Growing up, my sister used to throw a tantrum whenever she wasn’t winning a game. She would fling the game board into the air, monopoly money would fall like confetti, and little colored game pieces would become flying projectiles. I never understood how a game could cause someone so much frustration… until I began playing Angry Birds. While contemplating hurling my Android at a wall during Level 14-Harvest Above, it occurred to me that this must be exactly how my sister had felt all those years ago.
In an attempt to spare others aggravation (and potentially expensive cell phone repairs) I’ve compiled a list of tips that have helped me harness my rage and master some of the most infuriating Angry Birds episodes.
It’s all About the Angles
At first, getting a feel for firing your furious feathered friends at the right angle is more trial and error than anything else. If you are attentive, however, you will begin to understand the dynamics of angles themselves.
The element of angles is so integral to the game that teachers have even begun using the game as a classroom tool to teach young people physic and mathematics! It’s definitely worth the time to figure out which angles work best and WHY because, in the long run, it will save you from wasting time firing off angry birds that are doomed to never hit their target!
Not All Birds Are Created Equal
To use a popular internet meme, if you’re just flinging your birds haphazardly, you’re gonna have a bad time. Every colored bird has special little quirks and abilities that can be used to your advantage. Using the blue bird’s special ability to replicate and scatter, for example, can enable you to take out targets in a wider area and is especially useful in levels with glass and TNT. Make sure you learn each different type of bird’s abilities and how they can work to your benefit.
Structurally Unsound
The point of Angry Birds may be to bombard pigs, but looking at it from that perspective is going to cause you grief. When you look at a level, it’s best to do so with your focus on the structures themselves, keeping the idea of balance in mind. Instead of arbitrarily aiming at any wall in your way, try to figure out which areas of impact will cause a structure to completely collapse. In Angry Birds it is always best to kill more stones with one bird than the other way around.
Follow the Trail
Those cloudy trails that every angry bird leaves in its wake are one of the most useful tools in the game. They depict the exact trajectory of your previous attempt. Whether you failed miserably or succeeded brilliantly, keeping track of those trails can be the key to correcting (or replicating) every move in Angry Birds. Was your shot too high? Too low? The trails give you the ability to see exactly what you just did on your last turn and why it worked-or didn’t.
The Real Key
The real key to Angry Birds is the hardest one to master- patience. No matter how well you grasp the concept of angles and trajectory, each new level you approach is going involve at least some trial and error. Be patient with yourself as you learn the quirks and dynamics. Remember, it’s just a game… if you get the urge to do something rash, like hurl your android across the room, take a break and try again later!