******************************** ***** Marble Drop FAQ v1.4 ***** ******************************** By: Derek Kisman E-mail: dkisman@acm.org Date: April 26, 2001 (a billion years after the game came out ;) Here are efficient, high-scoring solutions to all of the puzzles in this challenging, but rewarding game. Experiment with a puzzle for a while before consulting this guide; but if you're truly stuck (and there are some extremely difficult puzzles), here's something to help you out. If you've already solved the puzzle, feel free to compare your solution with mine. E-mail me at dkisman@acm.org! Updates ------- 1.1 - Added two solutions (#16,#36) by Kyle Zingg, including one beating 5000-efficiency (#16)! - Jeffrey Howell answered my pleas on #38 and gave a solution saving that last green marble. 1.2 - Added comments from Patrick Poon on #50. 1.3 - Added Maurice Alberts' solutions to #30, #49 1.4 - Added comments from Tony Dercola on #40, #48 Solution format --------------- Most solutions will involve two rows with n entries each, where n is the number of marbles you'll need to drop in the solution. The first row gives the number of the basket you drop the marble into; they are numbered from left to right on a puzzle. The second row gives the colour of the marble: R - Red Y - Yellow B - Blue O - Orange G - Green P - Purple Bl - Black S - Steel Timing may be important in the solution to a puzzle. Unless otherwise noted, you should wait for all effects of a marble to cease before you drop the next one. Where possible I've tried to make the puzzle solution require no timing. So a solution like this: 1 3 Y S means you should drop a yellow marble into the leftmost basket, wait for everything in the puzzle to stop, then drop a steel marble into the basket that's third from the left. If you have problems reading my solutions due to font (rows aren't aligned properly), try opening this file in Notepad. Scoring ------- All of my solutions (except a couple of cases where a bonus puzzle is being unlocked) score 5000+ on efficiency; usually, a 5000 efficiency means you have used the fewest number of drops possible to solve the puzzle. (Note that on a couple of puzzles I've managed to beat the 5000-efficiency limit! If you find any other solutions which do this, PLEASE send them to me!!) The scores corresponding to the solutions include a subtraction of -100 for each steel marble used in the solution, which makes sense; you need to buy them sometime, why not in the same puzzle? If you have a solution with a better score than mine, please send it to me! Note that it's always possible to "beat" these puzzle scores by buying a bunch of marbles in an earlier puzzle, then wasting them in the puzzle to rack up points. I am NOT interested in these kinds of solutions. As a general rule, I am only interested in solutions with 5000+ efficiency scores, and any steel marbles you use must include the -100 purchase price. Also, using coloured marbles instead of steel marbles (to avoid the price) is silly and wasteful. Keeping track of marbles ------------------------ I've also stored a list of marbles that are required for my solution to work, and whether you gain or lose any marbles in doing my solution. Whenever possible, I try to trade steel marbles for coloured marbles; for instance, on puzzles with many coloured marbles trapped in glue, an "optimal" solution grabs as many as possible and replaces them with steel marbles. Of course, if you're reasonable, you could always just buy any marbles you need for a puzzle... but where's the fun in that? :) Puzzle solutions ---------------- "1 Thales of Miletus" Solution: 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 Y R R R Y R Y B B B Y B Score: 11,590 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 4 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "2 Tarquinius the Elder" Solution: 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 G G P G P G Y P P Y Y Y Score: 11,535 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 4 0 0 4 4 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "3 Priscian" Solution: 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 O G S O S P G P Score: 8,025 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 2 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2 "4 Xenophon" To unlock the tumblers, do the optional solution below, but it costs points. Solution: (without bonus) 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 B O R G Y Y G R O B (with bonus) 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 B O R G Y Y G R S S O B Score: 11,105 (without bonus) or 9,335 (with bonus) Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 0/2 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/-2 "5 Galileo" The first bonus puzzle... pick 6 of your coloured marbles and convert them to black ones! Note that getting all the score triggers does not give the maximum possible score, because some marbles must be destroyed to do it. Don't be greedy. Solution: 1 1 2 2 2 2 ? ? ? ? ? ? (any coloured) Score: 10,450 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S ^----- 6 -----^ 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S ^----- -6 -----^ 6 0 "6 