Thursday, September 6, 2012

Board 74: Firelight Swamp

We have a picture of a rickety looking wooden house standing on its own on a wooden platform in a swamp. There are fireflies casting eerie glows in the night, and a large crescent moon in the sky.


Level 1 (Clear 25 red pegs from 150 total - Pro target 750k)

A vast number of blue pegs, and a daunting looking pro target, but being all arranged as they are in little rings, there should be lots of chances for bonuses.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 834,720 
  • The bonuses did indeed come thick and fast. It's actually quite an easy level.

    I did even better on the next attempt for the video. I didn't quite make a total clearance, but I did break the million point mark with 1,026,210.


Level 2 (Clear 25 red pegs from 71 total - Pro target 525k)

The two big sweeping curves on either side of the crescent moon both look very tempting, but the front one might be difficult to hit.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 740,060 
  • The tactic I used for the two curves was to ignore the front one and concentrate on the larger back one. With the first two balls, I took out the top two pegs on the front curve. That gave a gap big enough to get a ball through that ran all the way around the back curve for a big bonus. Then it was just a matter of picking off the remaining reds down the sides, using wall bounces where possible until I reached the pro target. I hit the 100k bucket at the end just for good measure.

    Not quite as good the second time around for the video. I struggled for points a bit more and only scored 600,390. But it was enough.


Level 3 (Clear 30 red pegs from 100 total - Pro target 575k)

Quite a lot of pegs here, but no obvious sweeping curves.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 713,190 
  • This was quite tricky. It was difficult to pick up many big bonuses. In the end it took a lot of judicious catching and a total clearance to make certain of the pro target. I picked up a final bucket bonus of 150k to swell my final score, but if I'd only got 20k, then I would have only just scraped in. I managed to stretch my 10 balls out to 31 shots.

    It took another four attempts to get it a second time for the video. It was a lack of points each time that stopped me. Even when I got it I was struggling for points and it was only a big finish that got me there.


Level 4 (Clear 30 red pegs from 97 total - Pro target 500k)

Another different design with a jagged line at the top which might offer the odd sweeping bonus.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 329,620
  • Had a bit of difficulty trying to get through a barrier of blue pegs on the left to get to the last couple of reds hiding beneath them, and ran out of balls with these two still left. I only made 3 catches which is pretty awful.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 369,450
  • Still had three balls left at the end. I was trying to build up some extra points with deflections, but caught an unexpected ricochet onto the last red peg, and then just a 10k final bonus. Disappointing.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 568,560 
  • Pretty straightforward win with the laser ball. Activated it fairly early, then picked off what was left.

    I did better on the next attempt, although I felt there was still room for improvement. I scored 777,280 for the video.


Level 5 (Clear 25 red pegs from 101 total - Pro target 600k)

Lots of curves makes this look appealing.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 401,630
  • The curves are quite tricky to hit. I still had several curves untouched in the centre when I ran out of balls.

Attempt #2 - Big Bounce. Score: 476,670
  • Thought I was going to get this one, but there were a couple of awkward reds left in the middle that I couldn't get through to.

Attempt #3 - Big Bounce. Score: 452,610
  • Not particularly close this time. I think I'll try the trusty laser ball on it.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball. Score: 729,570 
  • Yes, the laser ball made life a bit easier.

    On the next attempt, I probably could have carried on for a few shots after reaching the pro target, as I still had a few balls in hand, but I took a ricochet onto the last red peg from the purple one. I scored 685,800.


Level 6 (Score 500k with 35 red pegs and 36 blue - Pro target 700k)

The same crescent moon design as level 2, which should be doable without any power ups.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 523,780
  • Didn't get the second curve cleanly as it got broken up before I could get to it. After that I was struggling to get the pro target. Still, I hit the main target. I'll have one more go at it before I move on.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 702,910 
  • Got the curve right this time. The trick seems to be to take the second peg down first, then the one above it. I had to pick up a few rebounds at the end, but this arrangement is quite well suited for that. Took out the final red peg for an easy deflection into the 50k bonus bucket to get just enough points for the pro target.

