Javier is right. If you are looking for a high score, you want to go for multiple orange orbs. They build up and carry over to the next game. But for me, the point of playing the game is to pick up an easy 3000 points to invest in neostocks. In fact, after I get to a 1000 in a game, I usually sit under some bombs just to end it.
Here are the “secrets” to getting to 1000 points on a game.
First: get control of the center of the board as soon as possible. Bomb the bugs between the two center barriers before you do anything else. You’ll have to duck under a barrier now and again.
Second: once you have those guys out of the way, you can ease up to a barrier and shoot the ones in the two columns adjacent to the center one. The timing will depend on the speed that the bugs are moving at, and you will simply have to practice. once in a while you will have to dodge a bomb. that’s a good time to peek out on the other side of the barrier and take a pot shot.
Third: Having completed step two, you now have columns moving back and forth on the right side of the board and another one on your left. if you are at a 5+ level, there may have been so many bombs dropped that there is little or nothing left of the barriers. that is good. at this point, the barriers are just in the way. you might want to just sit under them and shoot them until they are gone. they have served their purpose.
Meanwhile: you will have orbs dropping down of several colors. for the sake of simplicity, and until you become more familiar with the game, avoid everything but a pale or dark blue orb. i really don’t know which one is better. each has its own pluses and minuses. see what works for you.
Fourth: you need to break in the bottom of each of the remaining columns. this is the tricky part and it is where you are most likely to catch a bomb. You have to ease up to where a bomb will not drop on you and follow the bug as it is moving away from the center of the board. at first it is very hard to do this without catching a bomb, but with practice you will get the hang of it.
Then, just as the bug is moving back to you, fire the cannon and move back quickly. this takes some coordination that comes with practice.
Fifth: repeat this with the bugs that are higher from the bottom. this will not be nearly as difficult.
HOWEVER: don’t completely obliterate the bugs on one side, or the other ones will come sweeping across. you want to leave one, preferably high up. Then go to the other side and do the same thing. when you are *almost* done, you should have two bugs moving back and forth on the opposite sides of the board. then go and pick one of them off. pick his buddy off as he gets to you. it is safest to “lead” him by moving in the same direction as you fire.
OTHER ORBS: sometimes a pink orb will appear. this gives you an extra life force, which may be useful if you are going for a high score. but if all you want is your 1000 points, it is generally not worth bothering with.
The brown orbs will partially rebuild the barriers. but since the barriers just get in the way after the initial blasts, they are usually not worth going after.
The orange orb is interesting and fun, as it will give you multiple shots. unfortunately, it also makes you as slow and as fat as a basic tank. You’ll probably get nailed. the only way an orange orb works well is if you get two of them and then cap it off with a blue orb. this will very rarely happen in the basic 1000 point game.
The green and yellow ones, of course, have no good features to them and should be avoided.
That’s all I have to say on the matter. I do not have a high score on the game, nor am I particularly interested in getting gone. but it has been a steady and reliable source of income so far. However, the way the neolords are screwing up the games of late makes me wonder how long even *that* will last. what they did to neggsweeper still has me fuming – Jim Shirey