Saturday, December 21, 2013

Board 4: Sunset Corral

This picture shows a fairly barren western scene at sunset. A few cactus plants are scattered about a flat plain. To either side and in the distance are large rocky outcrops. On the left is a single wooden building.


Level 1 (Clear 25 red pegs from 104 total, with only 8 balls - Pro target 450k)

The first design features three pairs of nested horseshoes. There are clusters of loose round pegs at the bottom, and a small arch of round pegs over the top.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 595,790 
  • An easy starter. There are plenty of choices for an early sweep shot or two. Lotsof chances for bonuses. Not too many other pegs getting in the way.

Level 2 (Clear 35 red pegs from 102 total - Pro target 425k)

The second design features more horseshoes. A vertical line of three on each side, at various angles. There are also three nested curves in the centre.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 527,920
  • I missed one red peg. It was at the bottom of the lowest right-hand horseshoe. I thought if I could get a ball in there it was bound to take it out. Unfortunately it bounced around inside then popped out the top without hitting the red peg.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 708,120 
  • Two pegs away from a total clearance. There are many opportunities for sweep shots here, and I got a few. Again, it's not a difficult level.

Level 3 (Clear 25 red pegs from 107 total - Pro target 350k)

The third design features a large central cactus. There are loose round pegs both inside and outside the cactus design.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 505,060 
  • Another one that didn't seem too bad. I finished it comfortably, having passed the pro target some shots before.

Level 4 (Clear 25 red pegs from 108 total - Pro target 325k)

The fourth design returns to the horseshoe motif. This time there are seven horseshoes in a staggered diagonal line across the frame. Each horseshoe in turn slowly rotates clockwise through 360°. There are also clusters of round pegs at the bottom and in the top corners.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 188,610
  • Not a very good effort. It looked like it was going to be a lot easier than it was. I still had four red pegs left at the end and I was nowhere near the pro target.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 245,690
  • An improvement. A higher score, and only a couple of red pegs left.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 303,220
  • Better again. I cleared all the red pegs this time. I just needed to avoid the 10k bucket at the end, but couldn't.

Attempt #4 - No power ups. Score: 730,430 
  • No problems this time. The catches were working, the sweeps weren't too bad, the bonuses were coming steadily. I didn't quite get the total clearance, but I wasn't far off.

Level 5 (Clear 25 red pegs from 101 total - Pro target 300k)

The fifth design has three sheriff's stars as obstacles - one in the middle, and the other two only partly visible on the sides of the screen. There are four teleport portals, one in each corner, and all connect to a central receiver, immediately below the middle star. There is one peg above this receiver which is particularly tricky to get to.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 365,300 
  • I got very lucky with early catches here, catching all the first four shots. I did still have quite a few balls in hand at the end, but it was still very useful to know I had lots of balls in hand if I missed the odd catch.

Level 6 (Clear ALL pegs - 25 red and 82 blue - Pro target 450k)

The same design as level 3, but with 100k on the pro target, and a total clearance now needed.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 608,440
  • I did it again! My favourite trick of forgetting when it's an ALL PEGS level. I got down to my last ball and played the final red peg, with no thought as to where the ball might be going. I still had maybe 7 or 8 other pegs left, so there was no guarantee I would have done it, but I would have been in with a chance.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 455,170
  • I didn't get much luck in this one, and my catching wasn't very good.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 862,940 
  • Luck was more on my side that time. I picked up several early catches, I got the yellow peg with the first shot, and did well with the laser ball. I needed quite a few catches to get to the total clearance, but I was up to the task.

Level 7 (Clear 40 red pegs from 101 total - Pro target 400k)

The same design as level 5, but with 15 more red pegs, and 100k on the pro target.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 294,590
  • Quite a lot of red pegs left at the end, but then I used up a lot of shots trying to get the awkward peg above the receiving teleport. When that peg is red, the game becomes about three times harder! I got it, but I didn't have enough balls left to finish what was left. I'll add a laser ball.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 442,320 
  • I made a mess of the laser ball, but I managed to clear all the red pegs anyway, including the awkward one. I got a bit lucky at the end. I had two red pegs left, low and central. I shot the ball into one of the lower teleports and it took out both and dropped into the 100k bucket.

Level 8 (Score 375k with 25 red pegs and 83 blue - Pro target 425k)

The same design as level 4, but with 100k on the pro target, and just a score to go for.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 720,040 
  • I found a good sweep with the first ball for once, and took out the yellow peg. I did well with the laser ball, netting a Double Score with it. I left the last red peg and kept picking off purple pegs until I ran out of balls, as I was already well over the pro target.

Level 9 (Clear 50 red pegs from 102 total, with no ball bucket - Pro target 600k)

The same design as level 2, but with 15 more red pegs, 175k on the pro target, and no ball bucket.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 661,680
  • Not a bad effort, although I wasted one ball entirely. I only missed four red pegs at the end. I managed to get the white peg first, but I didn't get a bucket for it.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 645,540
  • Only one red peg missed that time, so I'm getting closer.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 600,450 
  • I squeaked home by the narrowest of margins. Again, no bucket off the white peg, but some fortuitous bonuses, particularly towards the end, helped me along.

Level 10 (Clear ALL pegs - 25 red and 79 blue, with only 8 balls and a 5s shot-clock - Pro target 550k)

The same design as level 1, but with 100k on the pro target, a five second shot-clock, and a total clearance now needed.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 486,680
  • A 92% clearance, but the points weren't too far away. Not bad for a first attempt.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 902,390 
  • Not many early catches, but some good sweeps and ricochets cleared enough space for me to make lots of catches in the endgame. I got a good laser ball as well, despite not having many pegs left by the time I activated it.

SUMMARY


Level
Reds
Pegs
Target
Balls
Clock
Pro
Attempts
Record
Average
Video
1
25
104
Reds
8
-
450k
1
595,790
595,790
2
35
102
Reds
10
-
425k
2
708,120
618,020
3
25
107
Reds
10
-
350k
1
505,060
505,060
4
25
108
Reds
10
-
325k
4
730,430
366,987
5
25
101
Reds
10
-
300k
1
365,300
365,300
6
25
107
All
10
-
450k
3
862,940
642,183
7
40
101
Reds
10
-
400k
2
442,320
368,455
8
25
108
375k
10
-
425k
1
720,040
720,040
9
50
102
Reds
10
NBB
600k
3
661,680
635,890
10
25
104
All
8
5s
550k
2
902,390
694,535

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