Caution: Quills may be sharp Circulation: 175,178,569 Issue: 372 | 19th day of Celebrating, Y10
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Surviving Hypothermia: A Guide to Ice Cream Machine


by grapesourhorse

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This article touches on a subject that is near and dear to all of our hearts -- ice cream! We all scream for ice cream, right? Well, in the fa-a-abulous Neopian Game of Ice Cream Machine, the objective of the game is to *avoid* the flying scoops of frozen delight! Now, why should you play a game that involves *avoiding* ice cream? Well, this game is fun, addicting, and with some practice, an easy money earner. Onward, brave knight!

The character you play in Ice Cream Machine is Adee the Chia (who coincidentally has the same name I do xD) and she is having a dream that she’s being attacked by frozen dairy products! Oh, the horror! The goal is to maneuver Adee over and around flying ice cream chunks. You begin the game with three lives, but for every regular scoop you hit, you lose one of those lives.

Now, I say ‘regular’ scoop, because there are many different types of scoops in Ice Cream Machine. Let’s familiarize ourselves with them, shall we? :D

Types of Scoops:

Bonuses -- Fish, Cherry

‘Helpers’ -- Strawberry Bomb, Shield, Extra Life

Unique -- Minimize/Maximize, Plus/Minus

Don’t worry if you’re confused, I’ll walk you right through these different scoops!

The Fish scoop (light blue shaped like a fish-head) and Cherry scoop (yellow with a cherry on it) gives you bonus points; +250 for the Fish and +100 for the Cherry. A little goes a long way, so be sure to collect those bonuses whenever you can!

The ‘helper’ scoops are all different; the Strawberry Bomb, for instance, (a dark red scoop with a fizzing end like dynamite) instantly clears the screen of all scoops. It’s almost like restarting a level, but not! It’s very handy if you’re boxed in (surrounded by scoops with no room to escape), but there’s no need to get this scoop if you’re simply cruising along. The Shield scoop (grey with a shield on it -- oh, the creativity!) is very useful; it provides a temporary shield around you that will prevent all regular scoops from hitting you. The shield surrounds you in a blue bubble, which turns red when it is about to run out. You can still collect bonuses, extra lives, etc when you are on the shield.

The minimize/maximize scoops change the size of Adee -- the minimize scoops are purple, and the maximize scoops are blue. The minimize scoops will make Adee smaller, which is useful seeing as you can maneuver Adee through tighter spots as the game becomes harder. The maximize scoops are bad, because the bigger you are, the more likely you are to hit an ice cream scoop and lose a life.

Throughout the game, it is possible to encounter many Minimize Scoops -- you will keep getting smaller and smaller with every scoop; it is even possible to completely disappear! (Fear not, if your Adee becomes so small she disappears, you can use your cursor as a guide.)

The plus scoops are green with a plus, and the minus scoops are red with a minus (bet you weren’t expecting that). These scoops speed up/slow down the rate that the ice cream is coming at you. Trying to decide whether these ‘speed’ scoops are good or bad is about as controversial as a debate about who started the Illusen-Jhudora feud. It is my humble duty to give you both the good and the bad of these scoops.

You can use the plus scoops to speed along the beginning levels so you don’t spend too much time dodging the strawberry scoops, which move about as fast as... something that doesn’t move very fast. In later levels like Tigersquash, the plus scoop is dangerous, so be careful!

I know what you’re thinking about the minus scoop -- why not get 10 of these, so the scoops will all move super slow and you can easily dodge them? Sadly, nothing in life is that simple xD The minus scoop slows down the rate of ice cream, but it also increases the chances of clumping. When ice cream clumps, it means that it is packed together in a way that makes escape impossible. You will eventually be boxed in on all sides by clumpy ice cream, and you will inevitably lose a life. Use the minus scoop at your peril!

And remember, never risk a life for a scoop, unless it is an Extra Life scoop!

Now that we’ve gone through the different scoops you will face in the levels, you now have to read about the levels! There are 13 levels in this game, all named after delectable flavors of ice cream.

Levels:

Strawberry - 25 scoops

Vanilla - 50 scoops

Chocolate - 75 scoops

Mint - 100 scoops

Blueberry - 125 scoops

Vanilla Chocolate Chip - 150 scoops

Strawberry Vanilla Chocolate - 175 scoops

Peach - 200 scoops

Vanilla Chocolate Swirl - 225 scoops

Double Chocolate - 250 scoops (I still get goosebumps when I reach this level; it's probably the hardest, in my opinion.)

Tigersquash - 275 scoops

Rainbowberry - 300 scoops

Garlicky Bratwurst - 325 scoops

Now, you’re probably looking at this and going: Tigersquash? Rainbowberry? Garlicky BRATWURST?! What the heck are those?! They are Neopian flavors, found nowhere else, so don’t try ordering them at an ice cream parlor. I’m not going to tell you what these last three levels look like; if the avatar this game can get you isn’t incentive enough, your curiosity will probably motivate you to keep practicing and get there. ;) (I know you’re dying to know what the Garlicky Bratwurst level looks like. I know you know. You know you know. You know that I know you know. Because... we know. Let's continue, shall we?)

