Board 45: Mushroom Row

This picture shows a couple of tiny houses built into mushrooms. Tall grasses tower over them.

Level 1 (Clear 30 red pegs from 115 total - Pro target 450k)

The first design is of a single large mushroom, with lots of loose round pegs scattered about.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 686,775 

• I wasn't really concentrating until about halfway through that game, but it didn't seem to matter. I used the purple pegs towards the end to boost my score enough so I could finish and get the Pro score.

Level 2 (Clear 25 red pegs from 120 total - Pro target 500k)

This design looks like the front of one of the mushroom houses. It has two circular windows and a rounded door. It also has a couple of teleport portals to the sides that lead to a receiver above the door.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 450,820

• Points seemed quite tricky to come by there, although I think that was more to do with the locations of the red pegs than anything else. I still should have made it though, as I had lots of balls in hand at the end and only one red peg left. I took a risk that I probably shouldn't have, seeing a chance of taking a purple peg off the side wall, knowing there was a chance it could deflect onto the last red. Of course, that's exactly what happened and I finished 50k short of the pro target.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 132,290

• Nothing seemed to work that time. There were no bonuses to be found anywhere, the catches didn't work and ricochets didn't happen.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 566,500 

• I managed to find a few bonuses that time, and make a few catches. The finish was a little unexpected, but the ball flew straight into the 100k bucket so it was fine.

Level 3 (Clear 25 red pegs from 120 total - Pro target 400k)

This design follows the lines in the picture, specifically outlining the mushrooms shown, and with loose round pegs scattered about.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 261,410

• I made very few catches, and couldn't come up with many bonuses. I only had three or four red pegs left at the end and less than 150k to go for the pro target, so I wasn't too far away really. I'll give it another go.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 357,560

• Very nearly. Right at the end the ball tried valiantly a couple of time to get over the hump between the 50k and 100k buckets, to no avail. That extra 50k would have been enough for the pro score.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 332,930

• Only one red peg left that time, but I would have needed a big bonus at the end. This would probably go eventually without power ups, but I think I'll try it with a laser ball.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball. Score: 397,480

• I think I only made one catch. Pretty awful really. One more go before I give up for now and come back to it later.

Attempt #5 - Laser Ball. Score: 673,080 

• It seemed much easier that time. Last time it took too long to get to the yellow peg, whereas this one was quicker. I got a better rim bounce with the laser ball which gave me a much bigger score. Then I made just enough catches to get through the remaining red pegs without running out of balls.

Level 4 (Clear 30 red pegs from 105 total - Pro target 400k)

This design also follows lines in the picture, this time the towering grass fronds curling overhead, plus more loose round pegs over the ground and mushroom houses.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 464,630

• Three red pegs left. I started running out of balls quite early on, so I was reduced to trying pick through a whole stack of pegs one at a time to try and get to the remaining red ones. I got through quite a few, but it was a lost cause really.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 169,870

• I think I took one catch there, so pretty dreadful. I'd better use a laser ball.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 759,430 

• The yellow peg was on top so I took that out straight away. I got the Big Bucket bonus with the laser ball which put paid to any rim bounce I might have got. But I had enough balls left, and I had cleared enough space to be able to finish.

Level 5 (Clear 30 red pegs from 114 total - Pro target 500k)

This design consists of 16 circles, some with 6 pegs in and some with 8. I'm sure what they are supposed to represent - maybe the mushroom houses as seen from above.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 256,960

• I didn't get much luck there, so I still had seven red pegs left at the end and was a long way short of the pro target. I could persevere with it, but I'll use a laser ball.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 772,120

• I thought I had balls in hand so I played a purple peg when I already had enough points, when I should have made sure I could get through to all the remaining red pegs. I ended up leaving myself one ball to take out the last red peg but with no path through to it. I didn't get it and didn't make the catch. Schoolboy error.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 984,870 

• I much better laser ball that time. I got a near perfect rim bounce that bounced neatly up and across to land in the bucket. I picked up quite a few lucky catches so I never seemed to be short of balls. It gave me the freedom to go for some adventurous shots. I got a total clearance, and was aiming for a million points, but both final balls landed in the 10k bucket so I just missed out on that.

Level 6 (Clear 35 red pegs from 120 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 650k)

The same design as level 2, but with 10 more red pegs, one less ball, and 150k on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 396,180

• I made a mess of the laser ball. I aimed too high up the left hand wall and it got picked up by the portal, so I never got a bounce off the bucket. Too much left to do after that, and a lack of catches didn't help.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 719,230 

• I managed to avoid the portal with the laser ball this time. I got lots of catches this time. It was almost as if the bucket had a big magnet in at times. It meant I always had plenty of balls in hand and could go for lots of shots. The finish was a little unexpected, but I had enough points in the bag by then so it wasn't a problem.

