A six-step checklist before you spend a move on a hard level
Hard levels are rarely lost at the end. They are lost in the first five moves, when the board still looks open and every swap seems reasonable. This is the routine we use before touching a level that has already beaten us once.
1. Read the goal, then read it again
Write down, in your head, the exact thing being counted: bottles released, frosting broken, bears freed, tiles covered. Levels that count two things at once are the ones most often misread.
2. Count your moves against the goal
Divide the move budget by the objective count. If the level gives twenty moves for ten objectives, you can afford one wasted move for every productive one. If it gives twenty for eighteen, you cannot afford any exploration at all and should play only guaranteed progress.
3. Find the hard corner first
Every difficult board has one region that is awkward to reach — behind blockers, in a narrow column, at the edge of the play area. Decide now how you intend to reach it, because leaving it until the last three moves is how levels are lost with the goal at ninety per cent.
4. Decide which specials this board can realistically produce
A narrow board rarely gives you five in a line. A wide, open board gives them constantly. Match your plan to the geometry: on narrow boards, plan around squares and T shapes; on open boards, plan around straight lines and colour bombs.
5. Play the bottom, not the middle
All else being equal, take the lowest available productive move so that the refill does work for you. This is covered in more depth in our guide to cascade direction.
6. Stop when the plan stops working
If the objective bar has not moved in three consecutive moves, the plan is wrong, not unlucky. Re-read the board as though you had just opened the level.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| Score is high, objective bar is low | Playing for matches rather than goals | Restrict yourself to moves that touch the objective area |
| Run out of moves with one region untouched | No approach plan for the awkward corner | Solve the corner in the first half of the level |
| Board keeps stalling | Only clearing the upper rows | Take low clears to restore vertical movement |
| Specials never appear | Taking every three-match on sight | Hold for four-plus matches unless the goal needs the three |
About boosters and extra moves
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