Hexic HD scoring guide

Introduction In this guide I explain the scheme I created to achieve what, at the time, were very high scores in Hexic HD Marathon mode. The scheme consists of placing sixteen silver stars on the board in such a way that you can make a theoretically endless number of star flowers while defending affectively against bombs. I named this set-up The Flower Grid, and in the Hexic community it has also come to be called the 4 x 4 grid. This guide uses the following terminology when referring to Hexic pieces and formations: A Star is a colored Hexic piece with a star outline on it. When you surround a Hexic piece of one color with six pieces of a different color, you are making a Flower. A Flower Star is the silver piece that results from making a Flower. A Black Pearl is the black piece that results from making a Flower of Flower Stars. How to make Flower Stars The best way to make your first starflower is to find or create a situation where the bottom half of the starflower is already made, such as a green piece sitting on three red pieces. Make combos above the four-piece unit until you surround the middle piece with six pieces of the same color. Example Since a silver star allows you to rotate it and the six surrounding pieces as one unit, it is much easier to make your second and all following flowers around a starflower. Not only is it easier to make flowers around a silver star, but you get more points for this than for making a flower around a normal piece. Example When making flowers, try to make as few combos as possible. As you make more and more stars, be extra careful when moving pieces not to make combos from your silver stars. How to control the board with the Flower Grid The best way to control the board is to use a method I invented that I've named: The Flower Grid. The flower grid lets you move any piece on the board to any location. With all of the pieces on the board available to you, you can make flowers easily and quickly. Once you have the grid set up, you just need to watch carefully that you don't make undesired combos while you make starflower after starflower. The grid is composed of 16 silver stars, four rows and four columns, spaced evenly on the board, with the exception of the right-most column, which is blocked off by a black pearl. The 4 x 4 grid looks like this: Notice that the 16 silver stars are equidistant and in a 4 across and 4 down pattern on the board. With the exception of the far right column, all pieces on the board are connected to at least one silver star, so any piece can be moved, with care, to any location on the 4 by 4 grid. Black pearls and silver stars are blocking the far right column, and one pearl is left inside the grid to assist in rebuilding the grid when it becomes disrupted by a bomb. When you make a new starflower, the new and remaining pieces fall in such way that the grid is not disrupted: you just have a new star attached to an existing, properly positioned star, which you can move as you wish. Only removing bombs and other combos will disrupt the grid once it is set up correctly: making new starflowers does not. Setting up the Flower Grid In order to start making the flower grid you will need at least 7 silver stars. Step 1: The first step is to make the bottom left of the 4 by 4 grid. Position the six silver stars that go in the bottom left of the 4 by 4. Move your stars carefully and start with the corner star. Continue building until you have a 2 by 3 with the six stars. You will have the extra star to help build the flower grid. Example Step 2: Use the partially complete flower grid to make more silver stars and continue building the 4 by 4 grid. You now have a partial flower machine going, and making the remaining silver stars should be no problem. Example Step 3: Finish up the 4 by 4 grid. Place the remaining silver stars in the correct positions as show in the linked image above. Example Step 4: Make your first black pearl. Use the grid to make additional stars, and just let them move around the 16 grid stars as if they were normal colored pieces. When rotating clusters, make sure you grab the correct star flower as the center if a second star flower is attached to it. If you grab the wrong one, you will disrupt the even 4 x 4 pattern of star flowers that allows you to control the board! When you have enough star flowers to make a pearl, move them into position and make the pearl. Example Note: There are two types of black pearls. One moves other pieces like a Y and the other like an upside down Y. The latter is the more useful of the two, and having one of these pearls to use inside the grid is very helpful for rebuilding the grid. Step 5: Make your second black pearl. Continue making stars until you have another pearl. When you have two, identify the pearl that moves other pieces like a Y and choose it for the next step, leaving the pearl that moves pieces like an upside down Y stays on the grid to help you move silver stars. Example Step 6: Block the far right column. Use the Y black pearl to block the right-most column on the board. It is important to block this column because these pieces are not controlled by the 4 by 4 grid. Try to avoid having two pieces of the same color stacked on this last column before you block it with the pearl: if you have a blue piece above another blue piece, for example, you can never move a third blue piece past this part of the column without making an unwanted combo there. Example You have now created The Flower Grid The Flower Grid controls the board and is a flower-making machine. You are now ready to make the big points. How to use the Flower Grid Continue making silver stars. When you have 3 extra silver stars or more you can make 3 silver star combinations. The best way to make points is to collect multiplier pieces of the same color in the two bottom corners. When you have six multipliers of the same color, make a flower with them to have a multiplier of 64. I recommend keeping two pieces of each color near the top to protect against bombs. Example

