3 options for a circle to clear both.
• If you let greys get above row 4, your strategy changes, as you can no longer easily get rid of most numbers that come up and must be added on top without matching on rows,. e.g when you have to put stuff in row 5 from the bottom, 1,2,3 and 4s must be matched in rows unless you can break a grey in the column underneath and than brings down higher numbers to a row where they pop.
• The bunker buster and 1s paired with 2s works particularly well when you get into the top halfof the screen, unless you get a bad stream of luck, you often get quite good runs in thiose cases
• It is probably obvious, but 1s are death, they go asily if you can slot then in the bottom row, or on top of a 2 on the bottom row, otherwise unless they form a row that deletes some circles and does NOT leave it adjacent to another number, safest just to pop it by itself by plopping it on a column with nothing next to it.
• Any time a 1 is uncovered, work the area around it, to try and "dig a moat" to isolate it so it will pop. Too many exposed 1s can quickly stifle your open columns , lower your options and lead to a quick end.
• I find that I tend to get higher scores when the circles are positioned in columns where there are several failry empty columns on the screen.big blocks of grey that are 5, 6 or 7 wide are difficult to break down.
• I have only rarely managed to clear ALL the circles off before the new rows slides in, but when I have, I am rewarded with 100,000 bonus! Usually only possible to get this once a game, but really builds things up quickly.
• Obviously setting up, or lucking into big chains helps significantly. I have seen the single circle pop scores go up over 3,000 each after a somewhere around a dozen pops in sequence.

If anyone disagrees, or has other great techniques, PLEASE share. I have only got this far by having played this tens or hundreds of thousands of times. I average around 250,000 each time now, with the occasional lucky break that gives me a really big score. I would love to know how people can get over a million.

[marbles10]

peter, great tips! thanks a ton. some of those are things i already do, but you had a couple points which i'd never thought about before.

much appreciated.