Board 33: Epic Artifice

This picture is of a huge wooden horse, such as the Greeks gave to the Trojans to end the Siege of Troy.

Level 1 (Clear 25 red pegs from 95 total - Pro target 625k)

The first design follows the lines in the picture. There are curved lines on the ropes that tether the wooden horse, and more over the bands on its neck. There are single round pegs around the horse and shining from the sun.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 344,330

• 625k is a pretty big target for a first level, and these pegs don't seem particularly well arranged for big scoring. I'll give it one more go.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 278,530

• No catches or extra balls of any kind there. This will definitely need a laser ball.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 582,560

• One red peg left. I thought I could take a rebound off the purple peg for a bonus that would put the pro score beyond doubt, but I missed it and didn't take the catch.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball. Score: 445,670

• One red peg left again, but I would have needed most of the remaining blue pegs just to get my score up to pro levels. I'm very reluctant to resort to a second power up for level 1, but at this rate I may have to.

Attempt #5 - Laser Ball. Score: 385,970

• Again well short of the pro target. I'll add a second power up, I suppose.

Attempt #6 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 483,120

• Even with the second power up, I'm still struggling to get near this target. I don't know what I'm going to do when this board comes round again.

Attempt #7 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 846,180 

• I finally got it after seven attempts and the same number of power ups. It took a few balls to get to the yellow peg, but when I did, I got the green peg in the same shot for an extra bonus. I went a different way with the laser ball and got a double rim bounce, then the Big Bounce did pretty well as well. After that I could pick the blue pegs off one at a time without worrying about running out of balls as I had plenty in hand. In that way I made a total clearance.

Level 2 (Clear 25 red pegs from 94 total - Pro target 400k)

The second design is of a Greek helmet, with some loose round pegs to either side.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 278,750

• I still had a few red pegs left at the end, but this one seems much more attainable without power ups.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 367,590

• An improved score, but I'm still not really managing to penetrate into the centre of the helmet design. I'll have one more go.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 502,300 

• A bit more luck with the catches and probably a bit more skill, and I got it that time. Nowhere near the clearance, of course, but that didn't matter. I was comfortably over the pro target at least.

Level 3 (Clear 25 red pegs from 101 total - Pro target 625k)

The third design consists of five triangles arranged in a curve, with thirty or so diamond-shaped pegs beneath.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 527,320

• Another tricky layout. There are only 101 pegs but it seems like a lot more. I find the diamond-shaped ones the hardest to negotiate catches off, particularly in the early part of the game. I suspect I'll need a laser ball here, but I wasn't actually that far off with my first attempt, so I'll give it another go.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 229,620

• I'm getting no luck at this level at all. So many balls are glancing off the sides of the bucket and not going in. I'll use a laser ball.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 660,610 

• I used a standard path for the laser ball, but I probably could have picked a better one. I had to make quite a lot of catches afterwards to get to the pro target, but I made it.

Level 4 (Clear 25 red pegs from 73 total - Pro target 450k)

The fourth design has a teleport bottom right that comes out in the top left. The pegs are arranged in lines set at 45° to the left and right.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 367,610

• A little short of points, but only two pegs left at the end, and only one of them red. Worth another try.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 217,700

• Further away that time. It looks like I'm going to need a laser ball again.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 333,470

• The teleports in these levels often don't get in the way that much, but this one really does. Because the pegs against the left wall seem to automatically want to push the ball towards the bottom right-hand corner, I'm never sure whether the ball is going to hit the teleport or not.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball. Score: 159,950

• The laser ball doesn't actually seem to be making it any easier. It just adds an extra complication. I might try replacing it with a Big Bounce.

Attempt #5 - Big Bounce. Score: 626,360 

• I'm not sure that the Big Bounce did any better for me than the laser ball, would have done. I think I just got a bit luckier with catches and particularly bonuses.

Level 5 (Clear 20 red pegs from 48 total - Pro target 450k)

The fifth design is just a vertical lines against each side wall, and a double thickness horizontal line near the bottom, and nothing else at all.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 1,035,050 

• Well it looked pretty easy, and it turned out to be so. Lengthy ricochets and big distance bonuses are quite easy to start with, as you just let the ball bounce back and forth across the horizontal bar. Once you have a few gaps in the side walls, then catches off the side wall become quite straightforward. I didn't need power ups to get a total clearance and a seven figure score.

