Puzzle scoring
Contents
[hide]Introduction
The following chart tries to map out all user actions and other affectors in Puzzle Pirate puzzles, and their effect on the 'score' of the puzzle. As you know, there isn't a specific score in most puzzling, but the term is rather used here as a representation of how well you do in the puzzle. Higher score means better result.
The idea is to map all meaningful actions, not only those that have an effect. Only those actions that really couldn't reasonably affect the puzzle are left out.
As you can see from the chart, different puzzles have different "main mechanics" to get high scores. These are mentioned for the puzzles simply to draw attention what the goal for the puzzle is.
This chart is not about finding out the specifics, it's about knowing the rules. The chart uses quite inexplicit terms for the amounts of effect, as there really is no reason to know (nor would the devs in their wisdom even tell) the actual numbers behind the puzzle. So any terms referring to amounts (such as "large") are possibly very inaccurate. They're just here to give a general idea. Furthermore, many of these are very speculative, and only assumptions based on observation. We're just guessing. :) Again, it's about the general idea, not whether it's exactly correct.
Puzzles like Treasure Drop, and other games such as Drinking and card games are intentionally left out, since their rules are already explained in detail in the game documentation.
The Effects
- "increase" means that this action increases the score in the puzzle, and
- "decrease" means the action decreases the score.
- "no effect" means the action doesn't affect the puzzle score in any way. Note that where time decreases your puzzle score, actions that have no effect on their own will often indirectly affect your score because of this.
- "large" or "small" tells if the score is affected noticably different amount from the base amount of increasing or decreasing.
- "bonus" is used instead of "increase", if the action just represents another action done differently, or only happens in combination of another action. Thus "bonus" is additional to the increase in score by the event that also triggers the bonus.
- "linear bonus" means that if the condition triggering the bonus happens multiple times via the same initial action, each time the bonus is triggered, it is larger than the previous bonus (in a linear way). Linear is also assumed to be a quite large bonus. (This is often used with cascades.)
- "multiplier" means that instead of a bonus, you get the points of the triggering action multiplied. A "linear multiplier" would then increase the multiplier each time the action was triggered. So this affects only the hits done after each stage of the cascade. The first hit of a cascade is the original amount, second hit's score would then be 2x, third 3x, and so on.
- "conditional" is explained in parentheses in each case it appears.
The Affectors
- Time is a problematic affector with some puzzles, as time can have a quite large indirect effect on the puzzle, as the pieces keep falling down. However, time is used here as a representation on it's own effect - if the pieces would just stop falling, what would happen with the score. Or course, there is a problem with measuring this, as the pieces don't ever stop falling. :) And of course, as the falling can be made quicker with the space bar, this does indeed have much effect on playing the puzzles.
- "Inactivity" is a separate affector from time. Inactivity occurs when the game notices that you haven't done any actions for some time (about ten seconds). If you do actions often enough, this will not affect your puzzle score - time however will effect all puzzles, but the faster you are, the less it has time to affect.
- "Cascade" means sequentially repeating an action - an action happening again because of an earlier action before the puzzle pieces move again. Usually these give a linear increasing bonus to the score. For example clearing a block in swordfighting, so that a sword of different color drops on another block below, clearing it.
- "Combo" refers to more than one of the same goal getting completed at the same time because of the action. For example clearing multiple lines with one swap in bilge.
The Chart - Duty Puzzles
Gunning
Gunning is about reloading the guns as fast as possible. The more time you take, the lower your score. The speed this puzzle runs at is initially determined by your rating, but it is also temporarily modified for the current board by four of the factors listed below.
| Time: | decrease |
| Guns loaded: | increase (speeds up the puzzle) |
| Fired guns washed: | small increase (speeds up the puzzle) |
| Pieces overboard: | no effect (slows down the puzzle) |
| Pieces misloaded: | ? (slows down the puzzle) |
| Arrows placed: | no effect |
Sailing
Sailing is about cascades, especially when platform targets are involved in them. The longer cascade, the better score.
| Time: | small decrease |
| Inactivity: | decrease |
| Pieces used: | decrease |
| Clearing pieces: | increase |
| Clearing platforms: | large increase |
| Cascades: | linear multiplier |
| Over minimum objective: (clearing 5+ pieces) |
small bonus |
| Combo: | no additional bonus |
| Clearing board: | no additional bonus |
| Rotating: | no effect |
| Booching the board: | small decrease |
Carpentry
Carpentry is about fitting the pieces exactly to the holes. After that, it's about completing perfect holes in sequence.