    On the next attempt for the video, I got a comfortable total clearance for 880,770.


Level 7 (Clear 40 red pegs from 150 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 1000k)

The same layout as level 1 which offered huge bonuses. But then an unprecedented one million point pro target reflects that.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 1,665,760 
  • I used the laser ball which made it surprisingly easy. I had the million points after only half a dozen balls or so. All the bonuses gain you lots of extra balls, so after I'd used the laser ball, I still had nearly as many balls left as I started with and only a handful of red pegs remaining. So I thought I'd go for the total clearance and see how many points I could get. Quite a lot as it turned out! I think I still had 4 or 5 balls left at the end.

    The next attempt for the video wasn't quite a good as the first one. I missed the total clearance by six or seven pegs, but I easily made the pro target, scoring 1,423,100.


Level 8 (Clear 35 red pegs from 101 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 775k)

The same layout as level 5.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 813,530 
  • Used a laser ball again. Managed to hang on to the last few balls for long enough to pick up the required points.

    I found it a bit easier on the next attempt for the video. I passed the pro target with several balls to spare, eventually scoring 1,048,760.


Level 9 (Clear ALL pegs - 30 red and 70 blue - Pro target 875k)

The same layout as level 3 which was tricky. There's a lot of pegs with few easy sweeps so I'll jump straight in with the laser ball.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 479,910
  • It took too long to trigger the laser ball. By the time I had, there were not enough pegs left to give a decent bonus. I hung on to the last few balls for as long as I could, but there were still 5 pegs left at the end and I was still nearly 400k short of the target.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 447,960
  • I triggered the laser ball much quicker this time, but failed to do much with it. Perhaps I might need a second power up as well.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 1,048,700 
  • That was a bit better. The two power ups combined made it a lot easier. Both worked well and the pro target was reached quite easily.

    I did even better on the next attempt for the video, taking a total clearance for 1,074,640.


Level 10 (Clear ALL pegs - 30 red and 67 blue - Pro target 600k)

The same layout as level 4, but this time needing all the pegs. The pro target looks very low for an all peg level so that shouldn't be a problem.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 1,190,790 
  • Again, I go straight in with the laser ball and it proves decisive. I think I got to the point of have 7 pegs left still with 7 balls in hand, and already well over the pro target, so I just went for a big score.

    I scored another seven figure score with the next attempt for the video. Again, I had 7 pegs left and 7 balls, but my score was slightly less at 1,032,570.


SUMMARY


Level
Reds
Pegs
Target
Balls
Clock
Pro
Attempts
Record
Average
Video
1
25
150
Reds
10
-
750k
1
834,720
834,720
2
25
71
Reds
10
-
525k
1
740,060
740,060
3
30
100
Reds
10
-
575k
1
713,190
713,190
4
30
97
Reds
10
-
500k
3
568,560
422,543
5
25
101
Reds
10
-
600k
4
729,570
515,120
6
35
71
500k
10
-
700k
2
702,910
613,345
7
40
150
Reds
9
-
1000k
1
1,665,760
1,665,760
8
35
101
Reds
9
-
775k
1
813,530
813,530
9
30
100
All
10
-
875k
3
1,048,700
658,856
10
30
97
All
10
-
600k
1
1,190,790
1,190,790

Monday, September 3, 2012

Board 75: Majestic Gardens

We have a picture of a very ornamental garden this week. Full of shrubs and colourful flower beds with a large waterfall in the centre.


Level 1 (Clear 30 red pegs from 80 total - Pro target 525k)

Looks pretty straightforward. There are some tempting curves there which could be worth some bonus points, although they might be tricky to hit right. If I can pick the right spot on the side wall to bounce off I should be able to get some big bonuses.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 630,860
  • No problem with the score, mainly due to a good first ball that I deflected off the side wall to run along the whole bottom curve giving a whopping 211k bonus. But, I still had one red pin left at the end. I probably should have cleared the high central pegs earlier.

Attempt #2 - No power ups. Score: 396,670
  • I mucked up the first ball this time, just putting holes in the bottom curve instead of taking it all out, so I was always playing catch up with the score. I still had three or four red pegs left at the end.