Level 6 (Clear 35 red pegs from 94 total - Pro target 775k)

The same design as level 2, but with 10 more red pegs, and 375k on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 561,490

• Not far off, but I was starting to get very drowsy in there, so my attention was wandering. I could probably improve on that with another go.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 586,430

• Too many missed catches at the start left me too much to do in the endgame. Plus a Big Bucket during the laser ball robbed me of a rim bounce.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 1,139,470 

• The catching was much better that time, plus I got a decent rim bounce with the laser ball. I took a complete clearance with balls to spare.

Level 7 (Score 450k with 35 red pegs and 60 blue - Pro target 850k)

The same design as level 1, but with 10 more red pegs, 225k on the pro target, and just a score to go for.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 635,020

• I was down to two pegs, but still short of points so had to attempt a catch off the side wall and missed it.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 904,200 

• I picked up some big bonuses with the Big Bounce which gave my score a big boost. My catches were working well, and I picked up a few lucky ones as well. I got the total clearance with balls to spare, and bonus from those spare balls carries me over the line.

Level 8 (Clear 30 red pegs from 48 total, with a 3s shot-clock - Pro target 825k)

The same design as level 5, but with 10 more red pegs, 400k on the pro target, and a three second shot-clock. Three seconds is not enough time to let the bucket make a full side-to-side sweep, so shots will have to be selected very quickly and yet carefully.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 616,230

• I was caught out by the shot-clock on a few occasions, and several balls were wasted in shots that were never going to be caught. A bit more thought required, I think, but in less time.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 866,060 

• That was better. The trick with this one is not to panic and to keep alternating directions. So if you shoot to the left and catch on the right with one shot, then the next should be shot to the right and caught on the left, etc. That way, you shouldn't get caught out by the shot clock. If you can do that, then this should be an easy level as the catches are all very straightforward.

Level 9 (Clear 45 red pegs from 73 total, with only 8 balls and a 5s shot-clock - Pro target 825k)

The same design as level 4, but with 20 more red pegs, two less balls, 375k on the pro target, and a five second shot-clock.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 1,069,500 

• It took a couple of balls to get to the yellow peg, but I concentrated the laser ball on the left-hand side where the bulk of the pegs are, also avoiding the teleport bottom right, and that worked much better, especially as I picked up a couple of rim bounces before catching it. The Big Bounce worked pretty well as well and I took a total clearance for a seven figure score.

Level 10 (Clear ALL pegs - 25 red and 76 blue, with a 5s shot-clock - Pro target 775k)

The same design as level 3, but with 150k on the pro target, a five second shot-clock, and a total clearance now required.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 1,077,520 

• As long as you can think fairly quickly, then a five second shot-clock on a level without moving obstructions shouldn't be too much of a problem. You have time to let the bucket do a complete sweep left to right and back again, before the shot-clock runs out. I picked a much better path for the laser ball that followed the sides of the triangles better. I also got a rather useful rim bounce off it as well. The Big Bounce took out quite a few pegs and I was left with a fairly straightforward endgame.

SUMMARY

Level	Reds	Pegs	Target	Balls	Clock	Pro	Attempts	Record	Average	Video
1	25	95	Reds	10	-	625k	7	846,180	480,908
2	25	94	Reds	10	-	400k	3	502,300	382,880
3	25	101	Reds	10	-	625k	3	660,610	472,516
4	25	73	Reds	10	-	450k	5	626,360	341,018
5	20	48	Reds	10	-	450k	1	1,035,050	1,035,050
6	35	94	Reds	10	-	775k	3	1,139,470	762,463
7	35	95	450k	10	-	850k	2	904,200	769,610
8	30	48	Reds	10	3s	825k	2	866,060	741,145
9	45	73	Reds	8	5s	825k	1	1,069,500	1,069,500
10	25	101	All	10	5s	775k	1	1,077,520	1,077,520