(thump, thump...is this thing on? ok, good. here is the...) __ __ __ .___ ___. __ .__ __. _______ _____ | | | | | | | \/ | | | | \ | | | ____| / | | | | | | | | \ / | | | | \| | | |__ | (-- | | | | | | | |\/| | | | | . ` | | __ \ \ | `----.| `--' | | | | | | | | |\ | | |____. ---) | |_______| \______/ |__| |__| |__| |__| \__| |_______| |_____/ .______ __ ______ ______ __ ___ | _ \ | | / __ \ / || |/ / | |_) | | | | | | | | ,----'| ' / | _ < | | | | | | | | | < | |_) | | `----.| `--' | | `----.| . \ |______/ |_______| \______/ \______||__|\__\ _______ ___ ______ | ____| / \ / __ \ | |__ / ^ \ | | | | __| / /_\ \ | | | | | | / _____ \ | `--' '-- |__| /__/ \__\ \_____\_____\ or, Way more than you wanted to know about maximizing your score By G-MasterFlash trashmail@columbus.rr.com Copyright: 2005 Grant Parsons This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Index ----- 0. Intro ("Lumines" pronunciation and some terminology) 1. Block basics (What kinds of blocks there are) 2. Game mechanics (How the game works) 3. General tips for placing blocks (The five key rules) 4. Combos and the time line (When to hold 'em, when to drop) 5. Destroyer square strategies (Get the most from the rare square) 6. Block frequency (How often each appears; what that means) 7. Block strategies (How to handle the trickier blocks) 8. The phases of the game (One game, three phases, three strategies) 9. The pause button (Panicked? Use the pause that refreshes) 10. An aside (Comparing Lumines to Tetris) 11. Time Attack Mode (Making the most of combos and throwing blocks) 12. Puzzle mode and solutions (A few tips and a lot of solutions) 13. What's coming in future editions of this FAQ (What's coming) 13. Thanks (Thanks) 14. Copyright notice (In case you didn't read the one above) -------------------------------------------------------------------- 0. Intro -------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, three important things first: Thing No. 1: The name of this game is promounced "loo men-ESS," the same way that "luminous" or "luminese" is promounced. How do we know? That's how the game's creator, Tetsuya Mizuguchi,says it in the clips found at the Official Playstation Magazine website (thanks, guys!): http://psp.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3134877 The vids are at toward the bottom of the page. Personally, I find this pronounciation odd, as the spelling would suggest that it would be pronounced similarly to "anime"--an-eh-MAY. Another, equally odd option that also isn't correct, is LOO-mines. But hey, whether I (or you) think it's odd, the correct way to say it, as per the guy who created it, is "Lumin-ESS." Go figure ;-) Here's another take on why it's pronounced the way it is, courtesy of Daryl Cooper, who apparently knows Kanji. Quite interesting.. I'm just reading your Lumines FAQ - really good info there! I read the section about the pronounciation - and I thought you might be interested to hear the explaination as to why it is pronounced lumin-ess The reason is Japanese Katakana pronounciation. I live in Tokyo, and am learning japanese. One thing that you notice a lot of when you live here is that english words are greatly simplified - to the extent sometimes that totally different words in english have the same pronounciation. This is because when they are written in Katakana (the japanese character set for writing forign words) there are only a limited number of sounds - and these sounds only approximate english! For example the japanese pronounciation for the name VLAD will also be the same for BRAD, (actually it will be prounced bu-ra-do). The same reson stands for lumines. Japanese read english, as katakana sounds, so lumines will be read as RU-MI-NE-SU. In Japanese, if a word ends in 'U' (like ru, or su) the u sound is usually dropped. thus ru-mi-ne-ss or lumin-ess. The ru sound is actually somewhere between the english sounds for L and R, so kinda sounds wrong most of the time... Anyway, hope this makes some sense! Daryl Thanks, Daryl--actually, it does make sense, and as a fan of most things Japanese, including Pocari Sweat (and, to a lesser extent, Death Chips), I appreciate you sending this along! ------ Thing No. 2: If you put Lumines to sleep and come back later to finish your game, (and sometimes when you don't) when you finish that game with a high score, it will ask you if you want to "load" a profile. SAY NO! It may be counter-intuitive, but you want to decline loading a profile if you'd rather save a high score. _After_ you decline the first question, Lumines asks if you want to save. Here is where you say yes. I don't know how many times I've screwed this up. It really, really blows if you do this after getting some unobtainium skin or two, and don't save it because you answer a game query out of reflex. Don't ask me how I know. The key here is that the same questions don't come in the same order every time. The thing to remember? Any time the game asks you a question, read it and think carefully. Your saved skins may hang in the balance! ;-) ------ Thing No. 3: In this FAQ, a "block" is this size... ----- | | | | | | |--+--| | | | | | | ----- ..and a "square" is one-fourth of a block, or one of these things... -- | | | | -- Got it? Cool. Where to start reading this FAQ: -------------------------------- If you've played Lumines for longer than about 20 minutes and are looking for some general strategies, you can skip Block Basics, (which is interesting mainly from a mathematical perspective), and... ..You can also skip Game Mechanics, which will be fairly old hat to you, so... Jump straight to section 3. And, If you're coming here because you're stuck on the puzzle solutions, you will probably never even see this graf, because you've already don't a CNTL-F and searched for "Clear All x2). But if you've been dutiful enough to read this far, I am truly flattered. Please skip to Section 12, and find peace, my brother ;-) However... If you've never played Lumines before,or you're looking for a deeper understanding of the game, start reading here. 1. Block basics -------------------------------------------------------------------- The whole game is built around a mere six blocks: _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ | | | |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | |XX|XX| | | | |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | |XX|XX| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| | | | | | | |XX| | | |XX| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| | | | | | | |XX| | | |XX| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- blankey oney twoey deuce trey quad However, when you rotate them, they can become other unique blocks. So technically, there are more unique blocks in the game than five; they just happen to be the five original blocks in different orientations. A blankey doesn't change when it rotates, so it's: 1 block _____ | | | | | | |--+--| | | | | | | ----- A oney changes four times when it rotates, so it's: 4 blocks _____ _____ _____ _____ |XX| | | | | | | | | |XX| |XX| | | | | | | | | |XX| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| | | | |XX| | | |XX| | | | | | | |XX| | | |XX| | | | ----- ----- ----- ----- A twoey changes four times when it rotates, so it's: 4 blocks _____ _____ _____ _____ |XX| | | | | | |XX| |XX|XX| |XX| | | | | | |XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| |XX| | |XX|XX| | |XX| | | | |XX| | |XX|XX| | |XX| | | | ----- ----- ----- ----- A deuce changes two times when it rotates, so it's: 2 blocks _____ _____ |XX| | | |XX| |XX| | | |XX| |--+--| |--+--| | |XX| |XX| | | |XX| |XX| | ----- ----- A trey changes four times when it rotates, so it's: 4 blocks _____ _____ _____ _____ |XX| | | |XX| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |XX| | | |XX| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| | |XX| |XX| | |XX|XX| |XX|XX| | |XX| |XX| | ----- ----- ----- ----- A quad doesn't change when it rotates, so it's: 1 block _____ |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- _________ Therefore, those five original blocks actually equal: 16 blocks As it turns out, this is entirely predictable when you have a block made up of four squares, and you try as many combinations as possible. 