Stellar Sweeper

[avs1roy33]

There is a 'how to play' section in this game that teaches you, ahem, how to play.

[420joel]

pogo states that there is a glitch with the badge awards they are being give out in the wrong order they hope to have this problem fixed soon

[Juniorverse]

O.K., I played this game two times and figured out a SURE WIN every time.  Once the board is almost clear, right clicking on the squares will tell you wether a spot is a ? or a bomb.  It doesnt work with a new board, but once so many squares are cleared, its almost foolproof.

[sxybamabit]

i do that same thing and get a perfect everytime lol

[bobby]

same here O0

[RC]

A square is never just a question mark.. the question mark shows up when you right click a square thinking that that square is a crystal, and when it is not a known fact that it is a crystal. When you left click and a crystal shows up, that is because it is known by the other squares you have uncovered around it that it is definitely a crystal. When you left click, and it explodes, that is because that space was a crystal that you did not identify with a right click first. It's not a hint that you are doing, that is pretty much the object, to find which ones are the crystals.

Sorry, I've modified this post a bit, after making sure what I was saying was accurate and clear.

[PogoNutz]

Now that the auto has been released (and purchased) it probably doesn't matter, but if you are playing manually, always use the scan when it is available.  You get several of these each game and it is a quick way of clearing 9 squares. 

[janet]

Sorry RC, I didn't understand a word you said.  I know if I right click sometimes, I will get the ?.  Then I will go back later and left click and the d--n thing will blow up on me.  There are times I just don't get it.  I have two squares left in the game.  I right click on one and then the other getting ?'s on both of them.  I know one of them is the crystal.  I always get lucking and cause an explosion.  :'(

[RC]

Right clicking always places a question mark, when it's on a square (I'll call them blocks) that is not guaranteed to be a crystal.. the purpose of having the question mark, is so you can mark the blocks you think may contain a crystal.. you don't really even need to use the question marks (right clicks) when you get better at the game. You'll need to left click in the game board to uncover the numbers that help you in determining which blocks have the crystals. 

1 1 1 1 1 1
1 $ 2 2 $ 2
2 3 4 $ 3 $
1 $ $ 2 2 1
1 2 2 1 -  -

In this little "diagram", think of the dollar signs as the crystals.. if the game had all of the blocks uncovered, those are the numbers you would see around this set of crystals, with the dashes being empty spaces. Look at each number seperately, like it's the center of a picture.. and look all around the edge of that picture and you'll see how that number tells you how many crystals are in it's "picture". Take the #4 for instance, you can see 4 dollar signs (crystals) in the surrounding squares around that 4 (the eight blocks that touch the 4). And if you look at the #3 directly to the left of the #4, and think of that #3 as it's own center of another picture, you can then see 3 dollar signs in that "picture". And you can see how these "pictures" overlap one another.

As you go through the game, these numbers will eventually tell you certain blocks that have to have a crystal underneath. Like the #1 in the fourth row, all the way to the right.. if you had already uncovered the spaces beneath it (the two dashes), as well as the 2 and 3 to the left of it.. you will then know that the block directly above the 1 has to be a crystal because all of the other blocks around that 1 have been uncovered and we know that 1 of them has a crystal.. and you can then right click that block to uncover the crystal. (It will appear automatically when you click a known block like that). And in doing this, you can see how you will also be uncovering blocks around other numbers, and hence by process of elimination, you are making it easier to tell which blocks have the crystals around those numbers.

I may have made it more confusing here, I don't know.. but I guess this kind of thing is either something you can understand or you don't, there's not much of a gray area.

[Juniorverse]

And P.S. the auto isnt working for me.  lost 10 games in a row.   :'(

[Sanctuary]

winterangel you are very welcome for the tip  8)

I'm still using Terra even though i'm up to Rings of Icey. The inserts in the field of crystals mean it's harder to complete a perfect game. I'm playing on medium, is anyone playing on hard and is it miles quicker?

[Sanctuary]

One word of warning, don't play Terra on hard. I've just changed up and there is a glitch. you get 50-odd crystals on the board but it doesn't subtract them off your total.  :'(

[texan]

I must be nuts...cuz i love this game..even love playin it on my own  ;)
Hugs
Tex

[huggybear]

Well i couldnt get the hang of it either.  My 7 year old got home from school yesterday and i was attemting to give it yet another try and he say mom your not doing it right move ill show you! needless to say he got the first badge for me  ;D (they play it in school)

[PogoNutz]

I must be nuts...cuz i love this game..even love playin it on my own  ;)
Hugs
Tex

I like this game too and got the first badge on my own.  Now that the auto is out I've shifted to that, but this is one that I'll be playing manually whenever it comes up as a weekly challenge.

[heavenly]

when i play on the "terra" planet, the one that is unlocked after you get the first badge, it doesn't count the crystals towards   your rank progress. i have played it several times and each time it says "890 til next rank"
but if you play another planet your rank progresses. just a tip for everyone...

[greenflash]

::) ::) ::) RC I am glad you figured that out. But.....anything that complicated has to have an easier solution. For me, that solution is to buy the auto and be done with it. I hate the game anyway so no way am I trying to figure that one out.   ;)

[greenflash]

I must be nuts...cuz i love this game..even love playin it on my own  ;)
Hugs
Tex

I like this game too and got the first badge on my own.  Now that the auto is out I've shifted to that, but this is one that I'll be playing manually whenever it comes up as a weekly challenge.

Mr. Bill... I am shocked! You like this game???   ;)

[PogoNutz]

What's not to like.  click, click, boom, dang, click, click, boom, dang.

(In my mind I now see the old Bugs Bunny cartoon with him playing the piano and Yosemite Sam has set it so there is a bomb under one of the keys.  hehehehe, a real favorite:))

I used to be pretty good at mine sweeper so with all of the extra shields, it makes it hard to lose a game.  I played to my first rank on easy until I realized you got more tokies with hard, so did 2-4 on the hard level.  Even then, it was pretty easy.

[Sanctuary]

OK I said earlier in this thread about there being a problem with playing Terra on level hard not getting progress. Pogo have since mended it and now i'm getting between 50 and 57 crystals per screen playing Terra on hard which is the most you can get on any planet.

Just got my rank 9 badge!

;D