The (Un)Official Destruct-O-Match II Strategy Guide

[EDIT]... WHAT? That’s the second most popular game on the site, Adam, are you insane?

No, it’s fine, trust me.

As it turns out, Adam is insane. DESTRUCT-O-MATCH IS IN THE GAME GRAVEYARD. To soften this blow, the Neopets Team has taken the time to add Destruct-O-Match II, so I have taken the time to create a game guide for Destruct-O-Match II, separated into three parts: Tutorial, Strategy Guide, and Predictions. Read on to find out some awesome strategies for the new game.

Tutorial

The objective in Destruct-O-Match II is to destroy boulders, instead of destroying houses like in Destruct-O-Match I. it has the basically the same rules as Destruct-O-Match I, but in case you have never played Destruct-O-Match before, I will go over them myself.

Rules

You start out with a screen full of blocks. The first thing you will notice is that those blocks have different colors. Those colors are orange, green, blue, gray, purple, yellow, and black. The black ones have either a fire symbol on them, or a crossed bones symbol, both of which are explained later. Some of these blocks have one or more boulders of the same color next to them. These can be destroyed. To destroy them, click once one the blocks to activate them, and click on them again to destroying. If you activate them, then change your mind, click elsewhere on the game screen to deactivate it. You must score as many points as possible to advance to the next round. If you don’t score enough points, you are out of luck, and your game is over.

As said in the rules, some boulders have symbols on them. These boulders are special, in both good ways and in bad ways. There are six types of boulders that you will encounter, and I will describe them below.

Fill Boulder

The fill boulder makes a new row of boulders appear at the top of the screen. You can recognize it by the question mark it has on it. This is classified as a “good guy” boulder, but is mostly thought of as a “bad guy” boulder. It creates the new row, which makes new combinations. New combinations mean more Neopoints. Now does the fill boulder sound better?

Multiplier boulder

You can triple the points in your combination with this boulder, so you’d definitely want to group same colored boulders together. My tests indicate that it most commonly occurs on yellow blocks. It is pretty easy to spot, with it’s “x3” painted on.

Overkill boulder

This boulder is my personal favorite. You make a combination with it, and it destroys all boulders with the same color. It looks spectacular when activated at the beginning of the round, but should be used towards the end. You can recognize it by its dot with arrows pointing outwards.

Fire boulder

This unmistakable boulder has a fire symbol on it, which burns all boulders touching it. This can destroy an Indestructible boulder so it should not be used at the very start, as it has better uses than destroying normal boulders.

Indestructible boulder

This boulder comes in two stages, which are the morph boulder and the “crossed bones” boulder. It starts at morph, which has an “x” painted on it. On top of the “x” is a countdown, which goes from fifteen to one. Destroy the countdown before it goes into the dreaded “crossed bones” stage, where it can only be destroyed by the fire boulder.

Now that we’ve covered all the tutorial stuff, it’s time to cut to the chase, and start the strategy guide. You may have this already figured out, so if you have, give yourself a pat on the back.

Strategy guide

There are three modes for Destruct-O-Match II, Normal mode, Extreme mode, and Zen mode. Normal mode is just like regular Destruct-O-Match, Extreme mode is a time attack version, and Zen mode is when you can play as long as you like. I have a strategy guide for normal mode, and a strategy guide for extreme mode. Read on to find out how to be successful in both of these areas.

Normal mode

The strategy for normal mode is fairly simple, since I have numbered and prioritized the list of things you want to do, from one, being the thing you want to do first, and nine, the thing you want to do at the end.

• Search for morph boulders. Above all else, they are the ones you want to destroy the most, as it may be the difference between advancing to the next level, and losing the game.

• Group your multiplier boulder colors together to get a ton of points.

• Destroy the very top combinations, so you won’t ruin any ones below.

• If you accidentally goof up a superb combination, try destroying other boulders, to get the previously messed-up boulders into a combo.

• Work your way slowly down, until your boulders are halfway down the screen.

• Use your fill boulder to make a new row of blocks.

• When you are near the bottom, use your overkill, and fire boulder.

• Finish up the level by doing as much combos as possible.

• If you lose after the third level, or above, it is highly recommended to send your score.

Extreme mode

For extreme mode, the bricks come up from the bottom, and work their way to the top. Your job is to destroy all combinations to keep the bricks from reaching the top of the screen, thus losing the game. Thankfully, you only need to click once to destroy the boulders.

The first thing you need to do is analyze the screen for about five seconds. That gives you long enough to find several combinations, and click them. Every ten seconds or so, new boulders come up from the bottom, to give you more combinations. If you are too slow, the bricks will pile up, creating the “Certain Doom” effect

In case of the “Certain Doom” effect, madly click on random bricks. Doing so should save you for about half a minute. Keep in mind; you need two hundred points to advance a level, which notifies you with a faint “beep”. This version of Destruct-O-Match II gives out the same Neopoints ratio but rewards you handsomely, because it is so simple. I always make at least a thousand Neopoints per try.

Predictions

Okay, with a new game on Neopets, there’s going to be some new Destruct-O-Match II stuff, right? I have compiled a list with the possible things that may be released in the near future.

• New Avatar

  There’s probably going to be a new Destruct-O-Match II avatar, with exploding blocks, that keep falling forever, and at the bottom, there will be fading words that read either “Destruct-O-Match II” or “BOOM!”

• New Trophy

  I predict that there will be a trophy for longest play in Zen mode. It would be five bricks next to an hourglass for bronze, ten bricks next to an hourglass for silver, and fifteen bricks next to an hourglass for gold.

• New Items

  Imagine sitting on your Destruct-O-Match II bean bag chair, while playing “Destruct-O-Match II: The board game” on a Destruct-O-Match II game table. Other items could include Plushie Overkill boulders, or taking a refreshing sip of “The Official Destruct-O-Match II Beverage” These are all superb ideas.

Now you know how to play Destruct-O-Match II, and how to play it well. Be on the lookout for Destruct-O-Match II merchandise and Neohome furnishings. Hey, there might even be “Destruct-O-Match II Land”. Just think, a game trophy could be yours, just because you took the time to read this article. Now go out there and BUST SOME BOULDERS!