Attempt #3 - No power ups. Score: 485,190
  • Tried to take the final red peg off the side wall for 25k bonus that might have made all the difference in getting the pro score, but missed it by a whisker. This level is turning out harder than it looks.

Attempt #4 - No power ups. Score: 376,850
  • Good first ball again, getting a 200k bonus, but a catalogue of disasters afterwards. Still 3 or 4 red pegs left at the end. Time for a power up.

Attempt #5 - Laser Ball. Score: 518,880
  • Cleared all the red pegs but fell short of the pro score by an annoyingly narrow margin. The laser ball was a waste of time, as the peg for it was tucked away down the bottom, so by the time I hit it there weren't many pegs left anyway. I still had two blue pegs and two balls left when the final red peg went, so I could have got the pro score if I'd avoided the last red peg for a little longer. Never mind, I'll move on to level 2 and come back for the pro score later.

Level 2 (Clear 30 red pegs from 106 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 475k)

Some more tempting curves, but again they look tricky to hit right. There are a lot of blue pegs here which may end up getting in the way.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 367,090
  • No problem clearing the red pegs, but nowhere near the pro target. Again, not to worry. I'll concentrate on earning the badges first and come back for any pro scores I miss at the end.

Level 3 (Clear 30 red pegs from 106 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 450k)

A lot of pegs again so it could prove tricky getting through to the reds.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 581,800
  • No problem with the score, but 5 or 6 red pegs left and still lots of blue pegs left getting in the way. I think I'll go straight for the laser ball.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 507,190 
  • The score was looking a little lower this time, but managed to leave a low central red peg until last for an easy deflection into the 100k bonus to finish, and I have a pro score at last!

    No problem coming back for the video, using the laser ball I took an easy total clearance for a seven figure score.

Level 4 (Clear 20 red pegs from 99 total - Pro target 350k)

With only 20 red pegs and a low pro target, this looks simple enough.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 205,300
  • Not as simple as it looks. The loose pegs on top and the sloping roof beneath them make it difficult to judge the timing for catching balls in the bucket. Then get through that and all the angles are designed to funnel the ball into the middle of the screen where it's hardest to catch them. A laser ball should cut a swathe through them nicely.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 461,780 
  • It took me a few balls to get to the yellow one, but once I had, the combination of the laser ball, and a few judicious side-wall deflections made for a comfortable victory with a pro score.

    Another comfortable pro score with the laser ball when I came back to repeat it for the video. I scored 684,980 with another total clearance.

Level 5 (Clear 40 red pegs from 62 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 500k)

Much fewer pegs this time - more red than blue for the first time. There are four moving pegs, though, sweeping on and off the screen which may make life awkward.


Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 358,950
  • Still a dozen red pegs left at the end. The moving pegs make for an extra distraction, and the lack of flat sided pegs makes deflections tricky to judge. Trampolines can sometimes be good against levels like this.

Attempt #2 - Big Bounce. Score: 585,910 
  • The yellow pin was in plain sight, and the trampoline took out a good chunk of the pins, adding over 200k points to boot. After that it was plain sailing.

    Coming back to make the video, it took me another five or six attempts to crack it. I could generally make the points, but clearing the red pegs was the problem. When I eventually got it, I should have had a total clearance, but I made a total pig's ear of the last couple of shots. Never mind, it got the job done.

Level 6 (Score 500k with 40 red pegs and 40 blue, with only 9 balls - Pro target 725k)

The same layout as level 1, so I should know where to put the mouse pointer to get a good first ball. Because of this I'll try it without power ups first.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 740,950 
  • The first ball could have been better, but a few lucky deflections and bucket catches allowed me to get a total clearance which got me home with a pro score (just).

    On the next attempt for the video, I beat the pro target quite comfortably. I could have cleared the final red peg, but I was going for the total clearance, and was already well over the pro target, so I kept going for catches until I ran out of balls. I made 922,330.

