Tutorial Contest Entry 2

JUDGES' SCORES
See the forum-announcement post for a description of the judging categories.

The averaged scores of the judges for this entry were: Clarity: 4.50 Comprehensiveness: 4.50 Contribution: 2.50 Illustrations: 6.17 Presentation: 3.83 Research: 2.50

The final score is a sum of these scores, with "internal" categories (clarity, comprehensiveness, illustrations, presentation) counting 2x as much as "external" categories (contribution, research). Maximum score is 100. The final score for this tutorial is: 43

This is your full guide to the incredible art of sword fighting in Puzzle Pirates. Each categories will be divided into sub-categories. In this guide I will bring you through all the aspects from the basics, all the way to the different types of swords! So read on, and become the fighter you were born to be! Table of Contents: 1. Object of the puzzle 2. Good Technique 3. Soloing vs. Brawls (teams) 4. Random Tips 5. Different Swords and Colors 6. Full sword fight video 7. My sources and other good sites

The Object of Sword Fighting
- Why? Why do we sword fight u ask? The main reason would be for money, but normally in inns, or on pillages. They are a very good way to make money, and honestly, since when does a pirate not swordfight?

- How to play:  The board in sword fighting looks a lot like Tetris. For those of you who don’t know what Tetris is, it’s that game with the blocks that u need to pile so they touch the same colors. There are 4 different color blocks, each block has it’s own symbol. The colors are; green, blue, red, and yellow. In this game you try to group blocks of the same color with each other so they form darker, larger blocks like these: [] Then there is the pieces that are referred to as “breakers”. These are special blocks that well…break the pieces. There are four breakers, they looks like the blocks but they are just the symbol that is usually in the middle of the block. So for the red, it would be a red skull dagger. Here is an example of a breaker and something breaking: [] [] - How to win The object of sword fighting is to make your opponent have no room to drop his/her blocks. This is done by breaking yer pieces as shown above. When multiple blocks have been linked to form a large block, it produces a sword that will fall onto yer opponents board, taking up space. But the swords slowly turn into blocks themselves, so be consistent, don’t let him counter attack when the swords become pieces. This is a example of a sword before, and during the changes: [] []

-Issuing a Challenge Issuing a challenge to another player is quite simple. Just click on the pirate ye wish to sword fight, and click the challenge tab, then chose which type of challenge, (in this case, sword fighting) set a wager, and ye be off!

Good Technique
- Different methods and styles Seeing as every pirate is different, many people like to play different ways. There are a few different methods a pirate can use in a sword fight, try to chose whichever suits ye! The first method is called Striking. Striking is probably the most used method in the game. This is where you try and build the biggest linked block you can, and then break it to make a huge sword. Another popular method is sprinkling. It is slightly harder to do but it works well. Sprinkling is where you don’t make blocks, but u connect a lot of single blocks to form a not-linked attack, so instead of swords falling on your opponent, it’s random blocks. The number of blocks is relevant to the number you broke. An example of both these methods is shown here: [] [] The final method, is connected links. It’s much easier to pull of then it sounds. This is where you have many linked blocks (it is easier with smaller blocks, but more deadly with bigger) all connected by random blocks. So naturally the linked blocks must be the same color. This is a very effective strategy. What will happen is that your opponent will receive multiple swords at once. Here is an example of what your board would look like: [] - Don’t get caught off guard! Though I am not writing much about it, because it’s simple, it may well save your sword fighting rating. ALWAYS have a way out. No matter what make sure u have at least 2 escape routes. That means have multiple colors in one section, so if u get stuck, and you get a breaker of any color, you can break something and have a way out. This is a good way to prolong your life, it may not help much, but many times I have used it, and in the 2-5 seconds it saved me, my opponent died. - Combinations and Double-Breaks These are somewhat like the connected link method. Combinations can be made in 2 different ways. The first way, is getting 2 breakers (the 2 blocks that fall are 2 breakers). The second, is slightly more complicated, it involves already having a breaker not touching it’s color then the pieces next to, or underneath being broken to let it fall onto another piece of its own color. Double-Breaks are only down when you get 2 breakers. It is done when both breakers are touching a link or random block of its own color, both breakers will break their pieces, thus creating a massive break (not always massive, but usually). Here are some examples: [] []

Soloing vs. Brawls (teams)
- Soloing Soloing is the regular sword fighting. This is a one on one match between you and another pirate. When soloing, it is advised to fight someone of your skill because you have no one to back you up. - Brawls (teams) Brawls can only be done in inns or on pillages vs. other ships. Brawls introduce the concept of teaming on opponents. Teaming is essential when fighting in a brawl, because you can be sure your opponent will team on you. Teaming is basically two people attack another, so the receiver will get both people’s strikes, and sprinkles, etc. Teaming is very simple, and it must be learned early on. To team in a fight simply left click on the face, or box of your opponent as shown here: [] []

Random tips
These are some tips that I find useful when sword fighting. -There are 6 columns, 1 being all the way to the left, and 6 on the right, try not to make linked blocks using columns 1 and 6, seeing as they are up against a wall. -Always try to fill up every single square. Don’t box yourself in, it cuts off useable squares. -Try to use all your breakers, it sucks to see your board after you lose with 3 breakers in the middle of no where. -During pillages, there’s is a good chance that you will get shot in the battle navigation. This will cut off some of your board, so be aware that you have less room. -Also during pillages there’s a chance that you will have no rum left this will cause you to lose rows 1 and 6. -Try to make multiple links at a time, so if you get a blue and red piece, try and use it so it finishes or increases 2 different links.

Different Swords and Colors
- Types of Swords There are 15 different swords a pirate can have in the game. One of them, the Backsword, is only available to those who bought the box set. Certain swords are better then others, and some are extremely close to each other in strength. The sword you use has a huge impact on how you play. Whether or not you want a reversed or not, it all plays a factor. Here are a list of the swords and the order I believe they are the most powerful (1 being the most powerful) 1.Cleaver 2.Falchion 3.Backsword 4.Skull Dagger 5.Saber 6.Poniard 7.Stiletto 8.Scimitar 9.Rapier 10.Cutlass 11.Long Sword 12.Short Sword 13.Dirk 14.Foil 15.Stick - Colors Color is not that big of a deal. But on some swords, if the first color is blue, green, or purple, you can reverse it, making it double edged. Besides that nothing has really been proven. But I still think colors can be used. It is said that black handles make your sword more powerful, I don’t believe in this. HOWEVER I do believe in analyzing your opponent. Seeing as black enamel is very expensive, when against a human player with a black handle, you can assume he is rich and must be good to make that kind of money.

Full Sword Fight Video
I know that the video is slow, but you are still able to see the different actions taking place. So please be patient. []    (just click download after waiting the 45 seconds) This video is done on Windows media player, to open it press CTRL and then click on. During the fight I used a few of the techniques I spoke about. I did many sprinkles, and a lot of small combos. Usually I use the Connected links but I didn’t have much of a chance this time because she kept pouring it on. If you watched until the end, you see that I did not have a clear way out. This can sometimes happen when your opponent drops 2 swords like she did, I’m not just making excuses…..

My sources and other good sites
For my information, I only used the Puzzle Pirates website, their Yppedia. That site is []. It is also the only guide I know of so just type in Sword fighting in search.