smac

Guess 4. Wordle 524 5/6*

Yeah. Wordle 523 5/6 And also

Lucky 3. Wordle 522 3/6*

Yeah - keep an eye out and you'll notice both long clam tails on your team-mates, and little numbers by their names when they are hidden in ink. If one has, say, 7, you can throw them one of your clams to make 8 so they can attack the goal with your backup. If you have 7 and want to set up an attack, hide near the target, hit the 'this way' emote and hope your team-mates are wise to that tactic. Or, hide near a known clam spawn point on the level, close to the target, and wait for a set of 3 to spawn; that's one reason I normally don't leave enemy ink near my home turf. Or splat a defender with clams, take theirs that they drop and score. A favourite tactic of paintbrush wielders. Reefslider? Yeah, it's such a good weapon for taking out defenders, I'm not surprised; the old Splashdown that it replaces did the same. Not all specials drop your clams - Crab Tank and the big hammer trail the clam/ball and can be used to take the ball in close (the Tank is a bit slow to be really effective at this, but I've seen it done a fair bit using the hammer, and scored using both methods). I think the super-jump/elastic thingy might also carry the ball in close, but have not seen it used much in attack. Saving your specials for an all-out attack is a primo strategy, natch.

Glad you're enjoying one of the best games out there, still! Persevere with Clam Blitz - it is absolutely the most complex mode, with so many different ways to be successful. It's the ranked mode I play most, because the others seem a bit tame in comparison. Collect small clams by running or swimming into them. Get 8 and they turn into a large football. Which makes you an obvious target. Your team needs to get this to the enemy goal (large sphere) and throw the clam to hit their goal. This opens their goal for a short while - throw clams or footballs in while it is open to score more points. You can keep their goal open by constantly throwing clams into it. Good luck with that. 'A' throws clams and balls. You can throw clams and balls to other players. Clams and balls disappear shortly after they are thrown if not picked up. So you're constantly having to adjust tactics and switch between attack and defence as the game shifts rapidly.

Jeez. Had my first A+ to S Rank 'rank-up' battle today. Won the first two. Lost the second two. Lost the third by one point - nearly getting through for a winning goal in extra time. Gutted! So close! R93F-EHTX-6D3A-091Q Oh, and another of my pet hates? Bunny-hoppers. I know it's a legitimate tactic, and it affects your aim, and there are perks to minimise the effects, but it just annoys the hell out of me. Like this game against a team of four Japanese players - just watch the Classic Squiffer guy in action. Almost balletic: R3RM-E1NK-XSN8-730B

Totally One Of Those. After that first guess, it was basically random as to what turn I would get it on. Although I think I was guaranteed to get it by turn 6 - I can think of only one more letter that would fit. Wordle 521 5/6*

I started back in the 70s. Our school had an annual day trip, and it seemed to always be to Blackpool, for some reason - so I'd hang around the arcades playing a mix of early video games like Space War, Boot Hill, Night Driver, and the like, or electro-mechanical games (like the hillbilly rifle range). Any time the family went on a seaside outing, I would do the same - being ex-pat Scots, that would also be to Blackpool, for some reason. MacMecca... Otherwise, as a teen, there would be single machines dotted around in youth clubs, chippies, or even pubs and Student Union bars as we started going in underage. We didn't have an arcade in the town where I grew up, but we did have a pool hall frequented by the delinquent kids. Asteroids, Defender, Space Invaders, Tempest, Donkey Kong, Pleiades, Gorf, Galaxian, Scramble, Moon Cresta, Joust ... man, the early 80s was full of great, simple arcade games. But I played most video games as a student in the mid-80s; each hall of residence my mates lived in would have a couple in the hallways, there would be more in the bars, and there was a small collection of pinball machines and cabs near the main Union bar. International Karate, Gravatar, Star Wars, Time Pilot, SlapFight, Jackal, Same in any Student Union you visited. Plus this was London, so we'd also head to the Goodge Street or Leicester Square arcades of a Saturday afternoon for a bit of 4-player Gauntlet action, or to try out a hydraulic cab...

Yes.

Yeah, I can see why you dislike Zipcasters; that Carbon Roller had it in for you. You'll appreciate this losing match where a tri-stringer had my number; I failed to take 'em out every time. Ink grenades leaving me short in the ensuing dogfight. I've had several games where a Stringer has been a pain - very good at cutting off OUR attack lines while inking in theirs: RWVT-SVXX-CL8F-E5T1

Thanks - there were a couple more recent games where the added speed was useful to the score. Maybe I just like the feel of the extra speed. Like swimming through treacle without it!

I didn’t kick myself - tough one to spot! Wordle 520 4/6*

I am simply not seeing this. I'm going to kick myself aren't I?

Having said that, after having my arse handed to me by better teams over the weekend, I'm not sure there's that much evidence of all those hours! Dark Tetra dualies were a particular nemesis, this weekend. And the usual paintbrush wielders - there's a weapon designed for Clam Blitz. Fast for goal attack, and a blizzard of paint that I swear acts as a shield when you're attacked by one.

Oh, good one for guess #4.