Destruct-O-Match III Guide

You're trying to clear the level of all the blocks. You are not timed so don't rush! This game is great because you can just go to the bathroom and not lose.

Anyway. In the classic version (which you should be playing to get more points) you double-click on sections in which two or more blocks of the same color are touching (not diagonally). If the section has up to four blocks in it, you get that point value (1 point for 1 block, etc). If it has more than that, you get additional points. A section with around 25 blocks can get you more than 100 points. So basically you're trying to hook up sections of the most amount possible to get points. You've got to get the required points (100 the first level, goes up by 20 each level, 240 by the time you'd probably lose) in each level in order to not lose.

If you clear almost all of the blocks, you get a bonus: 100 points for no blocks left, down to 10 points with 9 block left and 0 for 10 blocks or more left.

POWERUPS

Explode (looks like a volcano): If you single click on this, all the blocks all around this (including diagonals) disappear. However you only get the one point for getting the Explode.

Leave this one to the end so you can get rid of any pesky last blocks.

Overkill (looks like a paintbrush or a magnifying glass): If you get rid of this block normally (by double clicking on it if it touches any other block of the same color), it also gets rid of all the other blocks of this color.

Be warned! You do not get points for getting rid of the additional blocks through this manner, just points for the chain with the Overkill block attached.

Unless I have a clear bunch that I can make into a really long chain, I use this one near the beginning. I get rid of all other blocks of its color that I can then use it just to make the board a little easier to deal with.

Shuffle (looks like a Scorchio): Get rid of this in the normal way and you get the rearrange powerup.

This is not used immediately! If you look on the bottom, there are two blocks, with faded out images of a animal (Grarrl) footprint and a bird-dinosaur (Scorchio) footprint. If you get this power up, the Scorchio footprint will get unfaded, which means you have it to use at any time (even if you finish the level and you go onto the next one). If you get the powerup again even though you haven't used an existing one, it stays, but you can only use it once. So you basically wasted one.

What it does is you click on the little footprint thing, and it rearranges the board. What I do is when I'm pretty much done, I leave one move left (otherwise it just goes onto the next level; the volcano works excellent as this one move if you have one) then click the Scorchio footprint. This rearranges the whole board. Hopefully this gives you a better layout in which you can get a few more blocks.

Only use this if necessary or if you are confident you can beat the next level without it! In the first few levels, use it as needed as said above so that you can clear the board for the bonus. However, the requirements of 200, 220, and 240 may be hard to meet, and if you don't meet it, game over. If you are at the level with the 200 req and you get one of these powerups, and you don't need it to finish the level (as in you already have 200 points, if not, by all means use it), consider saving it for the next level. It may save your life (or your game).

Undo: Looks like a green Grarrl head. This is a powerup acquired and executed similarly to the Scorchio. Get it by getting rid of its block the normal way, and the left stone at the bottom with the animal footprint becomes unfaded. At any time, including future levels, you can use it.

What it does is it takes back your last move. You shouldn't need it if you're not careless. So if you make a move and it messes up your huge chain, just use it and it will take it back. It does not work if that move included a powerup; such as using the volcano or the paintbrush.

Timer: This is a little countdown block. You won't see it as the blocks fall, so once they're finished falling, scan the board for the Timer block just in case. You might miss it, and if it times out, it and any blocks of the same color touching it turn into an indestructable block, which you can't get rid of unless you bomb it with the volcano. Just get rid of it the normal way, by connecting blocks of the same color to it and double clicking.

WildCard: This looks like two asparaguses (asparagi?) crossed. This acts as a wild card; it can be anything. It's almost impossible to save, for if you have a chain and you get rid of it and this one is touching, it goes along too. What you do to use it is double click on any block near it. A single block works too since the wild card acts as the second.

Morph: This is similar to the wild card. It rotates between all of the colors, so essentially you can attach it to any chain. You can click on either it or the blocks surrounding it as long as they and the color it is at the moment make a chain of two or more.

Nine times out of ten, leave this to the end! Since it can be used as any block, it is very useful for cleaning up those loner blocks at the end. The way you do that is if you're making a chain, and this one is attached because of the color it is at the moment, wait until it changes color to something else before getting rid of it. Obviously if it's the one block connecting two parts of a huge chain, discount that. Also, if you use the Overkill block, make sure this is a different color or it will clear this one too.

Warning: This does not count as a "move". If you're at the end of the game, and you have no more blocks of the same color touching, but you still have the changing block which can be used with any of the blocks near it, the game does not count this as a move, and ends the level. Leave some other two-block combination or the volcano to be your last move.

