Bowls Like Royalty

What better way to relax after a nice plate of rare, expensive food than a game of bowls. We don’t mean bowling either; that game has no finesse, no skill. We mean bowls! Gourmet Club Bowls is a quite an easy game to play and a personal favorite of mine, but I have to admit it’s quite hard to score too many NP when you're just starting. The basic objective of the game is that you (the cute Blue Cybunny) have to throw your bowls (red balls) close to the jack, which is the white ball. Your opponent, which will vary in each level, will also try to throw his bowls close to the jack. You can try to knock into your opponent's bowls to move them further away to the jack, but they will (in later levels) try to do the same.

Your opponents will be:

Level One: Sir Hefferton (A Red Moehog)

Level Two: Lord Briartree (A Starry Tuskaninny)

Level Three: Dr Grumps (A Yellow Tonu)

Level Four: Mr Bluster (A Purple Wocky)

Level Five: Mr Black (A Shadow Grarrl)

Level Six: Lord Splunch (A White Elephante)

Level Seven: Mr Rouge (A Blue Scorchio)

The winner in this game is decided based on who has more bowls close to the jack. Once it is figured out, the number of bowls close to the jack will be the number of points you score. If you accidentally knock it off the board, though, your opponent gets two points automatically. After each player has bowled four bowls, the round is over and points are awarded. Whoever gets their bowl closest to the jack gets a point. If you manage to get more than one of your bowls closer to the jack than your opponent’s nearest attempt, then you get the same amount of points as you have bowls closer to the jack. You must score seven points in each level in order to pass to the next level.

Instructions & Controls

1. To move your character, move your mouse.

2. To see how far away a bowl is from the jack, place your mouse over it.

3. To fire your bowls, click the ball and drag the red line however far back you want. The farther back you pull the red line, the harder you will throw the ball.

4. To add curve to your throw, use the arrow keys. Note that curve is usually evil, and I personally don’t recommend you use it, but the choice is yours.

Tips & Strategy

When I first played this game, I was a bit confused on how to throw the bowls. The game instructions do not explain this too well, so here goes the simple how-to.

Open the game window and look around. If it is your turn, you will see a blue Cybunny holding something in his paws. This object is the bowl. Click on it and hold the click. Now, drag your mouse back. A yellow line will come from the bowl to your mouse pointer. This indicates the direction the ball will follow once you let go of the click. (When you are in the beginning, I recommend you only do straight shots. As you advance, you will be able to use the walls and the fact that they make your bowl bounce). The optimal pulling distance for me is right before the tips of the Cybunny's ears. This distance is how much power is going into the shot. Now, let go of the click and watch the ball roll towards the jack.

Aiming for the jack can be hard when you first start out. I have figured out an easy way to do this, and all you need is a hand that doesn't shake too much. First, place your cursor over a nice grassy spot close to the jack, but not directly over it. Next, look at the other side of the screen. Is your Cybunny's ear over a patch of darker grass, or is their foot pointing at a spot on your screen? These will be used to help you aim.

Now, being careful to drag your mouse pointer in a kind of straight line, bring the cursor to the right until it is over the Cybunny's bowl. If your hand shook a bit, wriggle the Cybunny around until it seems to be just as it was when your mouse was near the jack. Finally, shoot the bowl out. You should get a perfect or near-perfect shot, very close to the bowl. In later levels you can use this technique, aiming not for the bowl but for the gaps between obstacles.

There are two obstacles that you have to overcome, the first is the Zeenana Peel, this slippery little nanner pops up once you reach Round Two. If your bowl hits it, it will send it flying askew in a random direction, usually straight up or down. The second is the Mysterious Hole, this little critter-infested hole pops up once you reach Round Three. If your bowl hits it, it mysteriously disappears. However, it still counts as one ball used.

At the top left corner of the screen, you will be able to see the current score. On the bottom left corner you can see who is winning the round and the number of points they will get. If you are winning, the rectangles, which indicate how many points in that round, will be red.

Code

There are several codes that can help you through this game:

1. Type shepherd at the start screen to DOUBLE your points in the game. If you do this correctly, you will hear a clapping sound. This is a very important code; be sure to use it.

2. Type superbowl; this allows you to skip levels. However, your score will stay the same, so I really don’t recommend you use this one.

Conclusion

The neopoints given for this game is 100 NP per 100 points scored. So, with a score of at least 1,000 points a day, you can make up to 3,000 NP a day just playing this game. And as a bonus, you will get a spiffy avatar when you submit a high enough score; how awesome is that?

There really are no other tricks to this game. It is a game of skill and determination. And like they all say practice makes perfect, and it is very true. And once you master this game, you’ll get a lot of fun, neopoints and a brand new avatar to brag in the Neoboard. Go bowls!