Board 18: Lunar Horizon

This picture shows a simple moonscape, with the planet Earth visible, large in the night sky.

Level 1 (Clear 25 red pegs from 101 total - Pro target 400k)

The first design features solid lines that follow the skyline, with a few little curves implying craters on the moon's surface. A solid circle surrounds the Earth in the sky, and a ring of round pegs inside it rotates. There is also a scattering of single round pegs in the sky.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 426,040 

• Not the greatest of efforts. I missed quite a few catches, and didn't get many bonuses, but I did enough to get through what was a fairly easy level, and scrape a pro score.

Level 2 (Clear 25 red pegs from 100 total - Pro target 375k)

The second design features two large stars made up of a mixture of diamond-shaped pegs and round ones, plus three small stars, made up of just five diamond-shaped pegs. A tight line of round pegs runs across the bottom of the screen.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 292,730

• Two red pegs left. All those diamond-shaped pegs make for some unpredictable ricochets. Not an easy level, but worth another go.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 287,710

• Four red pegs left that time, but I didn't feel like I had much luck there. This certainly feels like it ought to be quite possibly without power ups.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 159,940

• My luck seems to be getting worse. The red peg placement was dreadful that time, with no obvious red pegs near the side walls for bonus scores. I did my best, but I had to clear so many blue pegs just to get to the red ones that I never really stood a chance.

Attempt #4 - No power ups. Score: 445,880 

• Got it that time. I knew it would go eventually. Just a little bit more luck was needed. A better red peg arrangement and some better catching and ricochets.

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

The third design shows two flying saucers in the sky which act as obstacles. A large ellipse of vaguely rectangular pegs surrounds each one, and a liberal spreading of single round pegs occupies the rest of the screen.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 446,460

• On target for a pro score, but one red peg left, awkwardly placed under the right hand saucer.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 276,160

• I didn't get any decent sweep shots around the curves, so I was always struggling for points. Just one red peg left, but nowhere near a pro score.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 352,780

• Not bad, but still a way from clearing the red pegs. I think I'll add a Big Bounce as they can be quite good a clearing low pegs under obstructions.

Attempt #4 - Big Bounce. Score: 530,200 

• I got a couple of reasonable sweeps during the game, and the Big Bounce was quite effective. I also made quite a few good catches in the endgame to clear a path through to the last couple of red pegs in the bottom right hand corner.

Level 4 (Clear 25 red pegs from 90 total - Pro target 425k)

The fourth design shows five small circles, each with a trail of round and diamond-shaped pegs behind it, like small meteorites plunging towards the surface.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 253,240

• Just one red peg left, but I was short on points. I needed more bonuses, but they just weren't available.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 344,700

• I only had two balls left but I knew I had to try and clear a path to the last red peg somehow. But by doing that, I knew there was a good chance I would ricochet into the red peg, and I was still quite a long way from the pro target. I did try to clear the blue pegs, but did indeed hit the red peg as well. Unfortunately I then fell into the 10k bucket, when a 100k final bonus would have just about got me home.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 326,290

• Three red pegs left that time, but I got very little luck. I'll give it another try.

Attempt #4 - No power ups. Score: 298,250

• I'm still not getting any luck with this one. Looking at it, it's hard to believe that it could be that difficult. I've wasted enough lives on it though. I'll use a laser ball.

Attempt #5 - Laser Ball. Score: 414,260

• The yellow peg was nigh on impossible to get to, way down in the bottom left hand corner. I was down to two balls when I eventually got it, and there was just too much left to do.

Attempt #6 - Laser Ball. Score: 480,560 

• The yellow peg was, if anything, in an even worse position that last time. I had hardly any balls left by the time I got to it. I did OK with the laser ball, though, and I did OK with catches in the endgame and made it to the pro target.

Level 5 (Clear 25 red pegs from 98 total - Pro target 300k)

The fifth design is made up entirely of single round pegs, scattered around 8 teleport portals which all lead to a receiver low down on the right.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 179,860

• Having such a low teleport receiver is a bit of a nightmare. As soon as a ball enters any portal it essentially disappears off the bottom of the screen. I only had two red pegs left, but I was low on points.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 292,590

• I just needed to avoid a 10k bucket at the end, and I thought I had a good chance of doing so, but the ball managed to find its way into one to leave me about 8k short.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 263,430

• Again, I completed the red pegs, and again, if I'd avoided the 10k bucket at the end, I'd have had a pro score. Depressing!

Attempt #4 - No power ups. Score: 141,380

• This one never looked likely. I didn't pick up any lucky catches, and the red pegs were very awkwardly placed.

