Board 50: Falls of Olympia

This picture shows a collection of classical Greek buildings, including a colosseum, and lots of marble columns, all on the shores of a lake fed by huge waterfalls that can be seen in the background.

Level 1 (Clear 30 red pegs from 96 total - Pro target 525k)

The first design features two large squares containing more pegs, a zigzag of single round pegs passing between them, and a column of flat pegs up each side wall.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 302,180

• I had thought that, with all those flat pegs around, catches wouldn't be too hard, but they really were. I'll have another go, as I suspect the red pegs weren't particularly kindly placed, but I can see myself resorting to a laser ball before long.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 434,020

• Much close that time. I got the clearance up to 94%, but I just needed to make a couple more catches.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 434,940

• The score was about the same thanks to some fortunate bonuses, but the clearance was only 74%. I'll add a laser ball.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball. Score: 586,310

• Just one peg short, and I was within a whisker of earning an extra ball with my last shot as well.

Attempt #5 - Laser Ball. Score: 680,740 

• I got there eventually. The catches seemed to work a bit better this time, and there were a few more bonuses forthcoming. I eventually went on to take a total clearance with four balls left over.

Level 2 (Clear 30 red pegs from 105 total - Pro target 675k)

This design follows a lot of the lines in the picture - buildings, cliff edges, etc.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 541,180

• Not a million miles away. I had to hang on for quite a while at the end. I got down to one red peg left, but still need over 300k for a pro score. I got most of that but just misjudged one catch too many at the end.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 721,240 

• I got a bit more luck that time. I didn't get that much, but it came at just the right moments. A few lucky bounces and bonuses, and it got me a total clearance.

Level 3 (Clear 30 red pegs from 111 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 575k)

This design looks like a line of three breaking waves with a single row of single round pegs above, and another below.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 431,740

• Just one peg left at the end, but the best part of 150k still required for pro, and I was hanging on for a bit at the end. Only two or catches made which will need to be improved upon.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 617,340 

• I got lucky that time with an early split ball off the white peg which scored me a good slide, took out a lot of pegs and then caught both balls for a total score around 300k. It was still touch and go towards the end as to whether I could take out the remaining red pegs and get enough of a score while doing it. I managed to leave an angle off the final red peg that got me into the 100k bucket.

Level 4 (Clear 30 red pegs from 117 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 550k)

This design is based around the colosseum in the background. It's all arches and lines of separate rectangular pegs.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 519,050

• That was just clumsy. I rushed the last shot, misjudged the angle and accidentally took out the last red. I had enough balls and blue pegs left to be able to get enough points for pro by picking them off one at a time, but messed it up by rushing. Silly.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 371,690

• Only three catches made, so little chance of getting anywhere, although I only had one red peg left. I'll give it one more go.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 313,220

• I think I only made one catch that time. I'd better get the laser ball out.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball. Score: 699,890 

• I managed to get the yellow peg with the first ball, and the laser ball found a good rim bounce to take out a lot of the loose round pegs at the bottom. It never really looked in doubt after that. I had plenty of balls, not many red pegs to hit, and not many points left to score. I was further helped by a further 100k bonus for a single ball that caught the rim, and deflected into the bucket off another peg.

Level 5 (Clear 25 red pegs from 108 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 450k)

This design is based on the waterfalls in the far background. Two pairs of vertical lines, each containing three vertical lines of single round pegs, the middle one of which is in motion, decending down the screen.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 351,510

• Only a couple of reds left, but I still needed another 100k. My last ball was an ambitious attempted catch off a purple off the side wall. In retrospect, I'd have been better off going for the last two reds and hoping for a big bucket finish.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 439,210

• Another annoying one. I still had a couple of balls left when a ricochet went wrong and I took out the last red peg too early. The ball hit it and dropped in the 10k bucket to miss the pro score by only 11k.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 476,200

• I actually had the points this time, but clouldn't clear the last couple of reds. I seem to be getting closer, so I'll have one more go before using the laser ball.

Attempt #4 - No power ups. Score: 529,790 

• That was better. I concentrated on the solid lines wherever possible, picking off the red and purple ones whenever I could. That way, I managed to keep plenty of balls for the end meaning I could pick off the last few more awkward reds without worrying too much about taking the catches.

Level 6 (Clear 45 red pegs from 105 total, with only 8 balls - Pro target 625k)

The same design as level 2, but with 15 more red pegs, two less balls, but 50k less on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 710,020 

• No real problems with this one. I didn't find level 2 much of a problem, in fact the pro target was the hardest part of it, and this pro target was actually lower than that one. So I thought it was worth trying it without power ups to start with, and I was clearly right to do so.