4x4 = 4(squared) = 16. Math lesson over ;-) 2. Game mechanics -------------------------------------------------------------------- Lumines plays very simply, and anyone can figure out the rules by playing for about two minutes. Mastering the game and doing well, that's a whole 'nother thing. Here's the rules, for the sake of FAQ completeness, more than anything...: A. You drop a block into the grid. B. The block drops until it hits something (either another block or the "floor," then stops. C. If only part of a block (two vertical squares) hits something, the rest of the block (the remaining two vertical squares) keep falling until they hit something (either another square or the "floor"). D. If any of the falling squares come to rest creating a solid block or rectangle (either colored or white/clear), that block deletes when the "time line," which sweeps the grid from right to left, crosses over it. (The time line gets its name from a simliar bar in a music sequencer, I read somewhere on the net (uncredited, sorry!). E. If, before the timeline arrives, you manage to pile on more squres that make even more rectangles out of your original rectangle, you get mondo pointage. I think the points are multiplied by the number of squares formed. F. If you make a block with a special square that occasionally appears contaning a contrasting dot, (called in this faq a "destroyer") every square of the same color that's touching the destroyer either horizontally or vertically (not diagonally) disappears,too, and you get mondo pointage - and a lot more space to work with. G. Fill up the screen so you can't drop blocks = game over. 3. General tips for placing blocks -------------------------------------------------------------------- Think leftovers... Before we talk about the main focus of this game--making rectangles of like-colored blocks--let's first consider something much more important to your long-term survival in Lumines... What's left behind when you make those wonderful like-colored blocks? Consider the following. It happens to be a very good technique in its own right -- the best for getting rid of a leftover "nub" (one square sticking up with nothing surrounding it). It, in fact, makes you a "delete" and gets you pointage. But it also leaves something behind, which many (but not all) dropped blocks will do. Trey deletes nub ---------------- _____ |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| <--this block falls on the nub below, |XX|XX| and the nub pushes up the two right |XX|XX| squares, while the two left squares ----- finish falling to the floor... || +--+ || | | \/ ..creating __|__| ...which leaves this... |XX|XX| this... ...after |XX|XX| the like- __ |--+--| --- colored block |XX| =======> |XX|XX| ====> ==> | | deletes. |XX| |XX|XX| | | ---+--+- -+--+--+- -+---+- You get the delete, and the pointage that goes with it, but you're left with another nub. Of course,if you drop a contrasting trey on it you get another delete, and the pointage that goes with _it._ But you're left with another nub, and...well, you get the idea. In fact, it's not a bad strategy to park a nub out somewhere that you can use to get rid of treys, if that's your style. But we're getting ahead of things here. The main point to be learned here is that a lot of the time, dropping blocks may get you deletes, which in turn gets you points. But the act of dropping also leaves squares behind. It's how you manage those squares left behind--both in terms of how you make them, and how you endeavor to get rid of them--that will dictate your long-term survival, and, ergo, how high your score gets, and how many of those precious skins you unlock. So, here's two points worth remembering: A. Deleting blocks gets you points; and, B. Managing leftover blocks lets you survive longer To have ying, you must have yang. And that's the true balance of this game. Concentrate just on making blocks to delete, and you'll not last long. And if you concentrate just on leaving good stuff behind, you won't as high a score. But do both... ah, now that is the beauty. Ahem. Where was I? Oh, right. This brings me to the the cardinal rules of Lumines... Rule No. 1: Checkerboard bad ---------------------------- Repeat after me: "Checkerboard bad." This is your new mantra. What this means is that anytime you make deletes that produce a pattern like this... ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| | |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| | |--+--|--+--|--+--|--+--|--+--| | |XX| |XX| XX| |XX| |XX| | |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ..or the vertical equivalent that looks like this... ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- ...you will have a difficult time getting rid of those blocks. Why? Since only rectangles of like-colored blocks can be deleted, you cannot add anything to this pattern from above that creates a delete. Strange but, as my kid says, "oddly true." At best, you can only start over using the top of this row as the new "floor." Bummer is you're that much closer to the top of the grid, and, ergo, the end of the game. If you've been unfortunate enough to create this pattern, your only hope to delete part of it is to get a destroyer bock. Use a destroyer and create a square on top of this pattern, and you'll be lucky enough to create a one-square chink in it, which you could theoretically use to start the laborious work of slowly getting rid of the whole "new floor." If you're super-good, you could build an elaborate chain connected to the destroyer (something covered later in this FAQ) to delete more than one like-colored square. But that's a lot of work. Better to not get yourself in this position in the first place. Luckily, there is a corollary to "checkerboard bad," and it is: Rule No. 2: Pairs good ---------------------- Repeat after me: "Pairs good." This is your new complementary mantra. Ideally, as you create deletes, you want to be creating a pattern that looks like this.. ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- |XX|XX| | |XX|XX| | |XX|XX| |XX|XX| | |XX|XX| | |XX|XX| |--+--|--+--|--+--|--+--|--+--| | | |XX|XX| | |XX|XX| | | | | |XX|XX| | |XX|XX| | | ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ...or the vertical equivalent that looks like this... ----- | | | | | | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- | | | | | | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- | | | | | | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- | | | | | | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- These are better, because you could drop a twoey that looks like this... _____ ----- | | | |XX|XX| | | | |XX|XX| |--+--| ...or this... |--+--| |XX|XX| | | | |XX|XX| | | | ----- ----- ..or even a trey or oney that looks like this... _____ ----- |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| ...or this... |--+--| |XX|XX| | | | |XX|XX| | | | ----- ----- ... or even a blankey or quad that looks like this... _____ ----- | | | |XX|XX| | | | |XX|XX| |--+--| ...or this... |--+--| | | | |XX|XX| | | | |XX|XX| ----- ----- ...and produce deletes. Even cooler, in some cases (twoey) the leftovers would delete the pair below them. Pretty cool, huh? Clearly, then, pairs good. (This has been true in one way or another throughout the history of recorded time. But i digress...) All this brings us to... Rule No. 3: Think first, drop second ------------------------------------ Before you drop a block, take a split-second to ask yourself this question: Will your leftovers leave a checkerboard, or a pair? If it's a pair, huzzah! A checkerboard? You can probably do better. (Assuming you have time, which is a big assumption.) Which brings us to... Rule No. 4: Drop blocks ----------------------- This is the one you've been waiting for: Create like-colored deletes with falling blocks. Wierd, huh? Isn't this crazy?: Only after everything you've read so far, is it _really_ safe to drop a block. Odd that a game so focused on the seemingly simple act of dropping blocks would require you to take so much in consideration before actually dropping a block. That is the genius of this game. It really is deep as heck. Hats off to the dudes who came up with it. These first rules only scratch the surface. Rule No. 5: If all else fails, do no harm ----------------------------------------- If all else fails, and you can't find anywhere to drop a block that makes any sense to your overall strategy, then drop it so that it makes at least a pair. Ideally, this pair will be horizontally, so it can be most easily gotten rid of. But in a pinch, a vertical pair isn't bad, either, since you will at least have a fighting chance of getting rid of it. Remember, if you can't get rid of it quickly, chances are good that if you follow all the rules and strategies in this FAQ, you'll have the opportunity to get rid of it later. 