Aristotle" Solution: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 Y R O P B G Y S B Score: 9,990 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 2 2 1 1 1 0 1 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1 "7 Archimedes" Solution: 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 O B Y P B G O R Score: 9,370 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "8 Euclid" Solution: 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 R B G Y O P R B G Score: 9,620 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 1 2 1 2 1 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "9 Eratosthenes" Solution: 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 O Y R B G P O Y Score: 10,740 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 2 1 2 1 1 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "10 Polybius" Solution: 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 B R G B Y R Y G Score: 9,430 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "11 Ctesibius" Solution: 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 B R O Y G B P O Score: 10,120 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "12 Ma Chun" Solution: 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 G S P R B O P S G Y S S S O S Score: 9,275 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 1 1 2 1 2 0 6 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -6 "13 Hero of Alexandria" Solution: 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 Y O R G B P R Score: 8,705 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "14 Speusippus" Note that timing matters here, and that you cannot fire the first cannon without losing a marble to the flames. Solution: 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 2* 1 2 1 2* B Y O P Y R S B S O S G S * Drop marble as soon as previous marble hits top of tube Score: 10,755 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 2 2 2 1 1 0 4 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -4 "15 Democritis" This is the first puzzle in which you can actually gain coloured marbles by expending steel ones. Solution: 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 R Y B Y R S S S Score: 9,510 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 -3 "16 Brunelleschi" A big windfall in coloured marbles here, at the expense of some steel ones. Thanks to Kyle Zingg, who found a way to save the extra ball on this puzzle! Solution: ************************************************** Solution is 1 marble better than game's "optimal"! ************************************************** 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 R B S S S S S S S Score: 13,650 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 -7 "17 Archytas of Tarente" It helps to run this on a slow speed, especially if you want to unlock the tumblers, which takes some timing. Solution: 2 2+ 1* 2+ 1* 2+ 1*$ S Y G Y O G O * Drop marble while lower diverter is pointing down. + Drop marble while upper diverter is pointing down. $ Drop soon after the tumbler connected to the crossbow switches to "off", so that it's "on" when the marble finishes - use Slowest speed! Score: Infinity (as large as you want, since that steel marble's in a perpetual loop scoring points!) Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 1 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1 "18 Christiaan Huygens" The second bonus puzzle; another chance to nab black marbles. Solution: 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? (any coloured) Score: 10,875 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S ^----- 7 -----^ 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S ^----- -7 -----^ 7 0 "19 Philo of Athens" Another puzzle best solved at a slow speed; you must continually drop marbles to reset the pendulum to the right side, or else your cannon-firing marble plummets to oblivion. Solution: 1 1 1 1 1 2 1* 1* 1* B R O R B S O B O * IMMEDIATELY when the steel marble hits the pendulum - use Slowest speed! Score: 10,350 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 0 3 3 0 0 0 1 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1 "20 Cato the Elder" Solution: 1 1 1* 1 2 2 2* 2 B R R R R B B B * Right after the previous marble - use slowest speed! Score: 9,380 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "21 Philo of Byzantium" Solution: 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 Y R P Y B G P B O P O R G Y Score: 15,025 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 3 2 2 2 3 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "22 Hipparchus" Another 6 coloured marbles are to be had here for the low price of 8 steel ones. Solution: 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 S S S R R G O S S S S P Y S Score: 10,260 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 8 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 -8 "23 Shao Ong" Solution: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 G B Y O Y O P R Score: 10,640 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 2 1 2 1 1 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "24 Dionysus Thrax" Solution: 1 1 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 2 1 R R Y G G G O O Y R Y O Score: 11,400 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 