Level 7 (Clear 40 red pegs from 120 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 600k)

The same design as level 3, but with 15 more red pegs, one less ball, and 200k on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 577,440

• I should have had that but a clumsy shot at the end did for me. I had two red pegs left, and only one ball. I needed to clear a couple of blue pegs before I could get a shot at both of them together. The catches should have been easy, but I rushed the first one and messed it up.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 658,030

• I'm struggling to clear all the pegs on the right hand side. Maybe I need to rethink the path of my laser ball. A yellow peg I can get to with the first ball would be useful too.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 1,151,500 

• I got a bit carried away there and started going for the total clearance when I still had half a dozen red pegs left. The yellow peg wasn't exactly in plain sight, but I could get it with the first ball by rebounding off another peg. I went the other way with the laser ball and it worked much better. I got nearly all the catches I went for (and quite a few I didn't), so I had plenty of balls in hand as the red pegs began to dwindle. The purple pegs just seemed to keep presenting themselves to me and it was hard to turn them down, so I didn't. Anyway, I got the total clearance for a pretty sizable seven figure score.

Level 8 (Clear 40 red pegs from 105 total, with only 8 balls - Pro target 700k)

The same design as level 4, but with 10 more red pegs, two less balls, and 300k on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 870,750 

• I got a bit fortunate with the last ball. I had three red pegs left, one in the open, and the other two close together, but sheltered under some blue pegs. I wasn't sire what to do with them, but I took a chance and went for a rebound off the one in the open and it worked perfectly.

Level 9 (Clear 40 red pegs from 114 total, with only 8 balls - Pro target 775k)

The same design as level 5, but with 10 more red pegs, two less balls, and 275k on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 756,800

• Not far off, just two red pegs left, but I was struggling to get to them. The yellow peg was right down the bottom of the lowest circle, and I did well to get to it on just the second ball. The laser ball scored a stack of points as well, as it got a good rim bounce and triggered a x2 score bonus as well. Couldn't quite finish though.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 1,109,740

• Ha ha ha! What an idiot! My score was way up over a million, and I was playing the purple peg while I still had balls in hand. Once I got down to my last ball, I went for the last red peg, but instead of playing it directly, I thought I could take it off the side wall for more (pointless) points. I misjudged it, missed the peg and the catch and didn't get the ball back. I should really know better than to do that sort of thing. Oh well, serves me right, really!

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 875,760 

• Taking no chances with that one. I found a route through to the yellow peg with the first ball, then did well with the laser ball. I picked off the remaining red pegs while making just enough catches to get me through.

Level 10 (Clear 45 red pegs from 115 total, with only 7 balls - Pro target 750k)

The same design as level 1, but with 15 more red pegs, three less balls, and 300k on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 512,010

• Trying this without power ups was probably a bit over-ambitious. I'll try it again with a laser ball.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 153,520

• I forgot to add a laser ball, and it was a dreadful attempt that deserves no description.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 381,170

• Another pretty awful attempt. It took too long to get to the yellow peg, I didn't get a rim bounce with the laser ball, and then I didn't do anywhere near enough damage with the few balls I had left after that.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 359,710

• Yet another dismal failure. The yellow peg to several balls to get to, then the laser ball didn't score very well. I never did get through to the green peg.

Attempt #5 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 362,450

• Yet again, the yellow peg was buried and it took most of the balls to get through to it. Then it scored very little as there were no big clumps of pegs to shoot at. I just need a go with the yellow peg nicely on top to have a decent chance.

Attempt #6 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 959,840 

• Well the yellow peg wasn't exactly on top, but it was on the right hand side where I could get it with the second ball, and catch it as well. I then got a particularly good rim bounce with the laser ball that practically got me to the pro target on its own. After that I didn't need too many catches to clear the few remaining red pegs.

SUMMARY

Level	Reds	Pegs	Target	Balls	Clock	Pro	Attempts	Record	Average	Video
1	30	115	Reds	10	-	450k	1	686,775	686,775
2	25	120	Reds	10	-	500k	3	566,500	383,203
3	25	120	Reds	10	-	400k	5	673,080	404,492
4	30	105	Reds	10	-	400k	3	759,430	464,643
5	30	114	Reds	10	-	500k	3	984,870	671,316
6	35	120	Reds	9	-	650k	2	719,230	557,705
7	40	120	Reds	9	-	600k	3	1,151,500	795,656
8	40	105	Reds	8	-	700k	1	870,750	870,750
9	40	114	Reds	8	-	775k	3	1,109,740	914,100
10	45	115	Reds	7	-	750k	6	959,840	454,783