Level 7 (Score 500k with 35 red pegs and 76 blue, with only 9 balls - Pro target 850k)

The same design as level 3, but with 5 more red pegs, 275k on the pro target, and just a score to aim at, but it looks like a bug one.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 564,250

• I triggered the laser ball straight away, then got a Split Ball with for some extra points, although I didn't get the rim bounce that I wanted, but I still needed a lot more points after that and I just wasn't picking up the bonuses. This could be tricky.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 989,820 

• Again, I somehow managed to get the yellow peg with the first shot, and then did OK with the laser ball, although I failed to find the rim properly again. This time, however, the bonuses came more easily and so did the catches. I got a total clearance and a score comfortably over the pro threshold.

Level 8 (Clear ALL pegs - 25 red and 71 blue, with only 9 balls - Pro target 625k)

The same design as level 1, but with 5 less red pegs, one less ball, 100k on the pro target and a total clearance now needed.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 534,760

• A 91% clearance at the first attempt is not too bad. Hopefully, I'll get better.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 603,350

• The clearance was up to 96% this time, with a higher score, so I'm clearly heading in the right direction.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 611,850

• Only a 90% clearance that time, but the score improved slightly. I'll have one more go before I add a second power up.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball. Score: 730,520

• Failed by a single peg. I really should have had that as the few pegs I had left were not difficult catches. I'd done all the hard work, but then messed up right at the end.

Attempt #5 - Laser Ball. Score: 800,550 

• Well I took 5 attempts at this one, and my score got better every time, so it seemed like it was only going to be a matter of time before I got it. I didn't get the yellow peg with the first ball, but I made sure that I cleared a path to it so I could get it with the second. I changed my aiming point for the laser ball ever so slightly and I got rather a nice little double rim bounce for a better score than I had been getting, so that worked quite well. After that I was mainly a question of picking the pegs off one or two at a time, concentrating on the reds and the purple one. I had rather a handy ricochet near the end which reduced me to needing just one peg per ball and the score practically in the bag and it was an easy finish from there.

Level 9 (Clear ALL pegs - 30 red and 87 blue, with only 9 balls - Pro target 675k)

The same design as level 4, but with 125k more on the pro target, and all pegs now needed. There are more pegs in this design than any of the others, so this could be tricky.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 1,027,030 

• I got the yellow peg on the second peg again, and by using the same adjusted aiming point for the laser ball as I did in the previous level, I got another double rim bounce with it, only this one was even more spectacular. It scored me a fistful of points and took out loads of pegs, so after that it was just a matter of not messing it up.

Level 10 (Clear 35 red pegs from 108 total, with only 7 balls and a 3s shot-clock - Pro target 625k)

The same design as level 5, but with 10 more red pegs, two less balls, 175k on the pro target and the dreaded shot-clock. The clock is only three seconds, so it's quite a quick one, and shot-clocks on levels with moving pegs are always an extra challenge as you really need to be able to think fast.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 394,420

• I think I was probably rushing there a little more than I needed to. It wasn't a bad effort for a first go. I only had two or three red pegs left, and not many blues either. But the score wasn't going up as much as I would have liked, particularly in the endgame when the pegs were getting more awkward and the bonuses were therefore getting harder to earn.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 588,020

• I cleared all the red pegs, but needed more than a 10k from the final bucket. Because of where the last red peg was, I thought I had a good chance of the ball staying in the centre, but no, 10k is exactly what I got.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 376,870

• I still had several red pegs left at the end. I didn't get enough catches, basically, and the red pegs weren't very kindly positioned.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 762,270 

• I got a few lucky catches and ricochets at important times there. I ended up doing it with about half a dozen balls remaining. I did get quite a few reds on the inside lines which make for easy catches, so that helped quite a lot.

SUMMARY

Level	Reds	Pegs	Target	Balls	Clock	Pro	Attempts	Record	Average	Video
1	30	96	Reds	10	-	525k	5	680,740	487,638
2	30	105	Reds	10	-	675k	2	721,240	631,210
3	30	111	Reds	9	-	575k	2	617,340	524,540
4	30	117	Reds	9	-	550k	4	699,890	475,962
5	25	108	Reds	9	-	450k	4	529,790	449,177
6	45	105	Reds	8	-	625k	1	710,020	710,020
7	35	111	500k	9	-	850k	2	989,820	777,035
8	25	96	All	9	-	625k	5	800,550	656,206
9	30	117	All	9	-	675k	1	1,027,030	1,027,030
10	35	108	Reds	7	3s	625k	4	762,270	530,395