Scoring table for all 7 levels

Below is a table showing the score for different types of combos. Each score in the list is for each level beginning with level 1. Click on the title of the combo to see what it looks like. Clusters 3 piece cluster 5 - 10 - 15 - 20 - 25 - 30 - 35 4 piece cluster 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 - 70 5 piece cluster 15 - 30 - 45 - 60 - 75 - 90 - 105 3 multiplier cluster *** - 200 - 300 - 400 - 500 - 600 - 700 4 multiplier cluster *** - 400 - 600 - 800 - 1000 - 1200 - 1400 5 multiplier cluster *** - 600 - 900 - 1200 - 1500 - 1800 - 2100 3 silver star cluster 2,500 - 5,000 - 7,500 - 10,000 - 12,500 - 15,000 - 17,500 4 silver star cluster 5,000 - 10,000 - 15,000 - 20,000 - 25,000 - 30,000 - 35,000 5 silver star cluster 7,500 - 15,000 - 22,500 - 30,000 - 37,500 - 45,000 - 52,500 3 black pearl cluster Game ending - 25,000 - 50,000 - 75,000 - 100,000 - 125,000 - 150,000 - 175,000 4 black pearl cluster Game ending - 50,000 - 100,000 - 150,000 - 200,000 - 250,000 - 300,000 - 350,000 5 black pearl cluster Game ending - 75,000 - 150,000 - 225,000 - 300,000 - 375,000 - 450,000 - 525,000 Starflowers Starflower 1,000 - 2,000 - 3,000 - 4,000 - 5,000 - 6,000 - 7,000 Starflower with silver star inside 1,500 - 3,000 - 4,500 - 6,000 - 7,500 - 9,000 - 10,500 Starflower with black pearl inside 2,500 - 5,000 - 7,500 - 10,000 - 12,500 - 15,000 - 17,500 Starflower with 1 multiplier 2,000 - 4,000 - 6,000 - 8,000 - 10,000 - 12,000 - 14,000 Starflower with 2 multipliers 4,000 - 8,000 - 12,000 - 16,000 - 20,000 - 24,000 - 28,000 Starflower with 3 multipliers 8,000 - 16,000 - 24,000 - 32,000 - 40,000 - 48,000 - 56,000 Starflower with 4 multiplier 16,000 - 32,000 - 48,000 - 64,000 - 80,000 - 96,000 - 112,000 Starflower with 5 multipliers 32,000 - 64,000 - 96,000 - 128,000 - 160,000 - 192,000 - 224,000 Starflower with 6 multipliers 64,000 - 128,000 - 192,000 - 256,000 - 320,000 - 384,000 - 448,000 Starflower with 1 multiplier and silver star inside 3,000 - 6,000 - 9,000 - 12,000 - 15,000 - 18,000 - 21,000 Starflower with 2 multiplier and silver star inside 6,000 - 12,000 - 18,000 - 24,000 - 30,000 - 36,000 - 42,000 Starflower with 3 multiplier and silver star inside 12,000 - 24,000 - 36,000 - 48,000 - 60,000 - 72,000 - 84,000 Starflower with 4 multiplier and silver star inside 24,000 - 48,000 - 72,000 - 96,000 - 120,000 - 144,000 - 168,000 Starflower with 5 multiplier and silver star inside 48,000 - 96,000 - 144,000 - 192,000 - 240,000 - 288,000 - 336,000 Starflower with 6 multiplier and silver star inside 96,000 - 192,000 - 288,000 - 384,000 - 480,000 - 576,000 - 672,000 Starflower with 1 multiplier and black pearl inside 5,000 - 10,000 - 15,000 - 20,000 - 25,000 - 30,000 - 35,000 Starflower with 2 multiplier and black pearl inside 10,000 - 20,000 - 30,000 - 40,000 - 50,000 - 60,000 - 70,000 Starflower with 3 multiplier and black pearl inside 20,000 - 40,000 - 60,000 - 80,000 - 100,000 - 120,000 - 140,000 Starflower with 4 multiplier and black pearl inside 40,000 - 80,000 - 120,000 - 160,000 - 200,000 - 240,000 - 280,000 Starflower with 5 multiplier and black pearl inside 80,000 - 160,000 - 240,000 - 320,000 - 400,000 - 480,000 - 560,000 Starflower with 6 multiplier and black pearl inside 160,000 - 320,000 - 480,000 - 640,000 - 800,000 - 960,000 - 1,120,000 Flower with 6 silver stars 10,000 - 20,000 - 30,000 - 40,00 - 50,000 - 60,000 - 70,000 Flower with 6 silver stars and silver star inside 10,000 - 20,000 - 30,000 - 40,00 - 50,000 - 60,000 - 70,000 Flower with 6 silver stars and black pearl inside 15,000 - 30,000 - 45,000 - 60,000 - 75,000 - 90,000 - 105,000 Flower with 6 black pearls Game ending - 200,000 - 400,000 - 600,000 - 800,000 - 1,000,000 - 1,200,000 - 1,400,000 Flower with 6 black pearls and silver star inside Game ending - 250,000 - 500,000 - 750,000 - 1,000,000 - 1,250,000 - 1,500,000 - 1,750,000 Flower with 6 black pearls and black pearl inside Game ending - 250,000 - 500,000 - 750,000 - 1,000,000 - 1,250,000 - 1,500,000 - 1,750,000