Level 7 (Clear 30 red pegs from 99 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 425k)

The same layout as level 4 which proved quite awkward then, so I'll jump straight in with the laser ball.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 437,870 
  • The actual laser ball shot itself was rubbish, but I managed to avoid some of the mistakes I'd made on level 4 and muddled my way through to a victory with a pro score.

    It took a couple more attempts to get it again for the video, but when I did I took a total clearance for 792,100.

Level 8 (Clear ALL pegs - 35 red and 27 blue, with only 9 balls - Pro target 700k)

The same layout as level 5 with the four pegs sweeping in and out. Not many pegs, but clearing all of them could be tricky judging by my two attempts at level 5. I'll jump straight in with the bug guns, I think.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 380,250
  • Tried using both the laser ball and the trampoline (which worked on level 5) but to little avail. Still 10 pegs left at the end and not much of a score.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 403,110
  • A slight improvement with only 7 pegs left. The trampoline achieved practically nothing though, perhaps I should try a different combination.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball & Grenade Ball. Score: 251,900
  • A disastrous laser ball missed the first bounce off the bucket. After that it never looked likely. Probably cleared less than half the pegs.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball & Grenade Ball. Score: 482,830
  • Much closer this time. Only three pegs left at the end, but still some way off the pro target. That's me out of energy for now, but I'll be back later.

Attempt #5 - Laser Ball & Grenade Ball. Score: 313,160
  • Missed the laser ball again, so still had 9 or ten pegs left in a central cluster at the end. This level is proving quite tricky.

Attempt #6 - Laser Ball & Grenade Ball. Score: 290,260
  • Started well enough, but failed to catch enough rebounds in the bucket, so ran out of balls with half a dozen pegs still left.

Attempt #7 - Laser Ball & Grenade Ball. Score: 348,350
  • Yet another messed up laser ball. Still 8 pegs left at the end. I think I'll abandon the laser in favour of the trampoline.

Attempt #8 - Big Bounce & Grenade Ball. Score: 529,200
  • The closest yet. Only two pegs left, and a much better score. I shall persevere with these power ups.

Attempt #9 - Big Bounce & Grenade Ball. Score: 438,700
  • Nowhere near the pro target, but I finally cleared all the pegs. It'll be a tough level to ace, but I can worry about that later.

Level 9 (Score 525k with 40 red pegs and 66 blue, with only 8 balls - Pro target 725k)

The same layout as level 2. Lots of pegs to shoot at, but an awkward arrangement for big scoring. This will be a challenge.

Attempt #1 - No power ups. Score: 225,040
  • 6 red pegs left and nowhere near the pro score. Perhaps attempting this without a power up was a little ambitious.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 384,530
  • A slightly better score, but 8 red pegs left this time.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 188,810
  • Only 5 red pegs left this time, but a truly awful score. The yellow peg was so awkwardly placed that it took nearly all my balls to hit it. By the time I had there were just not enough balls left.

Attempt #4 - Laser Ball. Score: 416,050
  • Best attempt yet. Only two reds left and a decent score, but still over 100k short of the target.

Attempt #5 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 545,080
  • Added a trampoline in an attempt to gain some points. I'll admit that for once I did take the win without pushing for the pro target. I had about 469k with one ball and one red peg left, so I took the last red peg, hoping to get a decent bonus, rather than build more points with deflections off the purple peg. I just felt that the pro target was just too far away.

Level 10 (Clear ALL pegs - 30 red and 76 blue, with only 8 balls - Pro target 600k)

The same layout as level 3. That's a lot of pegs to get rid of. This might take a while.

Attempt #1 - Laser Ball. Score: 379,430
  • Not a bad score, but that's immaterial as there were many, many pegs left.

Attempt #2 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 625,430
  • A much better effort. Only three pegs left and no problem with the pro target.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 957,860 
  • A new day, and the final level is comfortably beaten. Now to go back and get the pro score targets for the four levels I missed.

    Coming back for the video, I did it at the first attempt. It took quite a few shots to get through to the yellow peg, so I only had a couple of balls left after the laser ball. I took the green peg with one ball to go, but gained a couple back with the Big Bounce. I then managed to hang on to the few balls I had left all the way to the end for a score of 880,540.