4. Combos and time line strategies -------------------------------------------------------------------- When you create at block of at least four like-colored squares, it will glow until the timeline hits it, at which point it will become a delete, and everything above it (if anything) will drop down. While the block is glowing, any other two like-colored squares you can drop on it or beside it will up your score. Pretty much any two or more squares you can get to touch the square will make more squares, so it pays to have as much time as possible in which to build combos. To get the max time, wait until the timeline has just passed the area in question before you create the glowing delete. Sometimes, this will mean you have to drop the block with the down arrow, to speed things up. Other times you'll be waiting for the line to clear before dropping. Either works. Combos really do up your score, so it pays to throw blocks with like- colored squares at glowing deletes like a madman. The downside is that if you don't think much while you're doing it, you could be building yourself quite a mess to dig out of. Again, that's part of the fun balance of the game. You must always be thinking, and risk gets you reward--or makes a mess. One last key rule about the time line. Never create a delete when the timeline is in the middle of it. Do that, and only the part of the delete to the right of the time line will be destroyed. The part to the left will remain. Usually, this is a bummer (though at times it's an advanced technique that can aid you if you're daring enough to try to use half-deleted blocks in your overall strategy; it's also a boon in the 2x puzzles--see puzzle section below). <-- Boy, that's a long parenthetical statement ;-) 5. Destroyer square strategies -------------------------------------------------------------------- Destroyer squares are those tiny squares with the contrasting colored blocks inside them. Any like-colored squares touching that square horizontally or vertically--and any like-colored square touching those squares--will all disappear when the destroyer deletes with a block. According to my frequency checks, destroyers come along about every 36 blocks, give or take, which isn't very often. So use them to the fullest. It's tough to think ahead, especially when you're first starting, but it's important to keep at least part of your attention on the blocks that are coming up--the three on the left part of the screen that move up when your dropped block moves down. The block at the top of the three is the one that will appear atop the grid next. This way, you can see a destroyer squares three blocks before it comes into play, giving you time to plan. There are three key points to using destroyer blocks. A. Don't just make a block; think. If you use a destroyer square to just make a single delete, and nothing else is deleted, you get no benefit from the destoyer. B. You can drop a destoyer square into the best position avalable to make a delete, and hope that you take out as many extra like- colored squares as possible. This is better than "A," but not the best use of a destoyer. C. The best way to use a destoyer is to drop it so that it doesn't immediately disappear, but can be completed into a delete easily. Then use new blocks to link existing and new like-colored squares together, and tie them back to the destoyer's soon-to-be deleted block. Then, when you delete the destoyer, everything else goes, too. This is actually great fun, and it's possible, with a bit of planning, to have a destoyer "snake" that goes from one side of the grid to the other, and when it all deletes, it's great fun and gets you extra points. The downside to this strategy, of course, is that you can make ridiculously long snakes, and then screw up deleting the destroyer, which leaves you with something that's really tough to get rid of. Yin, meet yang; yang, yin. 6. Block Frequency -------------------------------------------------------------------- In game mode, blocks drop "somewhat" randomly--the order in which they show up is never the same twice. (The same is true in many, though not all, of the levels in puzzle mode.) I say "somewhat," however, because some blocks show up more often than others. I've recorded the blocks that appear over several games, then averaged the results. Here's what I've come up with... _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ | | | |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | |XX|XX| | | | |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | |XX|XX| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| |--+--| | | | | | | |XX| | | |XX| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| | | | | | | |XX| | | |XX| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- blankey oney twoey deuce trey quad 6.3% 25.1% 21.5% 14.5% 25.1% 6.3% Among the games I sampled, the numbers were generally the same, though from game to game the percentage of a given block could fluctuate a point or two. I think it's accurate enough for general use. ---Note added 4/25/05: Two people who read earlier versions of this FAQ, Todd Salerno and Carl2, both looked at the figures above and saw something different. Apparently being number guys, they noted that the numbers I got were very close to what you'd get if the 16 blocks (in section 1) were randomized, as opposed to the way I did this, which was looking at it in terms of six blocks. Confused? Here's how Todd explained it (which is very close to how Carl explained it, as well): >it seems to me rather likely that the game randomizes for each >unique orientation. 100% divided by 16 = 6.25%, so it's probably >close to: > >blankey: 1 x 6.25% = 6.25% >oney: 4 x 6.25% = 25% >twoey: 4 x 6.25% = 25% >deuce: 2 x 6.25% = 12.5% >trey: 4 x 6.25% = 25% >quad: 1 x 6.25% = 6.25% > >...your numbers seem close enough to these mathematical ideals to >make me think that they would regress to the mean with a >large enough sample. It took me about two seconds to see that Carl and Todd must be right, as well. (Meaning that, in fact, both sets of frequency numbers are right; they're just arrived at from two different directions.) It only makes sense, actually. What's really neat, though, is that this second way of looking at block frequency only makes me have more respect for the developers of Lumines. Why? Simple... If this is true--and it seems quite likely--then the game is made "pure," meaning that the blocks are fully random, and the order you get them hasn't been "tweaked" for the sake of either difficulty or ease. The developers realized there were 16 blocks, so they randomized all 16. Pretty neat, really. OK, so I lied about the math lesson being over above. _Now_ it's over. ;-) ---End note added 4/24/05 Of course, since they're random, they don't drop in the same order every time, and it's entirely possible to get several of the same blocks dropping one after another, which is rather maddening if you don't have a stragegy for them. From these percentages, you can divine a few things worth considering. A. Taken togeher, Oneys and Treys make up more than half of the blocks dropped. If you're not adept at handling them, you'll have a hard time. (See "Strategies for Oneys and Treys," below) B. Twoeys are the second largest group, but they're relatively easy to deal with since making pairs with them isn't too tough--if you've been following the rule "pairs good" above. C. Deuces are the next largest group, and they're a bit tricky, too (see "Strategies for Deuces," below). 7. Block strategies -------------------------------------------------------------------- The way to get high scores in Lumines is to employ several block strategies at once, balancing each against each other in a dynamic, ever-changing environment. A. Special Strategies for Oneys and Treys There are two good ways to get rid of treys and oneys, which are the same piece but reversed. 1). Slicing Look for a lone square that is the same color as the majority of the oney or trey, and position the block above it, so the one, off- colored square is directly above it. This can be done to squares that are sitting by themselves, like this... ----- | |XX| | |XX| |--+--| | | | | | | ----- -- | | | | ----+--+------ ...or part of a string, like this... ----- | |XX| | |XX| |--+--| | | | | | | ----- -- -- -- -- | |XX|XX|XX| | |XX|XX|XX| ----+--+--+--+--+----- The end result will be that you create a delete, and leave the sheared- off single color behind. If you don't have any nubs, you can use another technique, called... 2) Double slicing Similar to slicing, only done with blocks that are two squares high... ----- | |XX| | |XX| |--+--| | | | | | | ----- -- -- -- -- | |XX|XX|XX| | |XX|XX|XX| -- -- -- -- | |XX|XX|XX| | |XX|XX|XX| ----+--+--+--+--+----- Note that when doing this, you can have the off-colored square in a position like above, or like this... ----- | | | | | | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- -- -- -- -- | |XX|XX|XX| | |XX|XX|XX| -- -- -- -- | |XX|XX|XX| | |XX|XX|XX| ----+--+--+--+--+----- Either one may have an advantage over the other, depending on what's around it. Remember, "pairs good." Scan and think before placing. If you don't have blocks in the above configurations, you could... 