My MIL is evil, Part 2 (Chuzzle)

for the last few weeks I've been absorbed in Zuma, and am proud to say I've made it most of the way through level 12. So of course, just as the end is in sight, my mother-in-law, that insidious purveyor of casual games, shows up with another: Chuzzle, which is like a furry version of bejeweled. She hands me the disk and says, "This is kind of cute, but if you don't like it that's okay (heh heh)..."

I look at it and think, don't know if it really appeals to me. Then my husband loaded it on his laptop. Then I played a few rounds. Then I loaded it on my computer. And spent almost the entire day yesterday making little furry balls explode to the irritating tones of disco music. How can a game be so annoying and so addictive at the same time? I told my husband it was kind of like squishing gerbils: oddly gratifying, but you don't want to admit to anyone that you enjoy it.

Well, I hear the chuzzles calling me....I cannot resist their siren song....

WW

Hi WW

What's come over you ?? Squishing innocent little furry balls ??

If you leave the cursor on one chuzzle for a few seconds, they will make an angry face and move the cursor.

It's a fun game. I started my mother and sister on it.

By the way, do you know that there is a level 13 in Zuma?

Oh yeah, those chuzzles make all kinds of sounds. try right clicking on one of the really big ones.

I'm trying to figure out if there's any rhyme or reason to the appearance of locks, or if it's just random.

I didn't know that about Zuma...I've made it as far as 12-7 but that one keeps defeating me, even if I have 6 or 7 lives stacked up....

I have so many casual games on my desktop right now that I think they need their own folder...

WW

Oh dear, WW, what have you done? I downloaded this a couple of days ago and I'm now a shadow of the man I used to be. Heck, I'm even seeing Chuzzles in my SLEEP

tee hee, you should have heeded my warning in your Zuma thread...

But it looks really nice when you get trophies in yoru cabinet...

Tig

I haven't had a new trophy in a long time . Nor do I seem to be able to get past level ten as of yet. My personal goal right now is to get that far w/out using a scramble, but they always seem to hit me with the need for one about level seven....ah well. Something to fill the empty hours when my brain is too far gone for a real adventure...



WW

I have vowed not to buy these two games until I finish Luxor, but the very last level keeps defeating me, and I'm starting to weaken.

oh, Lady K, you need to have more than one casual game at a time! So you can take a break and do something different instead of beating your head against a wall. Also, it makes things a little more challenging when you switch around--I went back to Zuma last night and hadn't quite lost my touch, but wasn't doing as well as usual...

I may need to take a break from Chuzzle, though, because when I picked up my book last night the lines on the page appeared to be going back and forth...

WW

Wysewoman, can I adopt your MIL, please? She has a great taste in addictive games. Have you tried Jewel Quest - it starts off sweetly then turns EVIL !

And Dynasty! Very addictive and more challenging then Luxor!

Boy, you guys are good! I've only gotten to about level 7 or 8 with Zuma, before all my frogs die.

I tried a demo of Luxor, but I'm waiting for a $9.99 version to show up in the stores before I buy the complete game. But they sure are addictive, aren't they?

Winston, I have had a few 'real' Chuzzles, the last one my Mum gave me which was from an electricity company!!

I'm stuck on level 7 mindbender, and haven't got past level 8 on speed, expert.

Replaying Zuma also, Its a great way to get rid of frustrations at the end of a hard days work!!!

Oh and then you get an email link to THIS Offer....

Well, I already have a lot of those games...

Last night SHE came in and handed me a copy of Complete Scrabble!! Arrrgggghhh!

WW

Well, I visited Game House this morning and bought Zuma, Super Game House Solitaire, Scrabble, and Bejeweled 2 for Mac OS X. You're a bad influence on me, WW, especially since I already have Scrabble and another version of solitaire on this machine. Granted these new versions are easier to access because I don't have to reboot to get to the OS 9 partition, but I did get a bit carried away playing them for most of today.

Excuse me now, I think I hear a frog calling.

Hee Hee! Lady K gives in to peer pressure...

Question for Tigger, who seems to be the expert on these games... In the Chuzzle trophy room, there's a space for a trophy you can get for completing a game without "making any bad moves." But I don't have any idea what constitutes a bad move! Do you??

I gave a try to the mindbender part and to speed Chuzzle and I'm hopeless at both of them. I can't even solve the first mindbender!

WW

I haven't a clue WW, I got it by accident... on my old puter and so far haven't got it on this one!! Mindbender reminds me of slider puzzles, similar rules. Just see what will be affected if you move yellow into greens position etc I'm failing at saving all big chuzzles as the game always seems to send down chuzzles which will explode them whether I want to or not!!

WW, I've done a little sleuthing because I was a little curious myself... apparently a bad move is when you slide a row or column of chuzzles and because you get no matches it rolls back to its original position.

Bleh! That's a really clumsy definition but I hope you get what I mean. And according to the developer who posted on the forum I read this on, you have to complete at least one full level flawlessly to get the trophy. Read more here if you're interested.

Oh man, Zuma.......Arggghhhhh. I'm still stuck on level 8. Keep going back to the beginning and have managed to accummulate 7 frogs but then.....bam, I'm shot down.

Chuzzle is really fun. I don't know what level I am at on mindbender. I gotta go back to it.