Level 1 (Clear 30 red pegs from 80 total - Pro target 525k)
- continued
Attempt #6 - No power ups. Score: 616,750 
  • I'm clearly having a much better day today. No power ups were required. I actually forgot I was only clearing red pegs rather than all of them, so I probably made harder work of this than I should have done.

    Coming back to complete the videos, I did it first time without power ups. A few missed catches left me having to keep the final ball going for quite a few shots, but I picked the pegs off carefully, and finished with a 100k bonus.

Level 2 (Clear 30 red pegs from 106 total, with only 9 balls - Pro target 475k)
- continued
Attempt #2 - Laser Ball. Score: 486,490
  • Last time I cleared the reds but couldn't reach the pro target, this time was the exact opposite. It's all those blue pegs that get in the way, particularly the high central ones.

Attempt #3 - Laser Ball. Score: 560,970 
  • Much better this time. Picked up a fortunate angle off the rim of the bucket with the laser ball which took out some extra pegs and ramped the bonus up to about 400k. That meant I could concentrate on taking out the last few reds without having to worry too much about the score. No more energy left now, so I'll come back later and try to polish off the last couple of levels.

    Much easier coming back for the video. I had an abundance of ricochets that just seemed to go on forever. I ended up taking out all the pegs for a score of 801,570.

Level 8 (Clear ALL pegs - 35 red and 27 blue, with only 9 balls - Pro target 700k)
- continued
Attempt #10 - Grenade Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 622,840
  • Pretty close. Picked up the ideal scenario with the trampoline, where it hits the white peg and triggers the split ball bonus. When that happens the trampoline stays until the original ball has bounced three times, but the extra ball can bounce an unlimited number of times. That left me with only 8 pegs and 8 balls to hit them with. But even bouncing every ball off the side wall first, 700k was just too big a target. If both bonus balls at the end had fallen in the middle bucket for 100k each, I would have made it. As it was, they both fell in the 50k instead.

Attempt #11 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 418,190
  • Back on the laser ball again, but wasted it. Still had 6 pegs left at the end. I've run out of coins now, so I'll have to be much more sparing with the power ups from now on.

Attempt #12 - No power ups. Score: 427,120
  • Not a bad effort considering I couldn't afford any power ups. Only about half a dozen left at the end. I managed to take out all four moving pegs with the first ball which made life a bit easier.

Attempt #13 - No power ups. Score: 356,100
  • 9 pegs left. Never looked likely.

Attempt #14 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 474,410
  • 6 pegs left. This is definitely going to need a bit of luck.

Attempt #15 - No power ups. Score: 411,080
  • 8 pegs left. I'm starting to get better scores, even without power ups, but I'm going to need a bit of luck to get those few extra pegs.

Attempt #16 - No power ups. Score: 469,240
  • Much the same result. Still waiting for some luck.

Attempt #17 - No power ups. Score: 439,140
  • 12 pegs left this time.

Attempt #18 - Laser Ball & Big Bounce. Score: 771,920 
  • Finally - success! Took out a lot of pegs with the two power ups. The score was still looking low, but both balls at the end did indeed fall in the 100k bucket. That was the piece of luck I was looking for.

    Coming back to repeat this one for the video, I was rather pleased to get it at the first attempt. I was short of points for most of the game, but I took a lot of catches, so I had plenty of balls left in the endgame. I managed to pick up a lot of bonuses towards the end, and got over the line with room to spare with a score of 789,630.

Level 9 (Score 525k with 40 red pegs and 66 blue, with only 8 balls - Pro target 725k)
- continued
Attempt #6 - No power ups. Score: 732,010 
  • A few fortunate bonuses early on, then a lot of careful deflections into the bucket to eke out the last couple of balls for as long as possible, gave me this pro target at the first attempt. Well, the 6th really, but the first since completing it yesterday. And that's the Majestic Gardens board aced.

    It took another five or six attempts to repeat this pro score without power ups for the video. I eventually got it with some good catching and some lucky bonuses for a score of 745,850.

