Level 1 (Clear 30 red pegs from 120 total - Pro target 425k)
The first design is of a covered wagon, with a few single round pegs scattered around.
Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 298,170
- I didn't make any catches at all so fell well short of the target.
Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 294,040
- A slight improvement in that I made two catches, but the score was about the same. I seem to making very hard work of this.
Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 600,430
- I did much better with catches that time, stretching the game out to 19 shots. A lot of those catches were lucky ones, but sometimes that's what's necessary. It was still touch and go as to whether I'd be able to clear all the red pegs before I ran out of balls, but I managed it.
Level 2 (Clear 35 red pegs from 103 total - Pro target 475k)
The second design is of a wagon wheel, so a large circle with a small circle inside, and a dozen short straight lines between the two acting as spokes. There is a round peg at the very centre, and some others scattered around outside the wheel.
Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 371,490
- Four red pegs left, but I wasted quite a few early shots that I should have done more with. Worth another try.
Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 279,290
- Four red pegs left again, but an even lower score. I'll give it one more go.
Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 787,940
- Third time was the charm again. The catches went my way that time, and I went all the way to a total clearance.
Level 3 (Clear 40 red pegs from 96 total - Pro target 400k)
The third design features a couple of jagged lines that follow the tops of the nearest buttes, and then straight vertical lines marking the edge of the canyon. There are plenty of loose round pegs scattered about.
Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 466,510
- Just one red peg left, and over the pro target, so it clearly warrants another go.
Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 893,820
- I had a much better handle on the angles second time around. I didn't lose too many balls in the early part of the game and got some good ricochets. I allowed me to take it all the way to a total clearance.
Level 4 (Clear 35 red pegs from 117 total, with only 8 balls - Pro target 500k)
The fourth design shows a couple of ellipses encircling the two cacti in the foreground like picture frames. A broken line of rectangular pegs stretches around both ellipses, and a few round pegs are strewn around.
Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 633,240
- A few lucky catches and ricochets plus a fair bit of careful and skilful catching, and I managed to pick my way to a pro score at the first attempt.
Level 5 (Clear 10 red pegs from 35 total - Pro target 350k)
The fifth design is, to the best of my knowledge, unique among all the design used so far because most of the pegs are off the screen for most of the time. There are 15 pegs arranged in three big Xs which are static. There are two trains, one high that moves from right to left, and one low going the other way, which carry four pegs each. There are also two gravestones, one on each side of the screen, with six pegs around each, which pop out intermittently. The gravestone are impenetrable obstacles, while the trains are just decoration.
Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 319,140
- Only a couple of reds left, I think. Not too bad for a first attempt. Patience is the key here. It didn't help that I forgot the objective and was going for all the pegs instead of just the red ones. That comes later.
Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 363,420
- One red peg short. I got down to one red peg quite quickly, but still had to play quite a few purple pegs to build to a pro score. The last red peg was with one of the gravestones and I needed to try and bounce it off the stone to guarantee a good enough score, but I hit the purple peg next to it and that was my last ball.
Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 297,110
- Just one red peg left, I think, but there were far too many careless shots in there. I need to be much more patient and controlled.
Attempt #4 - No power ups. Score: 346,970
- One red peg left again, and again I was far too careless early on.
Attempt #5 - No power ups. Score: 426,860
- That was better. I kept it together much better at the start and didn't lose too many lives, so I had spare lives at the end.
Level 6 (Score 375k with 25 red pegs and 95 blue - Pro target 575k)
The same design as level 1, but with 5 less red pegs, 150k on the pro target, and just a score to aim for.
Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 1,009,350
- Easy enough with a laser ball. I didn't quite make a total clearance, but I did make a seven figure total. It's also worth noting that this happens to be my 1,000th Hotshot video upload.
Level 7 (Clear 55 red pegs from 96 total - Pro target 500k)
The same design as level 3, but with 15 more red pegs and 100k on the pro target.
Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 944,720
- Again, using the laser ball makes it a lot easier than it was the first time around. Didn't quite make the million this time, but there was no point pushing my luck and taking more purple pegs.
Level 8 (Clear ALL pegs - 25 red and 78 blue - Pro target 550k)
The same design as level 2, but with 10 less red pegs, 75k on the pro target, and a total clearance now needed.
Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 915,480
- I fired a lot of shots straight into the bucket, waiting for the right purple peg. Unnecessarily really, as I already had a pro score, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. It'll probably make for a dull video though. Finished with lots of balls in hand.
Level 9 (Clear 35 red pegs from 117 total, with no ball bucket - Pro target 550k)
The same design as level 4, but with two more balls, 50k on the pro target and no ball bucket.
Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 707,490
- I had a tactic for this one. The intention was to clear a path to the yellow peg first, without actually hitting it. Then take the white peg, hoping for a bucket of some sort - either Big, Triple Score or Extra Ball would do. Then activate the laser ball without hitting the bucket. I thought if I could do all that, then I'd have a bucket to bounce the laser ball off which would make a massive difference. And it worked perfectly. First Time. I couldn't believe it!
Level 10 (Clear ALL pegs - 30 red and 5 blue - Pro target 500k)
The same design as level 5, but with 20 more red pegs, three more balls, 150k on the pro target and a total clearance now required. This makes it the only level so far blogged to give you more than 10 balls at the start.
Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 301,760
- Just a 66% clearance. Way too many careless errors. I started off well enough but then the mistakes started to come and it all went to pieces.
Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 448,750
- Up to 89% clearance, which equates to about 4 or 5 pegs left. An improvement, but still some work to do.
Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 396,790
- 83% clearance. I still had 10 balls left after clearing the static pegs, but it wasn't enough.
Attempt #4 - No power ups. Score: 533,170
- I changed tactic slightly this time. Instead of trying to avoid the moving pegs when taking the static ones, I tried to hit them for distance bonuses. It meant missing a few catches, but I felt it was worth it for the extra points. As it happened, I didn't miss that many catches, and it left that many fewer awkward moving pegs to hit in the endgame.
SUMMARY
Level | Reds | Pegs | Target | Balls | Clock | Pro | Attempts | Record | Average | Video |
1 | 30 | 120 | Reds | 10 | - | 425k | 3 | 600,430 | 397,546 | |
2 | 35 | 103 | Reds | 10 | - | 475k | 3 | 787,940 | 479,573 | |
3 | 40 | 96 | Reds | 10 | - | 400k | 2 | 893,820 | 680,165 | |
4 | 35 | 117 | Reds | 8 | - | 500k | 1 | 633,240 | 633,240 | |
5 | 10 | 35 | Reds | 10 | - | 350k | 5 | 426,860 | 350,700 | |
6 | 25 | 120 | 375k | 10 | - | 575k | 1 | 1,009,350 | 1,009,350 | |
7 | 55 | 96 | Reds | 10 | - | 500k | 1 | 944,720 | 944,720 | |
8 | 25 | 103 | All | 10 | - | 550k | 1 | 915,480 | 915,480 | |
9 | 35 | 117 | Reds | 10 | NBB | 550k | 1 | 707,490 | 707,490 | |
10 | 30 | 35 | All | 13 | - | 500k | 4 | 533,170 | 420,117 |
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