3) Build with the blocks themselves Aim to produce this... _____ _____ |XX| || |XX| |XX| || |XX| |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX|XX||XX|XX| ----- ----- ...which can be gotten rid of pretty obviously with this... ----- |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| | | | | | | ----- _____ _____ |XX| || |XX| |XX| || |XX| |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX|XX||XX|XX| ----- ----- ...in two passes of the time line. B. Strategies for Deuces Deuces can be tricky because they are part of the dreaded checkerboard that you don't want to be building. Instead, aim to produce patterns like this... _____ _____ |XX| || |XX| | | || |XX| |--+--||--+--| | |XX||XX| | | |XX||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ | |XX||XX| | | |XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX| || |XX| |XX| || |XX| ----- ----- ..which, in two passes of the timeline, become this... __ __ |XX| |XX| | | |XX| |--+ +--| | | | | |__| |__| | | | | | | | | |--+ +--| |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| ------------ ...which can be deleted with this, with another two passes of the timeline... ----- |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| | | | | | | ----- ----- | | | | | | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- __ __ |XX| |XX| | | |XX| |--+ +--| | | | | |__| |__| | | | | | | | | |--+ +--| |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| ------------ Another technique for deuces Another useful technique for deuces is to create a five-square-wide area on the right side of the 16-square grid, that you set aside for the sole purpse of getting rid of deuces--and only deuces. (The right side is the best place so you can keep an eye on the time line, something that is important with this strategy). Interested? Do it this way: One of the five squares is left blank to separate the rest of the grid from the area used for deuces. On the larger part of the grid, deal with chaos the same way you usually do, effectively managing leftovers, creating deletes and concentrating on making at least pairs when you can't make anything else. Then in the special area you set aside to get rid of deuces, build the same pattern as above, but use only deuces to get rid of it, like this... ----- ----- |XX| || |XX| |XX| || |XX| |--+--||--+--| | |XX||XX| | | |XX||XX| | ----- ----- ----- ----- | |XX||XX| | | |XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX| || |XX| |XX| || |XX| ------------ ..which deletes the block in the middle to create this... -- -- |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| |--+ +--| | | | | | | | | -- -- ----- ----- | | || | | | | || | | |--+--||--+--| |XX| || |XX| |XX| || |XX| ------------ ...which deletes the block in the center bottom to create this... -- -- |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| |--+ +--| | | | | | | | | -- -- -- -- | | | | | | | | |--+ +--| |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| ------------- ...then, when the next deuce comes up, drop it in like this... _____ | |XX| | |XX| |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | ----- -- -- |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| |--+ +--| | | | | | | | | -- -- -- -- | | | | | | | | |--+ +--| |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| ------------- ...which creates this.... -- -- |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| |--+ +--| | | | | | | | | -- -- ----- ----- | | ||XX| | | | ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX|| |XX| |XX|XX|| |XX| ------------ ...into which you drop your next deuce, thusly... _____ |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- -- -- |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| |--+ +--| | | | | | | | | -- -- ----- ----- | | ||XX| | | | ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX|| |XX| |XX|XX|| |XX| ------------ ...which produces this... ----- ----- |XX|XX|| |XX| |XX|XX|| |XX| |--+--||--+--| | | ||XX| | | | ||XX| | ----- ----- ----- ----- | | ||XX| | | | ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX|| |XX| |XX|XX|| |XX| ------------ ...which (hold on, end is coming) deletes the block in the middle left, to produce this... ----- | |XX| | |XX| |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | ----- ----- ----- |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX|| |XX| |XX|XX|| |XX| ------------ ...which deletes the block on the lower left to produce this... ----- | |XX| | |XX| |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | ----- ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| --------------- Which astute observers will realize is the right two blocks that allow you to start building the pattern again. A few tips about this technique.. 1. Destroyers can screw this up, so if you're using this technique and you get a deuce that contains a destroyer, drop it in your chaos area. You'll not only keep your deuce-destroying area pristine, but you'll get more points by using the destroyer to its fullest (see destroyer section below), as opposed to wasting it on deleting a four-square block. 2. If you make a delete in your deuce section when the time line is part of the way through the deuce sction, only part of the delete could be deleted. This is bad, and will screw up your deuce area. So, whenever you're dropping a deuce, pay particular attention to the time line. Drop only when you're sure that: a) You can drop before the timeline arrives at your four-square-wide deuce area, or, 2) Drop only after it has cleared 3. If you get too many deuces dropping in a row, drop them as you would if the inner or leftmost blocks had already deleted. Once the anticipated blocks delete, your pattern will restore and you can continue. 4. If you mess up the pattern, try to build a new "floor" and create the pattern again on top of it. Barring that, just keep playing. Imagine you're the piano player in a western saloon. Those dudes never stop playing, even when the gunfire breaks out. Neither should you. ;-) C. Strategies for towers Sooner or later, you'll have blocks stacked together forming towers, or empty space behind next to stacks of blocks. Either way, you have a tower space you need to get rid of. For these, your best bet will be to attack them from the bottom. Look at the bottom two squares and see what you'll need to match them with. If they're checkerboarded, like this.. ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- ...you're hosed. you can do anything with them. However, if they're like this.. ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | | | | | | ----- |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| | | | | | | ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- ...you've got a fighting chance. Drop something like this... ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | | | | | | ----- |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| | | | | | | ----- |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- ----- |XX|XX|XX|XX| |XX|XX|XX|XX| |--+--+--+--| | |XX|XX|XX| | |XX|XX|XX| ------------- ...and, well, you get the idea. 8. The phases of the game -------------------------------------------------------------------- It helps to think of a game of Lumines as several games, or phases, each with its own optimum strategy. A. The early phase. This encompasses the first few blocks, and the next few, if you're lucky enough to use them right. In this phase, you want to concentrate on both: 1) deleting all blocks of one color, which gets you pointage, or; 2) deleting all blocks on the screen entirely, which gets you even more mondo pointage. If you're skilled enough to do both these things a few times in the first 10 or so blocks, you'll "start" the game with several tens of thousands worth of points. To help with that, see below, in the section on Puzzle Mode, the solution to the "Clear All" puzzle. There's a technique to clear the screen of all blocks that will get your mind thinking right about how to do this. I've used similar techniques several times in the early parts of the game to build up lots of points before even starting the next phase, which is... B. The middle phase. This is the phase that lasts most of the game. If The early phase lasts maybe 30 seconds or a minute, the middle phase can last hours. In this phase, you want to put together everything you've learned playing Lumines, avoiding checkerboard, managing treys and oneys, and using time line tricks, combos and destoyers to pop your scores even higher. C. The last phase. This comes when the screen gets nearly full, and is a different length for different people. Depending on how well you handle the frantic activity of making squares under pressure, this can last either a few seconds or a few minutes. Here, there's not a lot of tricks to offer; your instincts and luck with either pull you through for a few extra points, or you'll go down fast. 9. The pause button -------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget that if things start getting too crazy, you can always pause the game by hitting the start button, and study the screen. 