Attempt #5 - Big Bounce. Score: 108,700

• I tried adding a Big Bounce but it didn't help much. I think I triggered it too early. Next time, I'll see if I can leave it for a bit.

Attempt #6 - Big Bounce. Score: 276,630

• For a third time, I took out all the red pegs, needed to avoid the 10k bucket for a pro score and couldn't.

Attempt #7 - Big Bounce. Score: 343,880 

• Finally! A few timely bonuses made the difference here. I'm not sure the Big Bounce made any noticeable difference, and I noticed that when a 10k final bucket would have been enough, this time I successfully avoided it and got a 50k instead. Typical!

Level 6 (Clear 35 red pegs from 97 total - Pro target 625k)

The same design as level 3, but with 10 more red pegs, and 175k on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - Big Bounce. Score: 743,860 

• The Big Bounce worked quite well for once, and I got one or two decent ricochets at opportune moments. I lucky ricochet and a few lucky catches at the end allowed me to get a total clearance. I had to wait for an age near the end for the right one of the remaining three blue pegs to turn purple.

Level 7 (Clear 35 red pegs from 98 total - Pro target 425k)

The same design as level 5, but with 10 more red pegs, and 125k on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 495,250

• I opted for a Laser Ball this time in the hope that there might be a viable path amongst all those teleports. Actually, it turns out that my standard path works pretty well. It's still a tricky job to finish from there, though, so I think I'll add a Big Bounce as well.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 614,200

• I wasted an excellent opportunity completely there. I had two red pegs left and two balls. I tried to play one of the reds thin for a catch with my second last shot, and missed it entirely. I then tried to play the other red peg thin with my last ball and did exactly the same thing!

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 701,080 

• I triggered the Big Bounce before the Laser Ball, which is usually disastrous, but this time the Big Bounce actually worked really well, taking out 41 pegs. The Laser Ball didn't do too badly after that, despite the relative lack of pegs to go for. There were a few more catches to be had after that, though, enough to see me through to a total clearance.

Level 8 (Score 350k with 25 red pegs and 76 blue - Pro target 575k)

The same design as level 1, but with 175k on the pro target and just a score to aim for.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 251,200

• The red pegs weren't in friendly positions by in large, and I struggled to pick up any catches.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 234,580

• Quite a similar attempt to the previous one. Again, I was a long way short of points. I think that's going to continue to be the case unless I add a Laser Ball, so I'd better do that now.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 488,150

• Just one red peg left at the end, which I could have taken, but I needed a few more points first. Then I missed a catch.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball. Score: 420,870

• Again, one red peg left, but again I couldn't take it until I'd built up some more points.

Attempt #5 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 738,540 

• The extra power up may have done the trick as both power ups worked pretty well. They got me all the way to a total clearance and a comfortable pro score.

Level 9 (Clear ALL pegs - 25 red and 65 blue - Pro target 575k)

The same design as level 4, but with 150k on the pro target, and a total clearance needed.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 786,720 

• The yellow peg was nicely in the open for an easy first shot. Then the laser ball worked particularly well. It was just a matter of making enough catches after that to get through to end, which I managed comfortably.

Level 10 (Clear ALL pegs - 25 red and 75 blue - Pro target 525k)

The same design as level 2, but with 150k on the pro target and a total clearance now required.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 318,240

• My standard path for the laser ball clearly doesn't work well with this layout. Next time I might try the same line, but shooting right instead of left. That looks a better bet.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 599,220

• A better effort, but I had too much to do in the endgame. I got the clearance up to 90%, but 100% never looked likely. I think I'll add a Big Bounce for next time.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 796,180 

• I found a much better path for the Laser Ball that time, and the Big Bounce did OK. My catching could have been better at times, but it was just about good enough to get me through to the end.

SUMMARY

Level	Reds	Pegs	Target	Balls	Clock	Pro	Attempts	Record	Average	Video
1	25	101	Reds	10	-	400k	1	426,040	426,040
2	25	100	Reds	10	-	375k	4	445,880	296,565
3	25	97	Reds	10	-	450k	4	530,200	401,400
4	25	90	Reds	10	-	425k	6	480,560	352,883
5	25	98	Reds	10	-	300k	7	343,880	229,495
6	35	97	Reds	10	-	625k	1	743,860	743,860
7	35	98	Reds	10	-	425k	3	701,080	603,510
8	25	101	350k	10	-	575k	5	738,540	426,668
9	25	90	All	10	-	575k	1	786,720	786,720
10	25	100	All	10	-	525k	3	796,180	571,213