By Brad Cook

You eye a field full of pegs and blocks, all colored orange, blue, green, or purple. You possess 12 balls that you fire into the playing field one at a time, trying to light up and eliminate as many orange ones as possible; they’re the ones you must clear to advance to the next level. The blue ones simply get in your way, while the green ones provide power-ups and the purple ones grant score multipliers.

You choose an angle that works best and shoot the ball toward the pegs. It bounces among them, gravity taking it toward the bottom of the screen, where a ball bucket moves back and forth. If your shot ultimately finds the bucket, you’ll receive a free ball. When your ball hits the final orange peg, the bucket disappears, replaced by a series of buckets that offer final bonuses of 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000 points. As Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” plays, the ball lands in one of those buckets, producing a cascade of fireworks.

But first you must complete this level, which is overseen by Claude the lobster. When you strike a green peg, Claude gives you a pair of claws that you use like pinball flippers, knocking the ball back into the playing field and keeping your current shot going. As you progress through the level, a Fever Meter fills, increasing your per-peg score multiplier and culminating in a final Fever Bonus that also includes 10,000 points per unused ball. That bonus increases even more if a green peg is among those cleared in your last shot.

Your Peggle Training

Claude is one of 10 characters in the game, each with a unique power-up. Between them, the characters oversee 55 levels of pachinko-like fun, with another 75 levels of challenges waiting once you complete adventure mode. The challenges require you to earn 750,000 points in one level, clear every peg on the board, defeat 10 random levels in a row, and other feats of Peggle daring-do.

• Bjorn the unicorn (his power-up shows you where the ball will go after it strikes the first peg)
• Jimmy Lightning the beaver (the green peg releases an extra ball during the same shot)
• Kat Tut the cat (adds pyramid sides to the bucket, making it easier to get the ball in)
• Splork the alien (green peg lights up all pegs near it)
• Renfield Pumpkin (the ball returns to the top of the screen after passing through the bottom; the ball can bounce off a lid that appears on the bucket)
• Tula the flower (20% of the remaining orange pegs light up)
• Lord Cinderbottom the dragon (next shot is a fireball that destroys all pegs it touches; the fireball can bounce off a lid that appears on the bucket)
• Master Hu the owl (Zen ball nudges your shot in the right direction for maximum peg elimination)
• Warren the rabbit (awards a random power-up from the other characters, or gives out his magic hat, which follows the ball and lights up any pegs it touches)

Peggle also features quick play, which allows you to select a character and revisit any level you’ve unlocked, and duel, which lets you compete against a friend by handing your iPod back and forth.

While this may seem like a lot to learn all at once, we’ll refer you to the words of Bjorn, who founded the Peggle Institute: “The best way to learn is to jump right in.” So it’s time to get started, aspiring Peggle masters.

Tips and Tricks

• During a shot, you can also earn style points that get added to your total. They include: bouncing the ball from one non-blue peg to another one that’s far away; hitting the free ball bucket five or 10 times in a row; getting a fireball or magic hat in the bucket; and more.
• Aim your final ball with care, knowing that the bonus buckets will appear as soon as you eliminate the final orange peg. Any blue or purple pegs the ball hits before falling into a bonus bucket will also count toward your final score for that ball.
• Start high and work your way down. Aim your first few shots at the orange pegs at the top of the screen, knowing that gravity will take care of the rest.
• You can bounce the ball off anything in the playing field, including the sides of the screen and the edges of the bucket, so plan accordingly.
• When you get the pyramid power-up, the ball will roll along the sloped edges of the ball bucket in the direction opposite the bucket. For example, if the ball falls on the right side of the bucket while the bucket is traveling to the right, it will roll to the left and into the container.
• The effects of power-ups are cumulative, if you hit two or more of them with the same ball. For example, if you hit two spooky ball power-ups with one shot, your ball will twice pass through the bottom of the screen and come out the top.
• If your shot likely won’t hit any orange pegs, try to time it so the ball falls in the bucket and you earn a free ball, thus not wasting a shot. This is a good strategy for clearing a path to your targets by eliminating blue pegs that are in the way.
• You also pick up a free ball by filling the meter on the left side of the screen. It rises during each shot according to the number of points you earn; it returns to zero when the shot is over.
• If your shot doesn’t hit a single peg, nor land in the bucket, you’ll earn a free ball anyway.
• Before starting a new stage, press the Select button to see all of a character’s introductory text appear on the screen right away, rather than waiting. Pressing Select during a level’s “Ode to Joy” finale also speeds up the action.

iPod Games FAQ

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