3 3 0 3 3 0 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "25 Geminus of Rhodes" Solution: 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 2* B R P B R Y G Y * Right after the previous marble - use slowest speed! Score: 11,790 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 "26 Plato" This time unlocking the tumblers is easy. Solution: 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 P R O G R G O Score: 9,400 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 "27 Sripati" The third bonus puzzle, and an opportunity to convert 12 coloured marbles into blacks! Solution: 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? (any coloured) Score: 14,420 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S ^---- 12 ----^ 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S ^---- -12 ----^ 12 0 "28 Marcus Tiron" Ahhh, the introduction of the diabolical merger. (Ok, ok, so it's not THAT diabolical... I just think it's cool, all right?) Solution: 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 S S S Y Y B P R R S Score: 9,990 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 4 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S -1 -1 0 2 2 1 0 -4 "29 Pliny the Elder" Solution: 1 4 2 3 2 3 1 4 S S G B Y R S S Score: 9,400 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 4 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 -4 "30 Vitruvius" Thanks to Maurice Alberts for increasing the score slightly on this one. Solution: 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 G R R G G R G R G R R Score: 11,160 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 6 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "31 Ts'ai Lun" Solution: 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 2* 2* B P B P G R Y O Y O S S * Right after the previous marble - use slowest speed! Score: 11,540 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 2 2 2 1 2 0 2 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2 "32 Apollonius Dyskolos" Solution: 1 1 2 2 2 2 2* 2 2 R Y Y G O B O S P * Right after the previous marble Score: 10,535 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 2 1 2 1 1 0 1 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1 "33 Belisarius" To unlock the tumblers, do the optional solution below, but it costs points. Solution: (without bonus) 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 G S B S R R B S P R B (with bonus) 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 S S G B B S R R B S P R B Score: 11,300 (without bonus) or 9,600 (with bonus) Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 3 0 3/4 0 1 1 0 3/4 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S -2 2 -2/-3 2 2 0 0 -3/-4 "34 Apollonius" The fourth bonus, and another lovely 12 black marbles. Watch out for the destructor though. Solution: 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? (any coloured) Score: 15,180 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S ^---- 12 ----^ 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S ^---- -12 ----^ 12 0 "35 Isidore of Seville" Solution: 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 R G B P B R P O G R Y B Score: 11,800 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 3 1 3 1 2 2 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "36 Chang Hsu-hsun" Thanks to Kyle Zingg for increasing the score slightly on this one. Solution: 3 1 2 1 3 2 2 1 1 3 2 2 G P B R Y R O P G Y B O Score: 12,350 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "37 Gerbert d'Aurillac" Solution: 3 4 3 1 1 4 2 3 B Y O R S O Y R Score: 9,500 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 2 1 2 0 0 0 1 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 -1 "38 Pi Cheng" This solution is from Jeffrey Howell, and is far superior to mine. (I never could figure out how to get the green out of the glue) Thanks Jeff! Solution: 1 2 2 1 1* 1 1 1* B S S O S G S S * Right after the previous marble - use slowest speed! Score: 9,410 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 5 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 -5 "39 Gui d'Arezzo" Solution: 1 x 3 3 x 1 2 x ? G ? ? O ? ? P x means that the perpetual motion machine generates these - be sure to time your drops so that the marbles all fall in this order. ? may be any coloured marble. Score: 9,480 (although you COULD just wait while the marble racks up points, resetting the puzzle and starting again afterwards) Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S ^----- 5 -----^ 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 ^--- -5 any ---^ "40 Su Sung" This puzzle is fast and furious! Have patience while you're waiting for it to settle down; it generates quite a lot of orange marbles. Set the speed to Fastest while waiting. This puzzle is a good example of chaos theory... no way are you gonna predict states in advance. :) Note from Tony Dercola: If you have trouble timing the marbles just AFTER the first crossbow fires, instead time them just BEFORE the first crossbow fires. If you do this, the last two marbles must be reversed (ie, Y R instead of R Y). Solution: ************************************************** Solution is 1 marble better than game's "optimal"! ************************************************** 2 1* 2 1* 2 1* 2 2 R Y P B G B R Y * Drop marble IMMEDIATELY after first crossbow fires - use Slowest speed! This timing is VERY sensitive; you should be able see the two marbles contact near the center of the visible portion of the leftmost tube if you do it right. Score: 14,560 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "41 Guido di Vigevano" Solution: 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 G Y B G Y R B R Score: 9,705 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "42 Salvino degli Armati" This puzzle includes its own timer: a steel marble in a perpetual circular loop. To solve this puzzle you must pay careful attention to the timing of this marble. Tumblers also must be unlocked: yet another thing to think about! Solution: (without bonus) 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 ? ? Y R ? O O ? 2 7 16 19.5 24 29.5 36 47 <-- time (with bonus) 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 ? ? Y R ? O O S ? 2 7 16 19.5 24 29.5 36 48 57 <-- time Time is measured from 1, when the steel marble first hits a switch, and ticks up every revolution. So you must drop the first marble when the marble is at the bottom after 1 revolution, and the fourth when it's at the top after 18 full revolutions. You can tell the time to the nearest 5 by looking at the 5-position switch; the steel marble clears that switch just after every 5th tick. ? may be any coloured marble. Score: 10,520 (without bonus) or 9,620 (with bonus) (although you COULD just wait while the marble racks up points, resetting the puzzle and starting again afterwards) Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0/1 ^--- +4 any ---^ Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0/-1 ^--- -4 any ---^ "43 Albertus Magnus" The fifth bonus puzzle, with 9 valuable and (by now) badly needed black marbles! Solution: 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? S ? S ? Score: 12,075 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S ^----- 9 -----^ 0 2 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S ^----- -9 -----^ 9 -2 "44 Leone Alberti" Solution: 1 2 3 1 1 2 2 3 3 1 2 3 G R B G Y O P B Y R O P Score: 12,750 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "45 Timdeharis" Another innately "timed" puzzle. The given solution is my best, but it doesn't win until after the 37th marble generates! If you want to speed it up, replace the last steel marble with a coloured marble. Solution: ************************************************** Solution is 1 marble better than game's "optimal"! ************************************************** 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 S ? ? ? ? ? S ? S ? 0 0 1 1 2 8 9 9 10 10 <-- time Time is measured by number of marbles generated by the black one. So you must drop the first two marbles before any are generated, etc. ? may be any coloured marble. Score: 14,755 (although you COULD just wait while the marble racks up points, resetting the puzzle and starting again afterwards) Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S ^----- 7 -----^ 0 3 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 0 1 2 2 2 0 -3 ^--- -7 any ---^ "46 Giovanni" Solution: 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 Y R R B S Y B S Score: 10,530 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 -2 "47 Kiddinu" Solution: 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 S R S G O R R R O O Y S G Score: 10,420 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 4 1 0 3 2 0 0 3 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S -2 -1 0 0 1 3 0 -3 "48 Thabit Ibn Quarra" Lots of fun to watch, not so much fun to figure the $@!#ing thing out. :) Thanks to Tony Dercola for pointing out that the 9th marble can be Steel. Solution: 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 S O R Y B B R O S B R Score: 16,250 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 3 1 3 2 0 0 0 2 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 1 -1 0 1 0 2 0 -2 "49 Gutenberg" Thanks to Maurice Alberts for providing a much easier, better solution for this one. Solution: 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 R R O R B O Y G B P P O Score: 12,190 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S 3 1 2 3 1 2 0 0 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "50 Copernicus" This is it: the big finish... I won't spoil it for you, but I will laugh insanely and dance on your grave after you kill yourself in a fit of frustration. (Actually, it's kind of an easy puzzle, especially compared to the preceding ones, but hey, it's still a neat finish. :) Thanks go to Patrick Poon, for pointing out that this is, in fact, the same puzzle as #8! D'oh! Solution: 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 ? S ? S ? S ? S ? ? may be any coloured marble. Score: 9,220 Marbles required: R Y B O G P Bl S ^----- 5 -----^ 0 4 Marbles lost/gained: R Y B O G P Bl S ^----- -5 -----^ 5 0 Credit ------ Thanks go to the following people for contributing: Kyle Zingg Jeffrey Howell Patrick Poon Maurice Alberts Tony Dercola Copyright (C) 2001 by Derek Kisman Comments, suggestions, and criticisms are welcomed! Send to dkisman@acm.org.