Candy Crush Level 677 - Cleared

OOH!

This must be the toughest level yet. 10 striped candies combination. I cleared this after about 2 weeks and numerous tries. It's more of a luck rather than skill level. Plus I also used a special power - the swap tool that was free with the daily lucky wheel spins.

My strategy was:-

a) Try to get at least two striped candies combination - 1 each from the left and the right side by carefully detonating the candies.

2) Break down the bricks at the sides as early in the game as you can so that it leaves more room to build striped candies.

3) Create as many striped candies and move them to the conveyor belt so that they are constantly moving and there is a chance they may meet with the initial candies at each side.

4) Create as many striped candies in the center portion and hope that they line up against each other.

5) Be wary of two same color candies on each side of the conveyor belt - you do not want your striped candies on the conveyor belt to misfire.

Candy Crush Level 566 - Cleared!

This is a rather interesting level. I cleared it after a day's effort. Here's how I did it:-

a) Build a horizontal stripe candy in order to clear the bomb that is ticking on the outermost line.
b) Use a color candy ball + stripe candy combination to fulfill quota for striped candy.
c) Wherever possible, set the game to build candy wrappers and color candy ball.

Using Pebble Watch with Runkeeper

I use my Pebble watch mainly for running, as it allows me to keep track of my distance, time, and pace just by looking at my wrist without having to go through hassle of taking out and fiddling with my handphone. 

To do this, you need to have a Runkeeper account (basic membership is free), a bluetooth enabled smartphone (I use the Iphone), and of course the Pebble watch.

This is how the interface with Runkeeper looks like.

Pebble watch allows control of music from the watch as well. However, as I do not run with music, I do not have much use of this music function.

Candy Crush Level 483 - Cleared

I got through this stage pretty fast, after less than 10 tries. I did it by using a combination of colour ball + striped candy and it removed most of the tied bombs. What remains is just to remove the jellies :)

Candy Crush Level 482 - Cleared

This was quite a pesky level, in that there are potentially three columns of ticking bombs to deal with. I got through this stage after a few tries by

a) taking care to clear the gems within the centre bottom portion only during the first part of the game;
b) building combinations of striped candy + candy wrapper so that it clears the bombs in the middle column at one shot;
c) carefully planning for and removing stray bombs;
d) once number of moves left is less than 7, you can freely trigger release of the side wall bombs since they will not jeopardize the game.

My Windows 8.1 Tablet - ASUS Transformer T100-TA and Why I Love It

I have had three weeks with my ASUS Transformer TA100 now and I really love it!

Why I love it

• Versatile: I can use it like a normal laptop when it is docked onto its keyboard stand. It operates on Windows 8.1, not RT, so it has full Windows functionality. Plus, it comes preloaded with Office Home edition (Word,, Excel and Powerpoint). Or I can use it as a 10.1 inch tablet, good for reading pdf documents and for surfing net or watching video while lounging on the couch. To my surprise also, Windows 8.1 is easy to use.
• Light weight: 1.1 kg including keyboard dock, 600g for the tablet.
• Excellent battery life: 12 hours of use.
• Expandable memory: it has 32GB built in memory, with a microusb slot at the tablet portion. There is 500gb memory at the keyboard portion.
• Value for money: at S$599, I get a 2-in-1 tablet+laptop, that allows me to use as a reader esp for pdf documents, and as a laptop for work. It is lightweight, has long battery life and expandable memory.

Of course, there are some drawbacks of this device, namely the small keyboard and the tablet is a fingerprint magnet. All in all though, I think that the laptop is a great buy! I was considering an IPad Air (I already have an IPad 2 and an IPad4 in the house), and I'm really glad that I decided to get this instead.

Candy Crush Level 429 - Cleared

This is quite easy. I cleared it after two tries.

The trick is to clear the jellies which are furthest away from the wall first, and gradually move towards clearing the jellies near the wall. That way, there should be ample time to clear the board before the bombs are detonated.

Candy Crush Level 428 - Cleared

Cleared this after a few days. My tips to clearing this level is

1. Clear the chocolates first. If I am not able to clear the chocolates within the first few moves, chances of getting through the level is low and I restart the game (why waste time?).

2. Build up striped candies and wrapped candies. Use them together to get a power blast that will blast away the walls.

It sounds easy right? But it still took me a few days :P Good luck!

Candy Crush Level 378 - Cleared

This stage is rather easy compared to 377, which took me a week.

For 378, the trick is to clear the stone that is blocking the outlet for the fruits.