10. An aside -------------------------------------------------------------------- Interesting thought: Compare Lumines to Tetris. Tetris' complexity is actually fairly simple: Rotate different shapes and drop them to clear lines. In Tetris, leftovers can be dealt with from above, assuming you don't cap a hole with another falling shape. The challenge comes from the order in which the shapes fall, how fast they fall, and whether you can maneuver them to fill the spaces you've left yourself to deal with. And, of course, whether your feeble attempts only allow you to create holes you must cap later, requiring you to start over with a new floor. Tetris is genius, and I don't mean to suggest otherwise. It's particularly cool because its game concept is so simple it can be grasped by very young children. Yet it's compelling enough to hold the attention of people who society would consider adults, like me ;-). Contrast that to Lumines, whose main complexity is: Rotate versions of the same shape and drop them to clear blocks. The differences, basically, are that there are a lot more ways you can trip yourself up by not managing leftovers; you can do what the game asks you (create deletes) from the side, as well as the top, and there are some neat ways to be a hero with combos and destroyers. It's a bit more complex a game than Tetris, and a small child couldn't grasp it quite as quickly as Tetris. Personally, I don't think you could have Lumines in a world that didn't have Tetris first. I take that back: Of course you could. I guess what I mean is that you wouldn't be in a position to truly get caught up in a game of this complexity if Tetris hadn't made falling blocks seem so simple. At first, I had a hard time deciding which I preferred, Tetris or Lumines. I came to the early conclusion that both games' creators made magic with the technology and the player-receptiveness they had available to them at the time. And I still stand by that statement. And yet...... There are bigger--and more important--differences between the two games that kept gnawing at me, and made me ultimately decide that one of them is better than the other--for _me_, at least. One of those differences, in my mind, is that Lumines is more "pure" than Tetris. By this, I mean that more of the gameplay in Lumines revolves (pun intended) around using a single shape (a block) in as many ways as possible, and in as many facets of the game, as possible. In fact, the gameplay in Lumines is significantly enhanced by (not degraded by) the apparent simplicity of the recurring use of a single shape. The downside, if you'd call it that, and I wouldn't, is that the game is slightly more difficult to understand at first, mainly because it requires you to "see" negative shapes and create positive shapes within them. <-- wow, dude, that's deep! Think of it this way: The main symetry or "purity" of the original Tetris is that each block is made up of four squares, which is kinda cool in its own right. But beyond that, Tetris has been made "difficult" or "balanced" by the very artificial, non-random order in which the blocks fall. To oversimplify, you get, for example, far fewer blocks with four squares in a single line than you do any other type of block. In fact, you can significantly change the level of difficulty of Tetris by changing the artifically derived frequency that each block appears in the game--as anyone who has every coded a Tetris game for a class project can tell you. Lumines uses 16 different blocks (actually six blocks in 16 unique orientations), and drops them with equal frequency, which is in no way artifically tweaked. Me, I appreciate touches like that. The other big difference comes in how the two games approach the concept of increasing game difficulty in upper stages. To make Tetris' difficulty ramp up as the game levels up, the only thing the designer changed is the speed at which the blocks fall. This is meant to stop you at some point by the use of brute force. Meaning: even the greatest can only go so fast, and, at some point, the speed becomes so great that you can't make your fingers keep up with your brain. It becomes, in the end, not a mental challege, but a physical one. Frankly, to me, that's a cop out way to beat someone ;-) And that, really, is where I become disenchanted with Tetris. Simply: Tetris starts as a thinking-person's game, and ends as a twitch game. Since I like thinking games more than twitch games, I lean toward Lumines. Some may disagree, but hey, it's my FAQ ;-) Now consider Lumines (again)... Lumines, in contrast, uses blocks of a single shape, with only two colors, with a simple goal. To keep it from being _too_ simple, and, by extension, beatable, Tetsuya Mizuguchi introduced the time line and the destroyer block. This is the part of the game that takes you five minutes to grasp, instead of Tetris' two minutes. But the time line and the destroyers fundamentally change how a game designer can monkey with the complexity. Instead of simply ramping up how fast the blocks fall until you're crushed by the sheer weight of them, Lumines relies on the speed of the time line and the speed of the blocks--and different color-and-shape treatments for the squares used to build the blocks. The key, however, is that none of those changes ever becomes a ridiculous attempt to crush you; they can both be dealt with with different playing strategies. Ergo, a game of Lumines has ebbs and flows. When the timeline goes slow you can be Mr. Hero Destroyer Block Man. When it goes fast you can get rid of deletes like a madman. When the blocks change color you must force yourself to adjust how you "see" them--and make that adjustment nimbly. You can almost "feel" the new skin sink into your mind and reactions when it changes. And when you find that "zone," you can play Lumines seemingly forever, to some ridiculously high scores (at least one person on the net claims to have maxed out the high score at 999,999--go, dog go!). In the end, to me, a high score in Lumines is more an effective measure of how well you can think on your feet, interpret what you see and react your playing strategies to a dynamic environment. In contrast, beyond a certain point, a high score in Tetris is a measure of how quickly you can move your thumbs. I'm not sure I'm saying that one game is better than the other, per se (both really are genius). But I am saying this: Since I prefer thinking-type puzzle games to twitch-type puzzle games, I like Lumines better. You? You may think differently. Ain't the world a wonderful place ;-) Lastly, in thinking of Lumines, it's amazing that no one thought of this game before. Lumines is one of those rare games that, as soon as you see it, seems so simple, logical and intuitive that you can't imagine that someone didn't do it before. Start to think about it and break it down, and you realize its complexity and depth, and you start to realize why it took so long to show up. Thanks Tetsuya! Got a thought comparing the two? I'd love to hear it. Mail to: trashmail@columbus.rr.com ----- Here's another thought, from Alvyn Villanueva, a big Tetris Attack fan, who sees a few echos of that block-destroy game (mainly involving the timeline and combo system) in Lumines. I like your bit of sun-tzu-style-philosophy take on the arrangement of blocks. Maybe I'm not the first to mention this to you, but I have an interesting thought that I'd like to incude in your "aside" section that compares Tetris and Lumines. Not only can you compare Lumines to Tetris, but you can also compare it to another favorite puzzle game of mine. Its called Tetris Attack / Pokemon Puzzle League / Puzzle de pon. If you havent played Tetris Attack, the premise in this game is to make a match of 3, like in Columns. Instead of falling blocks, The field fills slowly with rising blocks of a set pattern. You have a cursor where you can switch any two blocks to make a match. The beauty of this game, is the ability to make new chains with the blocks that fall. There's an in-depth method to this called ChainBrain that even has its own strategy website devoted to it: www.tetrisattack.net Anyway what I want to compare with lumines is the comboing system. They share a similarity in the way you manipulate the pieces. In lumines you can arrange the blocks so that the falling blocks form new deletes. The key is that not only can you chain vertically, but with horizontally adjacent blocks as well, so that the chain flows from left to right, top to bottom as the sweep line flows. This develops the same kind of thinking as ChainBrain, and I'm sure we'll be seeing videos of small japanese kids greating chains of ten blocks blazing across the screen. (Editor's note--I sure hope so!) How the two games contrast is in their approach. In Lumines you start with a blank canvas for you to project the complex chains you see in your mind. Whereas in Tetris Attack, you have a canvas already painted that you fix and rearrange into a complex chain of events. Well, I hoped I explained clearly enough so that you can see the similarities as i do. I have been playing and trying to improve on TetrisAttack for more than four years now, and just barely started on Lumines. I immediatley noticed thsi striking similarity in design and thought it was worthy of writing down and saving for my own thoughts. Then I came across your FAQ along with the other 4 FAQs on gamefaqs.com, and yours was the only one that had insight, so I thought I'd share this with you as I'd think you would appreciate it. (Editor's note: I do! Thanks, Alvyn!) Anyway, Tetris atack is a great and deep game in itself and provides as a wonderful complement to Lumines and the infamous Tetris. Thanks, Alvyn! I'm going to have to track down a version of TetrisAttack and give it a try. Other puzzle game freaks may want to do the same. 11. Time attack modes ------------------------------------------------------------------- These are simply timed modes where you must make as many deletes as possible. There's only a few things to keep in mind here. 60-second mode is probably my favorite in the entire game, because it's short enough that you don't have to worry about filling the whole screen with junk; there just isn't enough time. You can just have fun throwing blocks together to make combos like crazy. Most of what you'll use here involves quick reflexes, dropping blocks early with the down arrow and occasionally--but not very often-- waiting for the time-line. To get a good score, concentrate on combo-ing every single drop, and then combo-ing your combos. With the longer modes, it's actually possible to fill up the screen, especially in the center, which can cramp your style, so play will involve a bit more block management, and a bit less willy-nilly block-throwing. Time attack mode is a great way to learn the finer points of the game. Get good here, and your scores in the regular game with shoot to the stratosphere. 