Now that we finally have a native iOS version of the real, legitimate Suika Game ($2.99), I have an excuse to write a guide for the game. Paid to play Suika Game? What a world we live in! That said, part of what makes Suika Game so fun is in how approachable and straightforward it is. There really isn’t room for a massive, sprawling guide here. Thus, I’ve boiled it down to ten tips to help you maximize your scores and keep those beautiful watermelons growing.
1) Always plan ahead. This is the most important tip there is. If you create two melons but they can’t possibly touch each other, you’ve basically lost the game. You might not be able to help the odd unlucky bounce, but you should never (for example) be directly dropping small fruits in between bigger fruits if there won’t be any room to merge them. Keep your eye on the juicy prize.
2) Drop smaller fruits a good distance away from bigger ones. Give your smaller fruits some space to grow instead of dropping them right next to a big fellow. You won’t know when another of the same fruit will drop, and if you don’t leave yourself some space to work with you can end up with the dreaded situation mentioned in the first tip’s example. Try to park fruits that are within one or two stages of evolution next to each other.
3) Think vertically and horizontally. At first you’ll have an empty box and will most likely line the floor with fruits. Not a bad idea at the start, but as the floor fills out start thinking about merging from above, too. There are a lot of ways to chain things, and you have to keep your eyes open for every opportunity.
4) Keep the floor clean. One of the fun things about Suika Game is how the fruits will sometimes shift and unexpected merges can happen. The thing about those surprise merges is that they can exert some upward force on the fruits above them, and that can end up launching a fruit out of the box unexpectedly. It’s certainly enjoyable to see those pop-pop-pops happen, but it’s better to keep the space at the bottom as free of smaller fruits as you possibly can.
5) Never bury cherries. Broadly speaking, it’s not a good idea to cover any smaller fruit with a bigger one, but sometimes it can’t be helped. But at the very least, avoid burying cherries. They’re small enough that you shouldn’t have to, and they will only cause trouble for you if you get them stuck in various crevices. Keep them up high and accessible.
6) Remember the fruit distribution. Only the first five sizes of fruits will come up as drops. Cherries, strawberries, grapes, oranges, and persimmons. Those five will drop at an even distribution, which means each one has a one in five chance of showing up. There aren’t any rules about repeating, unlike in say Tetris. It really could be any of those five, with an equal chance. And never anything bigger, either. Knowing how this works can help you plan your moves better.
7) Aim for a gentle slope with your pile. Basically, build your pile up as evenly as possible. Steep slopes create more chances for fruits to roll off in unpredictable ways, and you don’t want that. A gentle slope gives you more stable places to put fruits and work on your next merges. It also helps you avoid large spaces between fruits. Keep the stack even and you’ll have a better time of things in many ways.
8) Carefully use fruits to move other fruits. This is basic advice, but you know, just in case. You can use the force of another fruit’s drop to get an already-dropped fruit rolling. You can also shift the balance of the pile by placing a fruit in the right position. Trying to “hammer" fruits with other fruits isn’t a good idea. The way the fruit physics work in Suika Game, it’s a lot harder than you might think to squash down a fruit that is stuck between two others. Most attempts to do so will end in failure, and the fruit you tried to use as a hammer will only end up as another obstacle to take care of. And always consider where the fruit you’re using to move another fruit will end up.
9) When the pile gets high, every move counts. This is when the pressure is on, but you can often get yourself out of the mess if you’re very careful. What fruits are at the top of the pile? Prioritize merging whatever is needed to make some extra space for yourself, but mind the popping effect, as it’s very easy to launch a fruit out when your stack is that high. Whatever you do, don’t be mindless about where you put anything at that point. Even a single cherry can spell disaster or salvation.
10) Know when to strike and when to stay. Dropping a fruit in Suika Game will generally lead to other fruits in the box moving in some way. Sometimes in small ways, sometimes in big ones. In many cases, you’ll want to see how the fruits settle in before taking your next move. Given a bit of time, some of them might shuffle and even merge. At other times, you’ll want to act quickly with your next drop. If the fruits seem to be moving in a way that will mess up your board, you can sometimes set things right with a quick follow-up. It’s up to you to survey your box and make those calls.
You probably know some of these tips already, but hopefully you picked up at least something useful here. By the way, in Suika Game circles the general goal is to aim for a score of 3,000 or better. That translates to one watermelon and one melon, or one watermelon and two pineapples. If you use all of these tips and are persistent, I’m sure you’ll join the 3,000 club in no time!