Bets

Thanks Winston!

But that sounds really...uh...dumb! Sometimes I slide to a match and if they're not positioned JUST RIGHT the darn little squeakers don't like it and slide back. And there have been LOTS of levels I've completed without that happening...

Oh well. Mysterious little creatures, aren't they?


WW

Well, I've made it up to level 5 in Zuma and managed to get 21,000 something in Bejeweled 2. I think I need to take a break and go play an adventure game, but these are really lots of fun.

I got my Flawless trophy My strategy was to play Speed Chuzzle, complete the first two levels without any bad moves (thereby getting Speed Freak too) and then let the game play out on the next level. Still working on my Puzzler trophy: apparently there's a secret playing mode that can be unlocked when you have Triple Combo, Brainiac, Puzzler, Ten Grand and 7-At-Once

I guess my brain has recovered, because I played all the way through level 4 of mindbender last night. Does it seem to anyone else that the first puzzle they give you in a level is always the hardest???

I am hopeless at speed Chuzzle. And I think the Zen Chuzzle is just boring...

Lady K, I'm impressed! Up to level 5 in one sitting! That took me a while. I hate the Zuma levels where you have balls coming at you from 2 directions at once. Especially "Mirror Serpent." Yuck!

WW

Egads WW, is that what I have to look forward to in Zuma. I just got knocked down again in level 8-4. Had 6 frogs too. I just can't seem to get past that one.

Bets

It took me a LONG time to get past that level, and my hubby even longer--he just made it to level nine in the past few days. We called it "The Mouth of !&^%#@%$^ (unfit word for this board)." But once you get past, the rest of level 8 isn't too bad.

As I said, the level I absolutely hate is 9-5. And 9-7 isn't a piece of cake, either.

WW

Yes, I spent ALL DAY yesterday playing Chuzzle Mindbender. I've made it through level 12. Once you get the knack it's not that hard...

Still haven't got a flawless, though.

WW

I finished the last of the the Mindbender Puzzles last night.

I will never be afraid of a slider again.

WW

WW!! I Must go back to Mindbender!! I find the Zuma levels where there are 2 sets of balls easier - you can get more gap shots and bonuses!! I try to get a minimum of 80,000 points on level one, then keep on from there. If I can double the level number with lives ie 6 on level 3, 8 on level 4 etc, I have half a chance of getting a decent score.

It's really addictive...

really? I hate those!! It's all I can do to keep track of which way the balls are coming from. Especially Mirror Serpent. Arrrgh.

But my husband really likes them and is good at them. We're just good at different things.

WW

well I am stuck on level 6 mindbender... hmm think I need to have more quiet time to think it out!!!

The ones with the big guys are a bit confusing until you figure out how to use what you've got.

I actually found the 1st 10 levels harder. Maybe because after that I developed a system.

I wish there were more of those!!! And a sequel to Pandora's Box. I love those Brain Teaser/Puzzle games (but I hate jigsaws, oddly enough).

Now addicted to scrabble complete...

WW

Just got my Puzzler trophy... err where is the secret level supposed to appear?? I have all the trophies mentioned in the previous post...

I had a blitz on Mindbender when I got in this teatime and just got into the groove. I think you have to be thinking a certain way for it all to fall into place, then I went back to some of the puzzles with the big ones on and completely lost my train of thought!!

Ho hum, still trying to get my 'spare all big fat ones' trophy..

Tig

Tig, I've not had a chance to get my puzzler trophy yet so I can't verify this but *apparently* if you click on Triple Combo, Brainiac, Puzzler, Ten Grand and 7-At-Once in this order in the trophy room you should get 5 stars appear in the top left? corner (one star for each trophy you click) if you then go back to the main screen, so I'm told a small button should appear there although the forum post says it appears in the astraware logo on main screen and I don't see THAT

OK, will have a go Winston!! Just got to level 20 and then did 3 puzzles.... you get a tab with a ? on it... click it and you get the dance of the trancendental chuzzles!! Hypnotic enough to send anyone to sleep

I'm still Zuma-ing and have been stuck on Level 9-7 for days. That silly frog keeps missing such good shots.

I can tell you a way to get the fat chuzzle trophy.

Play on speed mode. As soon as a fat chuzzle appears, stop. Let the game go on and get locked up completely. Continue doing this until the game is over. And TA DAH, you will get the trophy.

yup Susie, that is Just what I did!! I hate to just sit back and watch though so I had to get up whilst the game was counting down!!!

Found the secret game too.... clicking on the trophies does indeed give you a new icon on the main screen, a spiral. The game is a small copy of bejewelled!!

So it seems the way to get some of the trophies is NOT to play your best game.....

I ublockled the secret level. It's, as Tig said, a cross between Bejeweled and Chuzzle. But it seems kinda boring....

Lady K--Secret to 9-7 of Zuma is: as much as possible, shoot the balls as they come in and try not to let the gap close to push the spiral forward. I usually lose that within a few minutes or get through, but you pretty much can't get through if anything gets to the very last leg of the spiral.

Still haven't cracked 12-7 of Zuma. Just too fast...

WW

took me ages to get through that level, but now I can manage without loosing a life. You are right that once they get down that last leg you are history!! Try to locate backwards balls and slowdown ones, they help a lot!!