12. Puzzle mode and solutions ----------------------------- Puzzle mode is cool, actually. It offers a new way to enjoy Lumines, and it's actually kind of neat that after you've spent a lot of time learning to make blocks, you must unlearn all that to make very specific shapes. Once you Port-O-Let your block skills, though, you find that you can very quickly build on what you know. It's like speed learning. There are a couple things to keep in mind when it comes to puzzle mode. Generally, you build patterns in puzzle mode by waiting for the right blocks to come along, and then rotating them and dropping them in the right place. (There may be a faster way, but I can tell you that this way actually works.) In practical terms, this means you have to manage the blocks you don't need for your pattern, and you manage them by creating a separate area for them, where you concentrate on making deletes. Depending on the shape required, I usually build from the left part of the screen, and use the right part of the screen to get rid of the blocks I don't need. Play two games: Build on the left and destroy on the right. When you're getting rid of blocks you don't need, use all your skills: do it quickly and be efficient. Sometimes you'll have to wait a very long time for the blocks you need, and if you're sloppy about making deletes, you can lose the game by filling up the board or not using enough blocks for the key later blocks--or patterns of blocks--to show up. So, yeah, I guess you don't totally Port-O-Let your block skills. You just add more skills. Lastly, do one thing before you begin each puzzle. Spend some time studying the design you're supposed to make. It's on the right side of the screen when you highlight the puzzle, before you press the "X" to begin the puzzle. Things to keep in mind while doing puzzles: 1) Think wide: The key in puzzle mode is that you must create the shape (shown on the right side of the PSP screen) while also surrounding it with squares of the opposite color--or, no blocks at all. If you've built a white horse, having an extra white block touching it somewhere is a very bad idea. As a matter of fact, it won't work at all. 2) Support your blocks: Just completing the shape isn't quite enough. If part of your shape hangs off in space and falls, then it won't count. In practice, that means you must support all blocks from underneath, meaning you have to think about how you surround the shape with opposite colors. 3) If you get in a jam, hit the pause button (the "start" button) and study the screen. From a designer standpoint, it's a shame you can do this, but from our standpoint, it rules. Pausing lets you take a moment to see: your current piece, the shape you must make, the upcoming three pieces, and how you're doing building the shape. Take all this in at your leisure, go get something to drink, take a nap, go to work, whatever. 4) Blocks appear in random fashion in many puzzles This means that waiting for the right blocks may take some time--and may not work at all the first time. Just try again. It will work. 5) If you can't get what you want in a puzzle that requires, say, a lot of the same piece, remember that you can always build the piece you need. If, for example, you need one a million of these... ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- ...you can build them as you go out of, say, this combo delete... ----- |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | | | | | | ----- ----- | | | | | | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- ...There are other ways to build nearly all the pieces, but you get idea. 6) Building pieces you need really comes in handy when you accidentally position a piece wrong and you'd otherwise have to quit and start the puzzle over. In situations like this, it's best to pause the game, study what you've built, and figure out what piece you'd need to add on top of your mis-placed piece to build what you really need. Remember, just because the designers coudn't make the pause button not work is no reason that you have to ignore it. If you get in a jam as the time ticks down, pause and study. To get the most fun out of the game, go ahead and try and solve each puzzle with the info above. It'll be vastly more fun. If, however, you want clear solutions, read on... Puzzle Solutions ---------------- Many of these are not the only ways to solve the puzzles, but they are _a_ way.. A. Small Cross _____ | | | | | | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- _____ _____ |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--| | |XX|| | | | |XX|| | | ----- ----- B. Small Square _____ _____ | | || | | | | || | | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- C. Small Checker _____ _____ | | || | | | | || | | |--+--||--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ | |XX|| | | | |XX|| | | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- D. Dog _____ _____ | | ||XX| | | | ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX| ||XX|XX| |XX| ||XX|XX| ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | ----- ----- E."A" _____ _____ | |XX|| | | | |XX|| | | |--+--||--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | ----- ----- F. Giraffe _____ | | | | | | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- _____ _____ | | ||XX| | | | ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| | | ||XX| | | | ||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | ----- ----- G. Aligator _____ | | | | | | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- _____ _____ _____ _____ |XX|XX||XX|XX||XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX|XX||XX|XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--||--+--||--+--| | | ||XX| ||XX| || | | | | ||XX| ||XX| || | | ----- ----- ----- ----- H. Create 4x4 This one is tricky in that major parts of it can't actually exist. To be more specific, they can only exist for a very short time--that time when a delete is highlighted and you can drop something else on it. Here's what I mean: It's very easy to create this: _____ _____ |XX| || |XX| |XX| || |XX| |--+--||--+--| |XX| || |XX| |XX| || |XX| ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX| || |XX| |XX| || |XX| |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX|XX||XX|XX| ----- ----- ...which deletes the center block to produce this... -- -- |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| +--+ +--+ |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| +--+ +--+ |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| |--+-- --+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX|XX||XX|XX| ----- ----- Now, the tricky part. You have to throw the unused blocks to the sides, and you have to be smart about it and produce deletes, since you'll be waiting a long time for the right pair of blocks to come up. Me, I had to wait quite a while, and I'm guessing you will, too. And since the same blocks don't drop in the same order every time, you may have to create the above pattern a couple times on a couple replays before you get what you're waiting for. Hey, I said it'd be easy; I never said it'd be instantaneous. You can see three blocks in advance, so when you see the two you want,time dropping the first one so that it's just after the time line passes the empty space, then drop these two, one after the other, before the timeline comes back... _____ | | | | | | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- _____ |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- -- -- |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| +--+ +--+ |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| +--+ +--+ |XX| |XX| |XX| |XX| |--+-- --+--| |XX|XX|XX|XX| |XX|XX|XX|XX| ----- ----- ...and Gooooaaaaaaaallllll! If you don't get the pair you're waiting for, try again. It took me a few tries. I. Smile _____ _____ | | || | | | | || | | |--+--||--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| | | || | | | | || | | ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| | |XX|| | | | |XX|| | | ----- ----- J. Horse This one is interesting in that it shows you can't have blocks hanging out in space in puzzle mode. You need