Your Ultimate Guide to Zurroball

"Ewww - Zurroball? That icky game with the clicking and such?" I hear you say in a disgusted voice just after you walk inside.

Er... hello there. Oh, no - Zurroball is much more than just clicking to get a higher score. Zurroball is also about... umm... *looks around sheepishly* Anyway, Zurroball can be loads of fun and you may be turning your pitiful high score of fifty into twelve thousand in no time at all! You might even get a gold trophy out of it too.

"Oooh... shiny trophy."

Enough about me rambling on, though; it's time for the guide! Your Ultimate Guide to Zurroball has everything you want and need to become a Zurroball master! I was quite upset to see this is probably one of only a few Zurroball guides around, so I thought I’d help everyone out by making one that’s easy to follow. Hope you have fun. :)

Some Important Advice

Although it might seem overwhelming at first Zurroball is quite simple really, but very, very difficult. Yes, I know that sounds weird, but you either have natural talent for it, like many other games and you are an instant professional, or it can be learnt through lots of practise...

“Omg, this is sooo boring. I know I’m no good at Zurroball already. Practise is LAME.”

I know how you feel. You may have already played Zurroball before and got a terrible score like fourteen, but just think about this. The first time I played Zurroball I got around fifty points. A couple hours later and all got was a grand total of one hundred (still very pitiful). I was extremely upset because I thought I was going nowhere. But my will power was greater and I then continued playing for the rest of the night. A little while later, and as luck would have it, I got over a thousand points.

Although this is nothing compared to what I get now, it was still an improvement. Don’t give up on Zurroball; it can get very frustrating sometimes, but you have to stick with it. Trust me on this.

Your Surrounding Environment

Picking the correct environment for you is essential. Choose a nice quiet place to play Zurroball in with no distractions like little sisters, pesky Weewoos and Meepits that are trying to take over Neopia. Make sure that whatever you are sitting on is comfortable, as you’re going to be there for a while. If you feel hungry, I suggest getting some food before continuing.

“Yay! I got my popcorn – now what’s next?” you say in an excited whisper.

Screen Size Matters

If you really want to achieve a good score it is highly recommended that you choose the screen size wisely. On a larger screen size mode it is much easier to play and focus your attention more on the game at hand. If the game takes up the whole screen you’ll be less likely to chat to your neofriends about your favourite Kadoatie... *glares at you knowingly*

“Um, sorry... Kadoaties are so awesome, though,” you whine, while quickly exiting the Neoboards.

The conversation can wait until later, hehe. Now click on X-Large (1600x1200) on the pull down menu and click 'click to play' to open up the game on your screen. X-Large is the best resolution for your screen because it is not distorted or stretched like full screen mode is sometimes with different monitors. The next section is very important.

Choosing the Right Ball

The first mistake most Neopians make when playing Zurroball is that they don't know which ball to choose and then pick just any random one. *shakes head disapprovingly* But this could hinder your score greatly. Before you choose, look at the loaded screen in front of you. See the Purple Grundo spinning on the screen before you? He's just not for decoration; he is a ball himself!

“Woah – that’s teh spiff!”

Click on the Blue Badge with the 'N' on it and it will automatically load the game with the purple Grundo as the ball. I find this ball is so much easier to control than all the others, you can see where it is going and most importantly it is one hundred times easier to score massive points with. You are free to use whichever ball you want, but personally, you can never go wrong with the Grundo ball. Now you are almost ready to start playing!

The Basics of Zurroball

The aim in Zurroball is very simple. You have to keep your ball (the Grundo ball that is) suspended in the air for as long as possible by clicking it continuously. You can perform tricks with the ball that increase your score. Try to keep your ball airborne as long as possible, as once you touch the floor three times your game is over. That's basically what Zurroball is all about.

“Huh? How often do I click?” you ask, looking confused.

It needs some getting used to, but you need to keep your clicks constant. Practise makes perfect as always, though. The best way to learn how to play Zurroball is from self experience; learning what best suits you before trying other advice you may find. Play for a while before reading my next section; you probably will be ready for the strategy side of the game by then. Good luck playing.

Game Tricks and More

It is now time to tell you about the most fabulous part of the game... tricks! *does a little dance* All tricks are potentially good; some tricks are very hard; one kind of trick is the greatest! You get ten points for it every time you do it! Here are all the game tricks and their points. Don’t worry; you don’t need to remember them all.

Freestyle:

Normal hit in the air, just worth one point.

Boomerang:

Hit the ball of one side, and then hit it again to the other side of the game screen. Five points for each Boomerang you perform.

Right-Zurro:

Hit to the right wall. Three points total. Good for starters and the easiest to control afterwards - apart from the Grounder/Freestyle.

Left-Zurro:

Hit to the left wall. Three points total - the exact opposite of Right-Zurro.

Around the World:

When you build up momentum in the ball and it bounces off both sides without you touching it.

Grounder:

The Grounder is the best move in the game! It's one of the only few point scoring tricks I use actually, hehe. It’s absolutely awesome.

“Uh, so... which tricks are we supposed to use then?”