Throughout the game, you’ll notice some random words flashing across the screen, like “Caramel Topping x2” which has to do with the scoops of ice cream. Some regular ice cream scoops have a topping drizzled on them, such as caramel, chocolate, etc. These have *nothing* to do with the game. The topping-scoops are just as deadly as the regular ones, so don’t be fooled! (The only reason the toppings matter will be explained below!)

Each ice cream scoop that goes whizzing past Adee is worth 5 points. A scoop with topping is worth 10 points; but both scoops and topping-scoops will cause you to lose a life, so stay away from them!

Sequence:

In Ice Cream Machine, the order of sequence is very important. Now, what is this so-called order? It’s, well, the order in which you get your special scoops.

If you are small, hitting an Extra Life, Strawberry Bomb, Shield, and any Bonuses (Cherry and Fish) will restore you back to your normal size, so I recommend that if you are on the higher levels (such as Double Chocolate Chip and above) to resist Shields, Strawberry Bombs, and Bonuses.

At this point, it gets a little confusing, but stay with me!

Just remember that when you are minimized, getting any sort of scoop will revert you back to your normal size. This is why some people totally ignore bonuses in levels like Tigersquash because they would prefer having a smaller size (which greatly increases the chance of getting further in the level.)

Of course, if you are faced with an Extra Life, you should go to all means to get it, of course! The most frustrating thing is when you try and get that Extra Life, but you actually lose a life trying to get to it. It’s all right – it happens, and it *will* happen to you, so just relax! And remember, the chance of extra lives is worth dying for!

Miscellaneous Tips, Secrets, and Advice:

Type “strawberryvanillachocolate” (without the quotation marks) at the beginning of the game to earn an Extra Life -- yeehaw!

If you wait three minutes before clicking to initiate the Strawberry level, the Phantom Orange Shirt Guy will appear like magic! :o You might have seen him around in other games, and he is rumored to be good luck. I’m sure you’ll recognize him, but if you want a description, he’s wearing an Orange Shirt (shocker!). Wait around for him, because you never know when a bit of luck can come in handy. ;)

Stay in the middle of the screen! I know what you’re thinking; most of the danger is in the middle of the screen. But I promise you that if you stay way in the far left/right corner, you are inevitably going to be boxed in by clumpy ice cream. Ew!

Don’t look away from the screen, no matter what! Even if you are on an easy level like Strawberry, it’s easy for an Extra Life scoop to go past you when you are distracted.

And speaking of distractions, try to minimize them! Turn off the Ice Cream Machine theme-song; it will hypnotize you, I say! Never play Ice Cream Machine when you’re in a rush or expecting a call.

By the time you get to the Tigersquash level, you’re not going to have *time* to look for bonuses; concentrate mainly on Adee. If you see a Shield or Extra Life scoop, try and go for it, but the main focus should be on Adee!

Especially during the Tigersquash level, it is VERY easy for Extra Lives to blend in with the Tigersquash (they have similar coloring, believe it or not). So be careful about what scoop you aim to get! Even in the Strawberry level, regular scoops can be mistaken for Extra Lives if you’re not careful!

This next tip obviously differs on the type of person that you are, but I find that when Adee is minimized, it makes it easier to get through the game (because a smaller Adee can maneuver easily through tighter spaces). If you are like me, try and get those Minimize Scoops whenever possible!

Never risk Adee’s lives for a Cherry or Fish bonus! Usually, simply getting through that level will earn you more points than losing a life trying to get that tricky bonus. (This is repeated for emphasis - seriously people, don't do it xD.)

Now, the time has come to reveal the knowledge of the highly secret, phantasmagorical Phantom Orange Shirt Guy Scoop! I’ve already told you about the good luck guy that pops up on your screen after three minutes, but there is also such a thing as the Phantom Orange Shirt Guy *Scoop*. This Scoop flies at you when you’re least expecting it; I play Ice Cream Machine three times a day every day I’m online, and I’ve only seen the scoop once. If you do happen to see that scoop, GET IT AT ALL COSTS! It’s even more valuable than an Extra Life; if you get this scoop, it gives you +1000 bonus points -- and that’s huge! This Scoop is bizarrely shaped with the Phantom Orange Guy’s face on it. Trust me, it’ll stick out.

The last thing I can tell you is to make wise choices. Even I, sadly, cannot tell you everything you need to do in order to get this avatar. Remember to have fun! Ice Cream Machine is a fun, sometimes frustrating game that will take a bit of time to get. Don’t despair! I used to never get past Double Chocolate Chip (I still gulp whenever I roll around to that level) but now, I almost always finish Garlicky Bratwurst, and my High Score is 18,115! ^-^ So it *is* possible. :D Get some fun music playing in the background, maybe a little ice cream to eat between levels, and get dodging!

Author’s Note: MERRRRYYY CHRISTMAS!! *jumpjumpjumps for joy* And if you're wondering why I wrote about ice cream in winter... it’s because it's 90 degrees in Hawaii xD This one's for Omneo - OM NOM NOM! Melekalikimaka me ka Hau’oli Makahiki Hou -- Merry Christmas and all that jazz 8D

 
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