something to support your blocks, and you must surround the puzzle with other-colored blocks. The key thing here is that you must support the horse's "muzzle" with blocks from underneath, and they must be a contrasting color to the horse itself. _____ |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- _____ _____ _____ | | || |XX| | |XX| | | || |XX| | |XX| |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX| | |XX| |XX|XX||XX|XX| | |XX| ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ | |XX|| |XX| | |XX| | |XX|| |XX| | |XX| |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | |XX|| |XX| | |XX| | |XX|| |XX| | |XX| ----- ----- ----- This will be an important element as puzzle mode continues. K. Arrow up _____ | | | | | | |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | ----- _____ _____ _____ | |XX||XX|XX| | | | | |XX||XX|XX| | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX| | |XX| ||XX| | |XX| | ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ | | ||XX| | | | | | | ||XX| | | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX|XX| |XX| ||XX| | |XX|XX| ----- ----- ----- Note that the bottom left and right pieces are designed to do two things: 1) support the blocks above them (without creating a block that disappares, while also 2) making sure that no like-colored blocks are touching the puzzle shape. L. Arrow left _____ _____ | | || | | | | || | | |--+--||--+--| | | || |XX| | | || |XX| ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ | | ||XX| | | | | | | ||XX| | | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | |XX||XX|XX| |XX|XX| | |XX||XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ | | ||XX| | | | | | | ||XX| | | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX| || |XX| | |XX| |XX| || |XX| | |XX| ----- ----- ----- Again, the bottom left and right blocks are designed to do two things: 1) support the blocks above them (without creating a block that disappares, while also 2) making sure that no like-colored blocks are touching the puzzle shape. M. Arrow right _____ _____ _____ | | || | | | | | | | || | | | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | | || |XX| | | | | | || |XX| | | | ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ | | || | | |XX| | | | || | | |XX| | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | |XX||XX|XX| |XX|XX| | |XX||XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ | | || | | |XX| | | | || | | |XX| | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | |XX|| |XX| | | | | |XX|| |XX| | | | ----- ----- ----- Bottom left block designed to support and not delete at the same time. N. Arrow down _____ | | | | | | |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- _____ _____ _____ | | || |XX| | | | | | || |XX| | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | |XX|| |XX| | |XX| | |XX|| |XX| | |XX| ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ | | ||XX|XX| |XX| | | | ||XX|XX| |XX| | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX| || |XX| | | | |XX| || |XX| | | | ----- ----- ----- O. Infinity _____ _____ |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | | ||XX| | |XX| | | | ||XX| | |XX| | ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ |XX| ||XX|XX| |XX| | |XX| ||XX|XX| |XX| | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX| || | | | | | |XX| || | | | | | ----- ----- ----- P. Clear all As far as I can tell, this is the first puzzle that does not use random blocks. This one drops blocks in a set sequence. This actually makes it easier to beat. Here's the deal... Drop the first blocks like this _____ | | | | | | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- 3 _____ _____ |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX| || | | |XX| || | | ----- ----- 1 2 ..while dropping block No. 3 when the time line has just cleared the area, which will delete the center XX'd box to create this... _____ _____ |XX| || | | |XX| || | | |--+--||--+--| |XX| || | | |XX| || | | ----- ----- ..Now, while the six-block square above is still glowing, rotate and drop the next block like this _before_ the time line gets back. Timing is key. This may take a few tries, but learning the timing is a good skill to know... _____ |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | | | | | | ----- _____ _____ |XX| || | | |XX| || | | |--+--||--+--| |XX| || | | |XX| || | | ----- ----- ...the eight-block area including the bottom six white squares and the two white squares above it will delete, creating this... __ |XX| |XX| |--+-- -- |XX|XX|| | |XX|XX|| | ----- -- ...onto which you rotate and drop the next block, thusly... _____ | | | | | | |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | ----- __ |XX| |XX| |--+-- -- |XX|XX|| | |XX|XX|| | ----- -- ...which creates this.. __ | | | | --| | | | | -- -- -- | || | | || | -- -- ..onto which you drop this... _____ | | | | | | |--+--| | | | | | | ----- __ | | | | --| | | | | -- -- -- | || | | || | -- -- ...which makes the clouds part, the birds sing, and everything disappear. Q. Big square _____ _____ _____ | | || | | | | | | | || | | | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ |XX| || | | |XX| | |XX| || | | |XX| | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX| | |XX| ||XX| | |XX| | ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ |XX| || | | |XX| | |XX| || | | |XX| | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | ----- ----- ----- R. Big G _____ _____ _____ | | || | | | | | | | || | | | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ |XX| || | | | | | |XX| || | | | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX| ||XX|XX| |XX| | |XX| ||XX|XX| |XX| | ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ |XX| || | | |XX| | |XX| || | | |XX| | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | ----- ----- ----- S. UFO _____ _____ _____ | | ||XX| || | | | | ||XX| || | | |--+--||--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ _____ |XX| ||XX| ||XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| ||XX| ||XX| | |--+--||--+--||--+--||--+--| | |XX|| |XX|| |XX|| | | | |XX|| |XX|| |XX|| | | ----- ----- ----- ----- T. Human _____ _____ _____ | | || | | | | | | | || | | | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | | ||XX| | | | | | | ||XX| | | | | ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | |XX|XX||XX|XX| |XX| | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | | ||XX| | | | | | | ||XX| | | | | ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ | |XX|| |XX| | |XX| | |XX|| |XX| | |XX| |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | |XX|| |XX| | |XX| | |XX|| |XX| | |XX| ----- ----- ----- U. Snake _____ _____ _____ _____ | | || | | | |XX||XX| | | | || | | | |XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |--+--||--+--| | |XX||XX|XX| | |XX|| | | | |XX||XX|XX| | |XX|| | | ----- ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ _____ | |XX|| |XX| | |XX|| |XX| | |XX|| |XX| | |XX|| |XX| |--+--||--+--| |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX|| |XX| |XX|XX|| |XX| |XX|XX|| |XX| |XX|XX|| |XX| ----- ----- ----- ----- V. Big Checker Waiting for all the deuces you need to make this happen really requires that you get rid of your trash quickly build left, make deletes right. This is a good puzzle to get used to building the pieces you need, as per tips Nos. 5 and 6 above. _____ | | | | | | |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | ----- _____ _____ _____ | |XX|| |XX| | | | | |XX|| |XX| | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX| | |XX| ||XX| | |XX| | ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ | |XX|| |XX| | | | | |XX|| |XX| | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | | ||XX| | | |XX| | | ||XX| | | |XX| ----- ----- ----- W. Big Cross _____ _____ | | | | | | | | | | | | |--+--| |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | |XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ | |XX|| |XX| | | | | |XX|| |XX| | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| | | ||XX| | | |XX| | | ||XX| | | |XX| ----- ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ | |XX|| |XX| | | | | |XX|| |XX| | | | |--+--||--+--| |--+--| |XX| || | | |XX| | |XX| || | | |XX| | ----- ----- ----- X. Delete over 20 blocks This one just requires that you blow out 20 blocks. The trick is that they don't have to be in the square shown on the outline on the right side of the screen. They can be anywhere. So, if you've been playing Lumines long, you know exactly how to do that: 1. Delete blocks like crazy until you get a destroyer block. 2. Place the destroyer block in such a way that it can be easily completed, but don't complete it. 3. Build a chain of like-colored squares that touch the soon-to-be- completed destroyer block that is at least 20 squares. The same- colored blocks must touch either horizontally or vertically (not diagonally). 