Trident Layers Factory - Flavorful Fun!

When it comes to sponsored games I keep my expectations low. *^_^* So I was.... unsure about trying Trident Layers Factory at Candystand. But this turned out to be a pretty awesome game!

Meep!

Okay, so you have a bubble gum magnet to pull down blocks of gum. If it's the same color, you can stack up to 7 blocks on the magnet at one go.

You clear bubble gum blocks by forming layered piece of gum. There's a pink sandwich and a pineapple/apple mix. New rows are pushed down from the top, so you better be quick!

I totally thought that was lemon/lime.

The picture makes it look like the combos only work if you have one of each color block. Well, I have good news!  The game looks for the pattern of colors and not the number of blocks. See?

Oooooh... I wanna chew that!

Everything inside that blue box counts as one piece of layered gum. When I release the magnet all of the layers smoosh together into one nice piece! ^_^

Sweet!

Sometimes you'll see combos already on the board, but they won't vanish on their own. You have two options.

1. Add more end-color blocks to make it bigger. It will then smush into a small piece and vanish.
2. Pull the last block down with the magnet, then release it. Even though you didn't add anything the game now sees it as a completed piece and it'll vanish.

Since your magnet can hold only 7 blocks at a time, and the board would get crowded FAST when you make uber-pieces, Trident Layers Factory decided to squish the gum blocks for you.

I see numbers. What do they mean?

Whenever you release blocks of gum so that they form a group of four or more same-color blocks, the blocks combine. This new block will have a number on it, and it's treated as one block! (See scoring for more info.)

Combining blocks is very handy for making big combos without using a ton of space. Use it! ^_^

And have you noticed the little number under the magnet? (Check the first picture.) That's how many laser charges you have. Despite the impressive name, the laser removes only one block per charge. Save your charges for metal and ice blocks. ^_^

Jackpot

Whenever you make 7 pieces of apple/pineapple gum OR strawberry/orange gum, you get to spin the Fruit Flavor Jackpot!!

Yay! I'm lucky! (They told me so.)

Jackpots are the only way to pick up charges for your laser. The lasers are very helpful in the last few levels, so save them up!

I have mixed feelings about the jackpot. In unlimited play it's great, because it's essentially a pause button. You can get up and grab food, use the bathroom, chase your cats off the counters, whatever. ^_^

But in high scores mode it's more of a nuisance. You don't have a choice about when to spin, it just POPS UP. When I get in a gaming groove it's sort of like when I get into a good book; disturb me and you will die. So yeah, I really hate having to wait for the inexplicably slow jackpot to finish spinning, and then trying to remember what combo I was in the middle of making. Ugh.

Oh, and since the two fruit flavors are on two different meters, frequently I spin the jackpot, make two more matches, and have to spin again!

I will admit that the bonus points are nice. One time I was lucky enough to get 5 of a kind. Pretty sweet reward!

Nice!

But for the most part, I could do without the jackpots. Ah well.


Special Pieces

Trident Layers Factory has two different modes. You can play unlimited, where the fun never ends. (Literally. If you die you just start over!) Or you can play high score mode and earn a shiny trophy!

High score mode has 10 levels, with each level lasting 2.5 minutes. If you manage not to die then you get to move on to the next level!

Starting on level 2 of high scores mode, you're introduced to the first special piece. A metal block.

Wha?

Despite the fact that this is the ONLY metal object in the game, it will not work with the magnet. That's just funny. ^_^

If you build a gum combo right next to the metal block, then when the combo vanishes, the metal block will vanish too.

Personally, I found that difficult if not impossible to set up when a metal block sticks waaaaaaaaaay out from the rest of the board. In that scenario it's best to fry it with a laser. OR you can use one of the following special blocks to get rid of it. ^_^

"Row Destroyer." That sounds like a band.

The row destroyer is exactly what it sounds like. ^_^ It destroys -rows-. To activate it just pull it down with your magnet and then fire it back up. Activating *other* special blocks can also activate the row destroyer!

Looks like a lava block to me.

Bombs blow up everything in a 3x3 radius. If a row destroyer is in that radius, it will fire off and destroy the row too. Very handy. ^_^ Mira + Bombs = Love

Column Destroyer says, "RAR!!!!"

But as much as I love bombs, I *might* love column destroyers even more. ^_^ Grab one and use it on the longest column. BAM! Everything gone! It tears through metal and activates all row destroyers and bombs. Oh! And it cracks ice blocks too.

Looks cold.

This is a frozen solid block of annoying. In order to remove it you have to "hit it" twice with a row/column destroyer, bomb, or laser beam.

I'm so very, very glad that this pesky thing is only in the last two levels. Ugh!

Oh my.

That's what level 10 looks like. Remember that a steady stream of new rows come down from the top, so be quick!!


Scoring

In unlimited mode you get 100 points for every gum block that you clear. This means that a finished piece made with 17 blocks (it's possible!) is worth 1700 points! Sweet!

In high scores mode it *appears* that blocks are worth 50 points instead of 100. I'm not positive on this and if anyone knows for sure, please tell me. ^_^

Either way, if you want to rack up points you have two options.

1. Make as many finished pieces as you can. The extra points from the jackpots are worth it!
2. Make as many BIG finished pieces as you can. No extra bonus, but they're fun!

Since I don't like the jackpots, I went with option 2. That seemed to work out pretty well. ^_^

 Woohoo!!!

Not bad, right? But how does it compare to oh, the rest of the world?

Hey... That's me!!!

Pretty good, actually. ^_^

Okay, enough of tooting my own horn.

Toot!

¬_¬ MOVING ON!

Numbered blocks don't provide any bonuses. A 4x block is worth the same as 4 un-squished blocks. It's just easier to move. ^_^

No matter what you score, don't forget to hit SUBMIT SCORE when you're done! That's the only way you get tickets!


Tips & Tricks

The last two levels in the highscores mode gets pretty hectic. Keep an eye open for ANY bomb or destroyer that you can grab. Try to activate bombs so they set off any destroyers buried in the gum blocks.

Unlimited mode essentially dumps you into an unending level 10. But after you die once, it takes you to an unending level 1! This may be a mistake, but I prefer an unending level 1 to an unending level 10. It's much more relaxing. ^_^

Also, in unending you cannot submit any score you earn. If you still want tickets just hit "Main Menu" when you're done and submit a score of 0.


Final Rating

Trident Layers Factory turned out to be a pleasant surprise. ^_^ On the whole it's a great game and really kept me on my toes!

The one downer is the jackpot. I wish they'd saved it for the end of the level instead of right in the middle. Honestly, the jackpot is the only reason this one isn't getting a perfect score. Still, 4 out of 5 stars ain't bad!

Try it today (Tuesday) at Candystand and get the bonus of double tickets every time you submit your score! Then come back here and let me know what you think! ^_^