| Time: | decrease |
| Inactivity: | decrease |
| Pieces placed: | small increase |
| Pieces placed back into the box: | no effect |
| Completing a hole: | increase (also larger holes give a slightly larger increase) |
| Completing a hole with only horizontal tiles: | small bonus (called 'grain bonus') |
| Completing a hole with a single type of tile: | small bonus (called 'a nice set') |
| Squares from tiles placed on useless places: | decrease (also when completing the hole) |
| Completing 'masterpieces' sequentially: | small linear (?) bonus |
| Getting more holes: | no effect |
| Flipping tiles: | no effect |
| Adjusting position of last placed tile | no effect |
Bilge pumping
Bilging is about efficiency (not wasting any moves) and combos (clearing as many pieces with single move as possible).
| Time: | small (?) decrease |
| Inactivity: | decrease |
| Swapping: | decrease |
| Clearing pieces: | increase |
| Over minimum objective: (clearing 4+ pieces) |
small bonus |
| Cascade: | small bonus |
| Combo: | linear bonus (on more rows cleared) |
| Clearing a crab: | increase (based on water level) |
| Clearing crabs in the same column: (not in a cascade) |
linear bonus (on more crabs cleared) |
| Clearing pieces with the jellyfish: | no additional bonus |
| Clearing pieces with the puffer fish: | no additional bonus |
Navigation is about completing constellations, and doing it efficiently (not wasting stars for anything else).
| Time: | small decrease |
| Inactivity: | decrease |
| Stars used: | decrease |
| Completing a constellation: | linear increase (depending on the difficulty of the constellation) |
| Rotating a ring: | no effect |
| Clearing stars in a line: | small increase |
| Clearing over minimum amount of stars in line: (4+ stars) |
small bonus |
| Clearing lines in cascade: | linear bonus |
| Clearing constellations in cascade: | no effect |
| Row-clearing-cascade ending in a completed constellation: | very large bonus |
| Booching: | decrease (also turns ship around) |
The Chart - Crafting Puzzles
Distilling
Distilling is about organizing, clearing pure rows with spice, and burning only bad pieces.
| Time: | no effect |
| Inactivity: | no effect |
| Clearing row with spice: | small increase |
| Wasting spice: | decrease |
| Clearing pure rows: | increase (amount depending on row purity) |
| Burning pieces: | no effect |
| Wasting a row: | no effect |
| Moving pieces: | no effect |
Alchemistry
| Time: | no effect |
| Inactivity: | no effect |
| Rotating piece: | small decrease? (and lowers the total rotations you can use for that fill) |
| Combos: | increase (filling multiple bottles) |
| Cascades: | increase (filling multi-layer bottles) |
| Coin: | bonus |
| Number of colors: | linear multiplier |
| Smashing bottles: | decrease? |
Shipwrightery
| Time: | raises water |
| Inactivity: | no effect |
| Number of pieces in cleared: | increase |
| Cascades: | linear multiplier (Patterns cleared without moving any pieces) |
| Allowing water to flood a pattern: | ? |
Blacksmithing
Chart not yet constructed
The Chart - Multiplayer Puzzles
Swordfighting
Swordfighting is about cascades and large clears at the end of the cascade. (There is no actual score here to measure, so this uses 'pieces sent' in place of score.)
| Clearing single blocks: | 1/2 pieces cleared |
| Clearing large blocks: | 1x pieces cleared |
| Cascades: | linear multiplier |
Rumble
Chart not yet constructed
Notes
In gunning, the puzzle speed is increased if you do well, and decreased if you waste pieces.
In carpentry, the 'useless places' refers to squares which don't need a tile placed on them - the places that already have a tile, or are outside the hole.
In carpentry, the sequential masterpiece bonus is not very sure. Is is linear - In carpentry, you possibly also get scored for "potential points." This means if you no longer can get a Masterpiece in a hole, the game subtracts from your score regardless if you fill the hole or not.
Note that in for example in sailing clearing a combo gives "no additional bonus" - this means that you do still get points for all the lines cleared, but you just don't get any bonus from the fact that you did it with one piece.
Open Questions
- In carpentry, is the sequential masterpiece bonus increase linear - is masterpiece^10 worth more than masterpiece^4? (It is presumed that the bonus isn't that large anyhow, as you get quite a good score simply by getting the masterpieces all the time.) Are the 'nice set' and 'grain bonus' bonuses worth the same amount?
- Distilling - the nature of the bonus for crystal clears needs verifying.
- Gunning - is there any penalty for misloading pieces? Is score based on cannons loaded with a bonus for washing, or is there a set value for correctly using each piece?
- Treasure Haul - does anyone have a working knowledge of how TH is scored?
External/Other Links
- Original discussion thread: Puzzle score affectors
