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NOT ONLINE Sholly73

Sholly73 has been a member since 11/9/05 and was last logged in on 10/2/18

SHOLLY'S TIP SHEETS, CHAPTER XIII: Block Party 5/9/08 8:32 AM

I'm overdue for another Tip Sheet, and with the diploma for this game started last week, I figured it was a good time to do this one.

I've seen a game like Block Party before, but I don't remember its title or where I saw it. If you're looking for a similar retail game, check out a title called Ouba, in which you swap and match to drop the Oubas to the ground.

In Block Party, you must use your swap and match skills - skills that we didn't know we had until Bejeweled came out several years ago - to put together a band of Popstars before time runs out. In the second and third rounds, you need more Popstars to fill out the band, and you also have to avoid adding Rockers, who will scare your target audience. (As for me personally, I would have switched the Popstar and Rocker roles, as I prefer rock myself.)

The game lasts for three rounds, as many King.com games do. You get 1½ minutes to complete the first round, 1:40 for the second, and 1:50 for the third. Each board consists of 11 columns of blocks, with a Popstar (or Rocker, in rounds 2 and 3) standing on top of each column. You must swap and match the colored blocks to remove them, which will lower the Popstar toward the stage. Roughly every ten seconds, a new row of blocks is added to the bottom of the board, increasing the challenge. Any matches formed by the new row of blocks are immediately removed. Note that the next row of blocks will not appear until the move you've made is completed and all matches removed, nor can you make another move until then.

This game has a few similarities to Bomp Bomp: You may switch any two adjacent blocks, even if they don't match, and there are special Star and Bomb blocks that have comparable functions, as I'll get to in a bit.

Click on a block to select it, then click on any adjacent block to swap them. You can also drag blocks like in Bejeweled 2 and Bomp Bomp Party, as well as "swap" a block with an empty space. (You have to drag the block to the space.) If the move makes a match, the matching blocks will disappear, and the blocks and character above them will drop into the gap. When a Popstar touches the stage floor, (s)he will join the band, as shown by the stars on the left side of the screen. You need 6 band members in round 1, 7 in round 2, and 8 in round 3.

There are two special blocks: The Star Block, which will double the score of any match it's a part of, and the Bomb Block, which will wipe out the entire row or column in which it's matched. (Row if it's matched horizontally, column if vertically, or both if it's matched in both directions at once.) If a Star Block and Bomb Block are both part of the same match, the Bomb Block will not function as it normally does, but instead, will eliminate all blocks of the same color on the board, exactly the same way as the Star-Bomb Special Match works in Bomp Bomp.

In round 2, one randomly selected column will have a Rocker on top instead of a Popstar. You can move and match the blocks of this column normally, but if you lower the Rocker to the stage, he will join the band as well and throw out one of your Popstars, and lower your score on top of that. You can't complete the band with a Rocker in it, but he will be replaced by the next Popstar you bring down. In round 3, you'll have two Rockers to deal with.

Each round lasts until you complete the band with Popstars, you run out of time, or you let any column of blocks grow so high that the character on top hits the stage lights--the last two of which will end your game immediately. You'll be warned if a stack of blocks is getting too high, as it will flash and you'll hear an annoying screech-like sound. Note that you can't let a Rocker hit the lights either, even though they're undesirable.

Let's talk about how this game is scored:

You get 100 points for making a basic match of three blocks, 200 for four, and 300 for five. If you manage to pull together a row of more than five matching blocks (which usually only happens spontaneously, when a new row of blocks comes in), each additional block is worth another 100 points. Each additional match in the same move is worth 50 more than the last one.

The Star-Bomb Special Match is worth only 500 points in this game, and frankly, isn't nearly as useful.

Dropping Popstars to the stage is worth 250x(number dropped)². In other words, if you drop three Popstars with one move, you'll receive a total of 250x3x3=2250 points. It doesn't matter if the Popstars all hit the stage at once or are brought down with successive matches, as long as it's all from one swap. Note also that "extra" Popstars (more than enough to complete the band) are worth the same amount, so it's worth the effort to drop as many as you can.

Dropping a Rocker to the stage will cost you 1000 points. In round 3, if you're unlucky enough to bring down both Rockers, the second one will cost you a whopping 2000 points.

