Board 105: Viper Portico

This picture is of a doorway in a wall. The doorway is flanked by statues of snake's heads.

Level 1 (Clear 25 red pegs from 109 total - Pro target 400k)

This design is a series of identical wavy snake-like lines parading across the screen. Lots of curves plus a few individual round pegs.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 381,430

• Catches were trickier than I thought they might be. I was down to 3 balls before I made my first one, and by then it was a bit too late to make up the shortfall.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 281,890

• A worse attempt than last time. I'll have one more try before I use a laser ball.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 627,990 

• Got it at the third attempt. I made a few catches and got the big 100k bonus at the end, although I was already well over the 400k target by then.

Level 2 (Clear 25 red pegs from 115 total - Pro target 425k)

This design is based on the curves of the arches with an assortment of other straight lines, diamond and round pegs loosely based on the picture.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 444,380 

• This one seemed a little easier, but maybe I got lucky with some of the catches. More pegs usually makes the level harder as the blue pegs get in the way. I still needed to avoid the 10k buckets at the end, but I managed to do that.

Level 3 (Clear 25 red pegs from 97 total - Pro target 450k)

This design is mainly one long snaking curve with a couple of other curves top right and bottom left.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 308,880

• I found it surprisingly difficult to earn bonuses here. I could easily have cleared the 25 red pegs, but I was well short of points so had to keep hitting purple pegs to try and make up the difference, but ran out of balls.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 354,480

• A slightly better effort, but I still struggled to make enough bonuses. Having said that I was unable to clear the red pegs this time, so I couldn't have finished even if I'd had the bonuses.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 476,580

• Only two red pegs left and more than enough points scored. Three attempts is enough though, so it's time to bring in the laser ball.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball. Score: 905,790 

• As always seems to be the case, when I don't need the luck, I get it by the truckload. I got the yellow peg with the first shot, then got a x2 multiplier with the laser ball, which practically gave me the pro target after two balls. But after that, I picked up lucky catch after lucky catch and ended up clearing the red pegs easily with balls to spare and double the pro target.

Level 4 (Clear 30 red pegs from 98 total - Pro target 450k)

This design is a big V shape with a couple of other diagonal lines and lots of diamond-shaped individual pegs.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 366,210

• Not a million miles away, but not quite there on either the score or the red peg clearance. Certainly worth another try.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 479,670 

• It didn't take much of an improvement on the first attempt to beat this one. A few more bonuses and some slightly better positioned red pegs and it was done.

Level 5 (Clear 20 red pegs from 119 total - Pro target 425k)

This design is a figure 8 in the centre with a long winding line of round pegs, around the outside.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 250,340

• I only had one red peg left, but with so many tightly packed round pegs, ricochets are impossible to judge and catches are entirely down to luck, particularly in the early part of the game. Also with so many more blue pegs than red ones, bonuses are quite hard to come by. I think I'll go straight for the laser ball.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 598,240 

• No problems with the laser ball. With only 20 reds to get it never looked like it was going to be.

Level 6 (Clear 30 red pegs from 109 total - Pro target 550k)

The same design as level 1, but with 5 more red pegs and 150k on the pro target. It was a tricky layout, but I reckon it's worth one go without power ups.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 468,360

• Not too far off - only two red pegs left and within 100k of the pro target, but I reckon I'll use a laser ball to save some time.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 914,080 

• Again, easy enough with the laser ball. I got the yellow peg on the second attempt and then scored big with the laser ball. I had plenty of balls left, then, to pick off the remainder.

Level 7 (Clear 35 red pegs from 98 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 550k)

The same design as level 4, but with 5 more red pegs, one less ball, and 100k on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 442,640

• I cleared all the blue pegs trying to build a big enough score, but still had three red pegs left at the end. I probably should have done better as catches in the endgame should be fairly easy.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 712,900 

• Got the total clearance that time, although I didn't really need it. I had enough points and could have finished earlier, but I had balls to spare so I picked off the purple pegs. I got a good rim bounce with the laser ball and held it together in the endgame, making a better percentage of catches.

Level 8 (Score 525k with 30 red pegs and 67 blue, with only 8 balls - Pro target 700k)

The same design as level 3, but with 5 more red pegs, two less balls, and 250k on the pro target. Only a score required this time, and I finished level 3 quite easily with a laser ball, so I'll start with one of them.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 746,020 

• Not too bad. More red pegs usually makes bonuses easier to come by, and that was the case here. The rim bounce on the laser ball went straight up so only took out one peg, but it still scored well. I had to take a chance with the final ball by shooting off the side wall into an enclosed curve that I would get enough bonus points to make up the 70k that I still needed, but it did and then some.

Level 9 (Clear 35 red pegs from 119 total, with only 7 balls - Pro target 675k)

The same design as level 5, but with 15 more red pegs, three less balls, and 250k more on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 611,870

• Close, but not quite there. Only one red peg left at the end, but I tried for some more points before I took it, but missed a catch off the purple peg, just catching the rim. The yellow peg was quite awkwardly placed, at the cross of the figure 8, so it took a few balls to get to it, and I took out too many pegs in the process, leaving too few for the laser ball to eat through.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 387,730

• Not as close that time. Again, the yellow peg was awkward to get to, and the rim bounce with the laser ball was too low to hit anything. I still had five red pegs left at the end and was nowhere near the pro target.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 766,930 

• I could get the yellow peg with the first ball, and I got a much better rim bounce with the laser ball, and those two combined made the difference.

Level 10 (Clear ALL pegs - 25 red and 90 blue - Pro target 625k)

The same design as level 2, but with 200k more on the pro target and a complete clearance required.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 783,100 

• I got the yellow peg on the second shot, although I caught the first one so that wasn't a problem. I did OK with the laser ball but it still left me with 54 pegs to get, so I had to make a lot of catches throughout the rest of the game.

SUMMARY

Level	Reds	Pegs	Target	Balls	Clock	Pro	Attempts	Record	Average	Video
1	25	109	Reds	10	-	400k	3	627,990	430,436
2	25	115	Reds	10	-	425k	1	444,380	444,380
3	25	97	Reds	10	-	450k	4	905,790	511,432
4	30	98	Reds	10	-	450k	2	479,670	422,940
5	20	119	Reds	10	-	425k	2	598,240	424,290
6	30	109	Reds	10	-	550k	2	914,080	691,220
7	35	98	Reds	9	-	550k	2	712,900	577,770
8	30	97	525k	8	-	700k	1	746,020	746,020
9	35	119	Reds	7	-	675k	3	766,930	588,843
10	25	115	All	10	-	625k	1	783,100	783,100