Fill: This one looks like three little white blocks, in a tiny pyramid. If you get rid of this in the normal way, it adds another row of blocks to the top. If a column is already to the very top, it will not add any blocks to that.

This can be seen as a detriment, but in fact sometimes it's a good thing! If you leave it to the very end to use, it can give you free points. What it does is it takes the colors of the blocks currently on the screen, and those are the colors of the blocks that fall. So if you have only one color left on the screen, it just gives you a whole row of that color and you can easily get rid of them all in one click. Obviously, if you have some huge chain that it is a vital part of, don't leave it to the end.

Multiplier: Looks like three maracas. Or chicken drumsticks. You don't get this until level three (the one with 140 requirement). It's still chance, though; you might not get it at level three. This is the most important block if you're trying to get a high score, because it provides you with vital points.

If this block is part of a chain, you will get 3 times the amount of points for the whole chain as you'd get normally. So if you make one of those 100+ point winning chains, that's 300+ points right there, which is essential for a good score.

If you get this and there's a prospect of a chain, get to working on that first and try to make it as big as possible. If there's only a couple of its color that you could get to touch it, try playing the game normally, omitting getting rid of any blocks of its color. Then when you're done, you should have a large percentage of blocks of its color. Use the Scorchio powerup and hopefully if you're lucky now you have a good chain with the 3 times thing. If you don't have Scorchio, you're out of luck.

STRATEGY!

levels one & two

These are very easy. For both of these, you must make a huge chain that gets you at least 80-100 points or so. At the beginning of the level, evaluate where there is the biggest existing chain or which color is predominant. Then connect others of the same color to it. Once it's big, every block counts, because big ones earn more points per block.

If this isn't obvious, you move blocks by getting rid of blocks underneath the one you want to move. You get rid of a row of blocks; it moves one row down. If your chain is down low and you want to move a piece down, get rid of multiple blocks underneath it. Make sure you check first and make sure it will connect; otherwise, it's pointless. If the chain is high, see if you can get rid of stuff under the whole chain so you can move it down.

Also, if you get rid of an entire column, the whole thing slides together so that the columns that were on either side are now touching. If you can pull that off, that can be a major help to connecting parts of a chain.

It can be a pain, but as much as you can, check what the effects will be before you get rid of something. You might accidentally mess up everything. You can also only single click to make the blocks fade out, which helps you see if you got everything you wanted to.

Try to get these points by the end of the level. This is pretty mandatory for the first two levels since it's not a huge deal to just start over. It really isn't that hard to meet if you make one big chain and get the bonus.

level one:

must have: 100+ points

should have: 300+ points (this is easy)

level two:

must have: 120+ points (for the level)

should have: 600+ points (cumulative, harder to meet)

levels three & four

Introduction of the yellow blocks, which makes it harder. Also, there are more blocks on the screen. If you get the 3x powerup this level, grats! It's still pretty easy to play this and you should be able to hook up a good chain to it, getting you some nice points.

You most probably won't clear the level this time. Still, try to at least get some bonus. You should make a chain, even if it's not huge.

level three:

must have: 140+ points (for the level)

should have: 850+ points (cumulative)

level four

must have: 160+ points

should have: 1250+ points

Yes, this is a lot! The point is that in either level 3 or 4, you should have made a chain with the 3x block. That gets you enough points to meet this. If you didn't, start over. It will be extremely difficult to do well in the game.

levels five and six

If you've noticed, every two levels, they introduce a new color. Which makes it harder to make chains, as well as you have a harder requirement. So the levels are getting harder exponentially instead of linearly, if you know what I mean. This time the new block is a dark blue-ish one.

You won't be able to make a good chain. Unless you're really lucky. Try making two or three decent ones. Hopefully, you have a Scorchio powerup you can use at the end to rearrange and get some last things.

level five:

must have: 180+ points

should have: 1600+ points

level six:

must have: 200+ points (this is where you start having trouble meeting the limit)

should have: 1900+ points

levels seven and eight

It's hard to get past level eight. You'd have to be really really lucky to do that. However, if you get lucky with 3x bonuses, you shouldn't have to. Try to get lucky with points in the earlier levels so that you'll get the a good score at level eight, maybe completing it and getting a few more points at level nine. Judging by the trophy scores, level nine seems pretty impossible to beat.

The red block is introduced. Do your very best to get all the points you can get, and hook up the biggest chains you can! The requirement for passing this level is hard to meet now, so every point counts. Sometimes you get very close, like 15 points off, and lose. Make sure you don't miss anything you could have done, and use your Undo powerup if you do.

level seven:

must have: 220+ points (hard)

should have: 2150+ points

level eight:

must have: 240+ points (very hard)

should have: 2400+ points

If you can get farther, good luck to you!