Arkanoid tips and strategies

Aim with the edges of the paddle

The single most useful skill in a brick breaker is choosing where the ball meets the paddle. A hit in the center sends the ball straight up; a hit at an edge sends it off at up to 60 degrees. That gives you a simple way to steer:

• Move early, then adjust. Get under the ball as soon as it starts falling, then shift the paddle a little so the ball lands on the part you want. Last-moment lunges send the ball to random places.
• Use the edges for side targets. To reach a brick near the left wall, catch the ball with the left part of the paddle. Near-edge hits also bounce the ball off the side walls, which reaches corners you cannot hit directly.
• Use the center to reset. When the ball goes wild, a few center hits give you a calm, predictable rally while you plan the next shot.
• Hold Shift on a keyboard. Slow, precise moves make it much easier to land the ball on a chosen spot.

Watch the ball, not the paddle. Your hand knows where the paddle is; your eyes are needed to read the angle of the ball as early as possible.

Tunnel behind the wall

The best shot in the game is a ball that gets behind the bricks. Once it reaches the space between the wall of bricks and the top wall, it bounces back and forth up there, breaking bricks from above, without coming down to you. It is also the easiest way to build a long combo.

To dig a tunnel, pick one column, usually near a side wall, and hit it again and again until a gap opens to the top. The side walls help, because a ball that comes off a wall at a steep angle often slips into a narrow gap. In the picture, the gap runs through three rows, the ball is inside it and will soon work along the top row from above.

While the ball is behind the wall, do not relax: it will come back down sooner or later, and often at a strange angle. Keep the paddle near the middle so you can reach either side.

Which capsule to take

Not every capsule is worth chasing. If the ball is coming down at the same time, save the ball first: a missed capsule costs nothing, a missed ball costs a life. When you can choose, think about what the level needs.

• Multi-ball for open walls. Multi-ball splits every ball into 3. It is at its best when there are many bricks left and plenty of space for the balls to fly. You only lose a life when the last ball falls, so you can let some of them go and follow the ones that are easiest to catch.
• Laser for the last bricks. When only a few bricks are left in awkward places, the Laser is better than more balls: move under the brick and shoot. It is also strong against silver bricks, because every shot counts as one hit.
• Wide when things get fast. A late level with a fast ball, enemies and several balls is easier with a wider paddle. Remember that taking Wide replaces a Laser or a Magnet.
• Magnet for aiming. With the Magnet you can catch the ball, move to the perfect spot and release it. It is the easiest way to send the ball into a tunnel.
• Slow when you are in trouble. Slow makes the ball 35% slower and works on top of everything else.

Because Wide, Laser and Magnet replace each other, it can be better to let a capsule fall. If you have a Laser and only a few bricks are left, do not catch a Wide.

Handling silver and gold walls

Silver bricks need 2 hits in Neon Harbor, 3 in Crystal Caverns and 4 in Solar Forge, so a full row of them takes a long time. Do not attack the middle of a silver wall head on. Look for a gap, an edge or a corner where you can get the ball behind the silver row, then let it work from above.

In the picture, the ball comes off the right part of the paddle and flies straight into the gap in the silver row. Behind it, the colored bricks break with one hit each.

A Fireball is the fastest answer to a silver wall: for 8 seconds the ball burns straight through. A Laser takes one hit off a silver brick with each shot and never risks the ball. Explosive bricks next to silver ones are worth a lot, because a blast destroys every neighbor except gold.

Gold bricks never break, so stop thinking of them as targets. They are part of the walls of the level: learn how the ball comes off them and use them to reach pockets of bricks behind them.

Splitters and drones

• Save Splitters for the right moment. A Splitter releases 2 extra balls where it breaks. Hit it when the wall is still full, and the new balls do their work among the bricks.
• Clear drones early. From the second world, drones drift in through two gates at the top. They never cost a life, but a drone near the paddle can deflect the ball at the last moment. Hit them while they are high up; each one is worth 100 points.
• Touch them with the paddle. The paddle destroys drones too, so if one drifts low, simply move into it.

The boss at level 36

The last level is a fight against the Prism Core, a large armored core that moves around the top of the field, has a health bar and fires slow plasma orbs. An orb that hits the paddle costs a life.

• Wait for the core to open. From time to time the glowing core opens, and hits there do triple damage. Keep the ball in play and aim for the core while it is open.
• Dodge first, attack second. The orbs are slow, so you can see them coming. Step aside, then get back under the ball.
• Arrive with lives. Earlier levels are the place to bank extra lives: one at 20,000 points and another every 60,000 points after that.

More points, more stars

• Build combos. Every brick broken without the ball touching the paddle adds a growing bonus, up to 200 points per brick. Long rallies behind the wall build the biggest combos.
• Do not hurry the first shot. The ball waits on the paddle until you launch. Use that moment to pick the best starting point.
• Play for stars one at a time. 2 stars need a level cleared without losing a life, 3 stars also need a time under par. Both conditions also give 1,000 bonus points each. First learn the level, then go for speed.

The rules behind these tips are in How to Play, and every capsule and brick is described in the power-ups and bricks guide. Ready? Play the campaign or today's Daily.