Destruct-O-Match III (HTML5)

Mysterious, colourful boulders have appeared in Tyrannia out of nowhere, blocking their beloved landmarks like the Giant Omelette and the Concert Hall. It is up to you to help clear them and get Tyrannia back to business as usual!

How to Play

The basic idea of Destruct-O-Match is to destroy as many boulders as you can by double-clicking on a group of boulders of the same colour (or in Extreme Mode, clicking on a group of boulders once). In order to maximize your point-earning potential, however, you have to come up with a good strategy. Always try to find a way to get boulders to connect so you can get rid of them.

Power-Ups

There are ten power-ups you can see in this game, nine of which appear in all game modes except Extreme Mode. The last power-up appears only in Extreme Mode. (More on game modes later.) Below is a list of the power-ups and what they do.

Timer Boulder: Counts down from 15 seconds and then changes all adjacent same-coloured boulders to an Indestructible Boulder, so try to remove these first!

Indestructible Boulder: No use—indestructible except by Explode boulders

Fill Boulder: Adds a row of boulders to the top. Best used when each column has dropped at least one boulder to maximize the extra points it offers.

Explode Boulder: Destroys all adjacent boulders regardless of colour. Best used at the very end of a level to earn extra bonus points!

Overkill Boulder: Destroys all boulders of the same colour regardless of location. Note that the points it awards are only for boulders attached to the Overkill boulder, so it's best to use it as part of a large group, and to clear any other boulders of that colour not in the group first.

Multiplier Boulder: Multiplies the score earned from the group of boulders that includes it by 3. Best used with as large a group as possible!

Morph Boulder: Changes colour randomly and periodically into any colour available on the level. Best used to link two large groups of boulders.

Wildcard Boulder: Can be used as any colour available on the level. Best used to link two large groups of boulders.

Shuffle Boulder: Earns you the option to have Glubgar fly across the screen and shuffles all boulders, changing their colours randomly without changing the shape of the board, at a later point in the level. Best used towards the end of a level when you are running low on potential moves.

Undo Boulder: Earns you the option to undo the last move made as long (as the last move did not use another power-up) at a later point in the level. You get to keep the points you earned, so you can use this to earn extra points on high-value moves!

Scamander Boulder: Only available in Extreme Mode. Keeps one column of boulders from rising. Always worthwhile, but never enough to go out of your way to break.

Game Modes

If aiming for the avatar or a high score, Zen Mode is recommended.

• Zen Mode: There are no level minimum requirements; no matter how much you score, you continue on to the next level.
• Classic Mode: You play for points level by level by double-clicking on groups of boulders, with a certain amount of points required each level to continue.
• Extreme Mode: You also play for points, but instead of double-clicking on a group of boulders, you click once. Boulders continuously appear from the bottom of the screen. There is only one power-up: the Scamander Power-Up, which prevents a column from rising. If you clear your board, you are given 25 bonus points.
• Double Trouble Mode: Same as Classic Mode, except you are playing two games at the same time. You keep playing until you no longer have enough points to proceed in both games. You are given a maximum of two power-ups per level.
• Double Trouble Extreme Mode: Same as Extreme Mode, except you are playing two games at the same time. (You can get one Scamander Power-Up on each side, for a total of two power-ups allowed in this mode.)

Classic Mode Level Guide

Classic Mode and Zen Mode offer 10 levels.

Colours are added to the game in a set order:

Levels 3+

Levels 5+

Levels 7+

Levels 8+

Levels 10

Scoring

You earn points by destroying boulders. The points earned are the same across all game modes.

In Classic and Zen Modes, you also earn bonus points for finishing a level with very few boulders remaining.

Game Layout

The two halves of a broken boulder at the bottom are not labelled in the game. Whenever you pick up either an Undo Power-Up or a Shuffle Power-Up, they show up on the boulders. In order to use the power-up, you have to click on the half of the boulder you want.

Undo Power-Up is active but cannot be used until a group of boulders without a power-up is destroyed.

Undo Power-Up is active and can be used.

Shuffle Power-Up is active and can be used.

Strategies

Here are a few strategies to help you play the game. Different people prefer different strategies, so it is suggested that you try them out and select the one that works best for you. You should also try and use multiple strategies in the one game as different strategies can apply to different situations.

Top Down vs Bottoms up!

If clicking randomly from the middle or bottom of the board, one can often ruin good combos on the top of the screen. This strategy assumes that it is best to start from the top and work down in order to avoid losing top combos. However, in doing this you are just as likely to miss out on the new combinations that often fall into place when middle or bottom boulders are removed. For this reason many people prefer to work from the bottom up.

Even Stevens

A problem often faced towards the end of a stage is when there is a single column of different coloured boulders standing much taller than the others. In this case the column is almost impossible to remove. "Even Stevens" strategists aim to defeat this problem by trying to remove from all columns evenly. However, others believe this unnecessary as the columns join together once completely removed. They instead focus on removing entire columns in order to avoid isolation.

Slow and Steady

This is the most recommended strategy as it is a combination of those previously mentioned. "Slow and Steady" is recommended for those that are aiming for a high score. It uses all other strategies when appropriate and carefully considers each move, and all effects of that move before it is made. However it is called SLOW and steady for a reason. To carefully consider each move takes time and patience and is not recommended for those simply looking for Neopoints or a fun game.

Zen Mode

In the HTML5 version, Zen Mode actually does award you points and allows you to submit a score, but does not have level minimum requirements. You can restart this mode until you get a great score on the first one or two levels (likely using Undo Power-Up and Multiplier Boulder), then continue through the 10 levels earning as many points as possible.

Tips

• Save the Undo Power-Up for high-point moves, as you can double your points on them.
• Use the Overkill Boulder early on to consolidate the number of possible colours on the board, but only after clearing any combos of that colour first.
• When you have both Overkill and Morph Boulders, make sure that the Morph Boulder isn't the same colour as the Overkill Boulder at the moment you use the Overkill. Otherwise, the Morph Boulder will be destroyed. (Thanks sufia_j!)
• Using an Overkill Boulder before a Fill Boulder will also result in one less colour Boulder getting added to the board. (Thanks sufia_j!)

In the early levels, especially when both an Overkill and a Multiplier Boulder are on your screen, you can activate the Overkill Boulder to get rid of that colour from the board. This makes it easier to put boulders of the same colour by the Multiplier Boulder and will greatly increase your score!

Changes From Flash Version

There are number of substantial changes from the Flash version. It is unknown which of these are bugs, oversights, or intentional changes.

• Zen Mode awards points as normal. It also does not have a minimum points requirement for advancing to the next level. In the Flash version, Zen Mode does not award any points at all; it is just a practice mode.
• The Undo Power-Up no longer undoes your points too. This makes the power-up useful for earning a higher score because you can essentially double your points on high-value moves.
• The colours of the boulders that appear at level 5 and level 10 have been swapped. This is just a minor cosmetic difference.
• Double Trouble mode ends early if either side has too few points to continue. In the Flash version, the game does not end until both sides have not enough points to continue.
• Extreme mode begins with four colours of boulder. In the Flash version, Extreme mode begins with just three colours.
• There is no 1,000 Neopoint limit. None of the HTML5 games have the 1,000 NP cap per score submission that all Flash games have; you can earn over 1,000 NPs per score submission if your score is high enough.
• There is no high score table or trophies. Trophies are only awarded for scores submitted with the Flash version.

Game Info