4. Drop the block that completes the destroyer, and when all your blocks light up, you'll clear the level. Piece of cake, right? Y. Zero to three This is the toughest of the first 26 puzzles, mainly because you really have to manage leftovers well. The idea of the puzzle is to first make a 0, then make a 1, then a 2, then a 3. You have to make each numeral separately. If you make the 2 before the 1, it won't work. The best way is to build at least two numerals at a time. Just make sure you complete them in order. If your two needs one bocks to finish, but your 1 still needs more, concentrate on the 1. You may also have to clear away your leftovers from when an earlier numeral clears, or you may have to build a new "floor" and build a new numeral on top of it. Stopping and pausing and building the pieces you need from others with deletes, as per the tips above, will really come in handy here. This is all you need to know to get through this one. For completeness' sake, here's the block layouts for each numeral. 0. _____ _____ | | || | | | | || | | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX| ||XX| | |XX| ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- 1. _____ | | | | | | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- _____ | |XX| | |XX| |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- _____ | |XX| | |XX| |--+--| | |XX| | |XX| ----- 2. _____ _____ | | || | | | | || | | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ | | ||XX| | | | ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX| || | | |XX| || | | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- 3. _____ _____ | | || | | | | || | | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ | | ||XX| | | | ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- _____ _____ | | ||XX| | | | ||XX| | |--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- Z. Large O Funny, I always thought the Large O was something else. ;-) This one is a bit tougher, but only because you can't put a contrasting colored square in the middle of it, and if you don't do that, you run the risk of deleting out the center section. No fear, though. There's a trick that's pretty simple, really. Build the shape below on the right; delete unneeded boxes quickly on the left... _____ _____ | | | | | | | | | | | | |--+--| |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX| | | |XX| |XX| | | |XX| |--+--| |--+--| |XX| | | |XX| |XX| | | |XX| ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ |XX| || | ||XX| | |XX| || | ||XX| | |--+--||--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- ----- ...Then, wait for the right two blocks to come up, wait until just after the timeline comes by, and drop them both quickly, before the timeline returns, like this: _____ | |XX| | |XX| |--+--| ...drop this one second, but before the time line |XX| | comes back. |XX| | ----- _____ |XX| | |XX| | drop this one first |--+--| | | | | | | ----- _____ _____ | | | | | | | | | | | | |--+--| |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- ----- _____ _____ |XX| | | |XX| |XX| | | |XX| |--+--| |--+--| |XX| | | |XX| |XX| | | |XX| ----- ----- _____ _____ _____ |XX| || | ||XX| | |XX| || | ||XX| | |--+--||--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- ----- ...to produce this... __ __ |XX | | |XX | | |--| |--| | | | | | | | | -- -- _____ ___ _____ | | | | | | | | | | | |--+--|---|--+--| |XX|XX|XX |XX|XX| |XX|XX|XX |XX|XX| ----- --- ----- _____ ___ _____ |XX| | | |XX| |XX| | | |XX| |--+--|---|--+--| |XX| | | |XX| |XX| | | |XX| ----- --- ----- _____ _____ _____ |XX| || | ||XX| | |XX| || | ||XX| | |--+--||--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX|XX||XX| | |XX|XX||XX|XX||XX| | ----- ----- ----- Note that since you're only really concerned about the bottom two and top right right squareas of the first dropper, and the bottom two and top left squares for the second dropper, you could also use two blocks like this, for example... _____ | | | | | | |--+--| ...drop this one second, but before the time line |XX| | comes back. |XX| | ----- _____ | | | | | | drop this one first |--+--| | | | | | | ----- ...or a combination of this one, and the ones above. You get the idea. This makes it easier to look for the correct two blocks that you'll need to come in succession. You have more opportunities for it to appear. No big deal, huh? Do the first 26 puzzles, and you get a skin. AA. 2x puzzles. In these, you build the same thing as the first go-round, but you build it twice. That means managing leftovers heavily, using blocks you don't want effectively, and in many cases, perhaps building two shapes at once--making sure not to complete both at the same time. Time becomes much more of a factor here. At least,that's the advice for every puzzle except the "Clear All x2", which is the second puzzle, which, to my knowledge, has a set order of falling blocks. That will be dealt with two three paragraphs below this one. Also, for the rest of the 2x puzzles, consider a technique suggested by Derek Kisman comes in handy for the 2x puzzles: Time your completion of the puzzle just as the time line crosses only the rightmost column of blocks or so. That way, you only have to rebuild part of the whole pattern. This makes things stupid simple. Thanks, Derek! Of course, it should be obvious that the hardest of the puzzles to do in 2x style would be the "One to Three." Expect to take a few tries on that one :-) Do all the puzzles in their 2x versions, and you're done. Plus, you get another skin The Clear All x2 solution. Clear the first one as per "P" above, then get ready to clear all the blocks using a mere 13 total blocks. Follow along. ...Start by giving yourself a little room--say three open blocks--on the left side of the screen. then drop the first three blocks like this... _____ _____ _____ |XX| || |XX||XX| | |XX| || |XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| || |XX| |XX|XX||XX| || |XX| ---------------------- 1 2 3 ...then drop Nos. 4 and 5 like this... _____ | | | | | | |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | ----- 5 _____ |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| | | | | | | ----- 4 _____ _____ _____ |XX| || |XX||XX| | |XX| || |XX||XX| | |--+--||--+--||--+--| |XX|XX||XX| || |XX| |XX|XX||XX| || |XX| ---------------------- ...which, in two passes of the timeline produces this.... _____ _____ __ |XX|XX|| | || | |XX|XX|| | || | |--+--||--+--||--| | | ||XX|XX|| | | | ||XX|XX|| | ---------------------------------- ...into which you drop Nos. 6 and 7, thusly... _____ |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| | | | | | | ----- 5 _____ | | | | | | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- 6 _____ _____ __ |XX|XX|| | || | |XX|XX|| | || | |--+--||--+--||--| | | ||XX|XX|| | | | ||XX|XX|| | ---------------------------------- The above series works with the timeline to produce this... __ | | | | |--| | | | | ---------------------------------- ...onto which you drop Nos. 8 and 9, like this... _____ |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- 9 _____ |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- 8 __ | | | | |--| | | | | ---------------------------------- ...producing this.... _____ | | | | | | |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | ----------------------------------- ...Hold on, now, we're in the home stretch. Drop Nos. 10 and 11 and 12 like this.. _____ |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| | | | | | | ----- 12 _____ |XX|XX| |XX|XX| |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | ----- 11 _____ |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| |XX|XX| |XX|XX| ----- 10 _____ | | | | | | |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | ----------------------------------- ...which produces this.... _____ _____ |XX|XX|XX| | |XX|XX|XX| | |--+--|--+--| |XX| | | | |XX| | | | -----+----- |XX| | | | |XX| | | | |--+--|--+--| |XX|XX|XX| | |XX|XX|XX| | ------------------------------------- ...which in two passes of the timeline produces this... -- -- |XX| | | |XX| | | |--| |--| |XX| | | |XX| | | ------------------------------------- ...into which you drop lucky No. 13 thusly... _____ |XX| | |XX| | |--+--| |XX| | |XX| | ----- 13 -- -- |XX| | | |XX| | | |--| |--| |XX| | | |XX| | | ------------------------------------- ..and once again the clouds part, the birds sing, and everything right with the world rises to the top like so much whipped cream in a root beer float. (sniff. that makes me so sentimental ;-) 13. What's coming in future additions to this FAQ: -------------------------------------------------------------------- I consider this Block FAQ pretty much complete at this point, but I may add a few new sections in time. perhaps something on scoring; perhaps something on vs. mode. Who knows? ;-) E-mail questions to: trashmail@columbus.rr.com Usual disclaimers and no-reply warnings apply ;-) 14. Thanks -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to the folks that made this game possible--particularly its creator, Tetsuya Mizuguchi. I've played a pantload of games in my life, but this is the first game I've played that has moved me to write a FAQ--and that's saying something. Thanks Tetsuya! 15. Copyright notice -------------------------------------------------------------------- This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.