If you complete a round, you'll receive a Move Bonus which starts at 3000 points and is reduced by 50 for every move you make. Note that even if you accidentally swap two blocks of the same color, it's still counted as a move, and still costs you 50 points off the bonus.

If you successfully complete all three rounds, you'll receive an additional bonus of 2000 points.

Now, let's talk about how to get this party started:

In the beginning of a round, it's a good idea just to take out a bunch of blocks and bring the Popstars closer to the stage, which makes it easier to set up your big moves later on. Just be careful about leaving a Popstar standing on just two blocks of the same color--if the next row comes up with a matching block in that column, the Popstar will drop to the stage whether you're ready for it or not.

Speaking of the new row of blocks, be sure to sneak the occasional peek at the stage floor. You'll see what appears to be reflections of the blocks, but in reality, they're the next incoming row. You'll even see if any Star or Bomb Blocks are coming. Plan your moves accordingly. You can use this information to your advantage if you've cleared out most of the blocks, as you can stack two same-colored blocks above an incoming block of the same color in several columns, which will cause several Popstars to drop at once. I learned this strategy from dark_dwaggie's Youtube video--I strongly recommend you give it a look.

The key to big scores, of course, is to drop as many Popstars in one move as you can. After all, if you can drop all 11 Popstars in one move in round 1, it's worth an incredible 30,250 points, not counting the points for removing the blocks. The easiest way to do this is by using your Bomb Blocks wisely. Bring as many Popstars as you can within one row of the stage, then make a Bomb Block match in that last row. This will take out the entire row, dropping all those Popstars to the stage at once! You have to act quickly though, as you only have about ten seconds until the next row of blocks appears.

Another way to remove several Popstars at once is to set up a chain of matches, something like this:

x x B x G x Y
B B G G Y Y P (The x's represent empty space, not blocks)

This way, when you swap the yellow and purple blocks, the chain reaction will cause the Popstars above this whole setup to drop at once. However, I don't normally recommend trying this, as it just takes too long to set up. If you're like me, you know the frustration of setting up a perfect move, but not being able to pull it off before the next row appears.

Bomb Blocks will not always appear, and so the row-blasting mega-move will not always be available. Of course, if you're playing a progressive, you'll already know if and when the Bomb Blocks are coming, and plan accordingly. If you have multiple Bomb Blocks, it's a very good idea to keep them on separate rows, so as not to accidentally take any out when you start blasting rows. Oh, by the way: You should only be blasting rows with Bomb Blocks, not columns. Take care not to keep your Bomb Blocks directly above or below another block of the same color, star or no star. Be sure not to use a Star Block to set off your Bomb Block, as removing an entire color is not nearly as useful in this game as it is in Bomp Bomp, and in fact is a waste of a Bomb Block.

Beware of the Rockers in rounds 2 and 3. If you drop a Rocker to the stage, you'll need to drop an additional Popstar to complete the round. For instance, if you have five Popstars in place on round 2 and then drop a Rocker, you'll need to drop another Popstar to replace him, then two more to complete the band, for a total of 8 when you only need 7 to complete the band. If you're unfortunate enough to drop both Rockers in round 3, you won't be able to complete the band, unless you dropped one (or both) of them before dropping any Popstars. A good way to deal with Rockers is to not make any matches in their columns until you have to--in other words, when the game starts screeching at you. Oh, one more thing about Rockers: They don't replace a Popstar until the end of the move, and if you complete the band with a move that also drops a Rocker, it will still complete the round, though you'll still lose the points.

If you listen to the in-game music, you'll know when time is running out. When there's roughly 15 seconds left, clapping will be added to the beat, then a few seconds later, you'll get a warning tone. Use as much of the round time as you need, as there is no time bonus, but don't run out of time, of course. If a match is playing out when time expires, you'll still get credit for the entire move, and if you complete the band with that move, it still counts.

Oh, and don't worry about the Move Bonus--it pales in comparison to the scores you get for dropping multiple Popstars.

That's all that comes to me at the moment, though as with all my Tip Sheets, it is subject to modification if I think of anything new. As always, questions and feedback are welcome. Take care, rock (er, pop) on, and good luck!

Comments

  • TjickLick

    Thanx..I will work wite block party diploma this weekend..hard job ;-)

  • valdood

    The tip about the combi starblock and bombblock..didn't know that one ,thanks!