SUMMARY


Level
Reds
Pegs
Target
Balls
Clock
Pro
Attempts
Record
Average
Video
1
30
80
Reds
10
-
525k
6
630,860
504,200
2
30
106
Reds
9
-
475k
3
560,970
471,516
3
30
106
Reds
9
-
450k
2
581,800
544,495
4
20
99
Reds
10
-
350k
2
461,780
333,540
5
40
62
Reds
9
-
500k
2
585,910
472,430
6
40
80
500k
9
-
725k
1
740,950
740,950
7
30
99
Reds
9
-
425k
1
437,870
437,870
8
35
62
All
9
-
700k
18
771,920
434,877
9
40
106
525k
8
-
725k
6
732,010
415,253
10
30
106
All
8
-
600k
3
957,860
654,240

Introduction

I've been a big fan of the Facebook game HotShot since it first came out. I find it completely addictive, and I look forward to Mondays to try out the new weekly board. I have aced all 74 boards released so far, and I thought I'd start a blog to share my thoughts on each board as it comes out, along with my scores, tactics, etc. Then maybe add reviews to the earlier boards later on when I get time.

First, some basics about the game. It's a relatively simple ball bouncing type game where you shoot a ball from the top of the screen at an arrangement of variously shaped and coloured pegs. The ball bounces through these pegs, in a bagatelle type way towards the bottom of the screen. Any pegs that the ball touches will disappear after a few seconds. You usually also have a bucket that sweeps to and fro across the bottom of the screen and if your ball lands in it, then you get to shoot it again. Each weekly board consists of ten levels, all with the same background artwork. The arrangement of the pegs on each level will vary, as will the designated goal. Usually the goal is to clear all the red pegs, but sometimes a target score is given that must be reached irrespective of pegs remaining, and on the harder levels, sometimes ALL the pegs must be cleared.

A few quick notes about the tactics I tend to use. Since my eventual aim is always to ace the board, which means achieving the pro score on every level, then I'm always aiming for that score, even if that means risking failure on the level. I'll generally try to play each level without power ups first, to get a better idea of which power ups might be most helpful, although I may jump straight in with a laser ball on the later levels if I have the coins to spare and I think it looks tough at first glance. The laser ball is nearly always my power up of choice. When using it, I use the four bands going up the tube on the left as an aiming guide. I put the mouse pointer next the second band from the bottom and fire just before the bucket reaches its farthest left position. If timed correctly, the laser ball should bounce off the left wall, off the bucket, then all the way over to the right wall, then bounce again off the rim of the bucket to take out any low central pegs and pick up a big points bonus. Of course, if there are no low central pegs then fire just after the bucket hits the wall and you should catch the ball instead.

There are a few other power ups which can be useful under certain circumstances. The Grenade ball explodes upon impact with the first peg it hits, taking out all other pegs nearby and is very useful if you have a lot of pegs clustered tightly together. The Big Bounce replaces the ball bucket with a super bouncy trampoline which fires the ball back up the screen and is good for three bounces before it disappears and the ball bucket comes back. This one's always worth a try if you're struggling with a particular level. If you get lucky with it, it can take out a lot of pegs. I have tried all the others, but don't find any of them particularly useful.

My main tactic within the actual game, is to use careful aiming and timing to deflect the ball off a red peg into the bucket for a 10k bonus. Always aim to hit the bucket at the edges of the screen where it moves at its slowest and the wall next to it makes it a bigger target. If you have a red peg near the edge of the screen, it's often worth trying to hit the side wall first before deflecting into the bucket as this gives an extra 25k bonus. If the pin you're aiming at is quite high and off to the side, then aim to hit it fairly full on just after the bucket changes direction beneath it, and it should come across the screen to be caught on the opposite side. If you have a long sweeping curve of pegs, then you can pick up big bonus points at the start of the level by sweeping the ball across them all. After a few balls gaps can start to appear in the curve making this bonus much harder to get. The other bonus worth considering is bouncing from one red peg to another a long way away. This can give a bonus of 25k, 50k, 75k or even 100k depending on the distance between them.