I’m glad you asked. The Grounder, Left-Zurro, Right-Zurro and Freestyle of course are the only tricks recommended to perform when you play Zurroball and they are the only ones I use. The other tricks take up way too much time and make it extremely hard to control the ball afterwards. You will learn more about the best move in the game in the next section.

The Grounder and Game play

“Omg, what’s a Grounder? It sounds hard-”

A grounder is simply a very easy trick that scores you lots and lots of points.

“Oooh… So how does it work?” you ask, intrigued.

It may take some practise but simply when your Grundo ball starts to fall, click on him and slowly - ever so slowly, lower him near to the ground. The ground basically ends where the bottom edge of the square window is. Try to keep the ball above there. When you are close enough to the bottom you will hear a faint clicking noise. That means you just scored ten points instantly! You should have the volume turned up so you can hear what I mean.

“Errghh! Omg... the noise is annoying, make it stop!” you cry out.

Very sorry, but if you want to get a good score you have to leave it on. It gives you a basic idea of how many times you’ve done a Grounder, and is one way of estimating your score easily (more on that later). Remember when doing a Grounder to never let your shadow get too big.

Make sure your Grundo ball doesn’t move around too much, don't wait too long between clicks and keep your ball under control at all times. Don't even worry about the other tricks that may ruin your attempt and make your Ball fall to the ground. Make sure your Grundo Ball is one finger nail length from the bottom of the screen. Understand all that? Good. Lastly, do not get frustrated if you fail.

When you have heard about four to eleven clicks of the Grounder, click more frequently and raise your Ball until it is above the red line at the top of the game screen. This secures your hard earned points. You should then instantly have around sixty points or more, congratulations!!!

Once you get better and better at this technique you can stay down longer and earn even more points and surface with around two hundred points! Remember, stay cool, calm and don't panic if you lose your ball - just wait for the next one and repeat and practise the techniques you have learnt. Soon you will get the hang of the Grounder in no time!

“Wow, that’s cool. You have any more extra advice on clicking?”

Yes, it helps if you just click slightly near the bottom edge of the Grundo Ball and count: one *click* two *click* three *click* and so on. As you start playing, try to maintain control of the Ball rather than take a risk to score massive points. If you would like music to listen to in this game, it is recommended as the beat and rhythm of many songs help keep the timing in your head. Make sure you can still hear those little Grounder beeps, though. ;)

High scores and Scoring

Once you've gotten the hang of the Grounder you might be setting your sights higher for earning neopoints or even a high score!

“Yes! I want a trophy so bad, hehe. What should I do?”

I’ll explain that later. *grins* Before we discuss that, though - in the last section we talked about how you must get above the red line for you points to get tallied, otherwise your score won't get recorded. There are a few more words of advice about scoring I’d like to tell you about...

If you look at the left sidebar in the game window you may see something called 'current'. This is the current amount of clicks you have done. I recommended waiting until you have over twenty-five before attempting to go above the red line. As you get more skilled you can wait until thirty, fifty or even one hundred clicks before rising, so as not to waste time or risk losing control earlier on in your game. This simpler to do than counting your Grounder beeps but is only recommended for intermediate players.

Also, if you just wish to get three thousand neopoints per day in Zurroball you have to get at least two hundred points per game you play. I think is very easy to do this and I get three thousand neopoints a day thanks to Zurroball. You can...

“Blah, blah, blah. Hurry up - how do I get a trophy?”

Alright, alright! I’ll get on to high scores now. The highest score that is achievable before it is reviewed by Neopets Staff is 9,999. The actual review score is 10,000. Although, it may be randomly reviewed lower than this for no specific reason. It may seem very high, but for people who practise a lot it doesn’t seem that hard to reach at all.

If you wish to get a gold, silver or bronze trophy in Zurroball, I suggest you get below 10,000 and sending it the first of any month after 12:35 am NST (this is when the high score tables reset). Because the Neopets Team can't really review your score at around midnight on the first of every month it is wise to get less than 10,000 points. If you got higher, that would mean that you'd probably miss out on trophies being awarded that night.

The score needed for the bronze trophy increases and decreases over time but it is usually 3,000 points, with the other types of trophies needing 5,000 plus more points. If you score exactly 9,999 you are almost always guaranteed a gold trophy, although with the scoring and tricks in Zurroball, this is very tricky to do. I have only pulled this off twice and it is very easy to go over the review score when you try for this number.

Send all your scores roughly between 1:00 am NST (the first of every month) and 4:00 am NST and you should be fine. And hopefully you'll have a beautiful, shiny trophy on your user lookup by the time you wake up. ;)

The End

“Omg, is the g-guide over?! I was just starting to like it too...” I hear you whimper.

Yes, I’m afraid it is... *sheds a tear of deep sorrow* Thank you all so much for reading my guide. I can only hope it helped you improve your gaming a little bit, hehe. If you have any questions you’re more than welcome to neomail me, as I will answer them all. Remember to never get frustrated at your score; as long as you improve over time, you're doing great! Thanks and good luck. ;)