My strategy to clear this is to clear the stone wall in between, while using striped candy to blast the pizza. Once the stone that is blocking the outlet for the fruits is cleared, the fruits fall out at one go. I had the good luck to have a coloured ball which helped to clear the candy that was blocking the last fruit.

Candy Crush Level 377 - Cleared

We have been stuck on this level for almost a week. I was taking a bus and thought I will try it again and managed to clear the level at the first attempt!

My strategy for clearing this level is to try to break the stone wall in between the candies and the two pizzas. Try to generate super-powers, in particular sweet wrapper + stripe candy and color ball + stripe candy in combination, so that the pizzas can be removed quickly.

I used a total of two times color ball + stripe candy, and a two sweet wrappers combined to remove the two pizzas, which gave me the 100 candies I needed for the three colours.

Candy Crush Level 374 - Cleared

It's been a while since I last played candy crush level.. and I got a request yesterday to help clear Level 374. I did it within 10 attempts :)

My strategy for clearing this is to build a few colour balls, and use them together with striped candies. Doing this 2-3 times helped to clear those bombs in a jiffy.

Have fun!

Candy Crush Level 342 - Cleared

I have recently cleared Candy Crush Level 342. It took me a while, and I think I cleared it by a stroke of luck. The goal seems to be clearing the jellies (both visible ones and those that are hidden in the rocks). There are 26 of them in total, and not all the rocks have got the jellies.

The trick seems to be trying to clear the visible jellies as much as you can, before activating the fishes. This would avoid wasting the fishes on those visible jellies, and instead divert them to those hidden beneath the rocks. Other than that, I tried to form boosters such as sweet wrappers and candy stripes to blast the rocks. 

Good luck to all!

Candy Crush Level 275 - Cleared

Disclaimer: I'm not addicted to Candy Crush. Just helping my family member who plays it.

Of the levels I have played so far, Level 275 must be one of the toughest levels.

For those of you who are stuck at this level for eons, here's my strategy for clearing this level:

1) Take care not to trigger the bombs that are at the top two corners of the screen. Once triggered, they are almost impossible to get rid of. Instead, allow some layers of chocolate (1-3) to build up around it as a cushion/buffer.

2) Try to clear the jellies that are at the two sides and center of the screen. I find that clearing the sides first helps to keep the chocolates at bay i.e. control the chocolate growth, as well as to open up the area for playing.

3) Try to keep the fishes at the bottom for the last, as they can help by swimming towards the last few blocks that you find difficult to clear.

For me, I cleared Level 275 using the above strategy. As for special powers, I did use a (color bomb + striped candy) towards the end, when about 90% of the jellies have been cleared via the normal route. This triggered the bombs of course, but what was left after the (color bomb + striped candy) attack was easily cleared within the 2 counts provided by the bombs.

I hope the above helps somewhat. Of course, as with most of other Candy Crush games, luck plays an important role too!

Transformer from Lego - Optimus Prime

Was at home for Saturday and decided to do a little project - building Transformer Optimus Prime from Lego!

Here's the end product after trying out 3 versions...

I got all the pieces from a Lego Creative Bucket - 10662. Here is how it looks (link to Amazon website):- LEGO® Creative Bucket - 10662.

Here's what I have opened so far...

The Tomahawk Warrior, Roman Commander and Paintball Player engaged in a three way tussle, while the sad clown looks on worriedly...

Nobody moves! *tense*

Sad clown decides to act as mediator and Tomahawk Warrior relents and breaks away from the three way tussle!

Tomahawk: I give up on you guys!

Lego Minifigures Series 10 Unboxing - #11 Sad Clown

This is another easy to find figure. The main clues to the Sad Clown are i) the ring shape ruffles and ii) the conical shaped hat.

There are 6 pieces in the bag:-

1) Base plate
2) Legs
3) Body (incl. hands)
4) Head
5) Hat

6) Ruffles

6 pieces in the blind bag for the Sad Clown

View from the back

View from the side

This a Youtube video I made for unboxing of the Sad Clown (a bit blurry this time round):-

Lego Minifigures Series 10 Unboxing - #9 Paintball Player

This is another easy to find figure. The main clues to the Paintball Player are i) the C-shaped googles; ii) the flat gun (that resembles a super soaker); and iii) the helmet that has a chin strap.

There are 7 pieces in the bag:-

1) Base plate
2) Legs
3) Body (incl. hands)
4) Head
5) Helmet 

6) Goggle

7) Gun

Seven pieces in the blind bag for the Paintball Player

Front view of the Paintball Player

Side view of the Paintball Player 

Back view of the Paintball Player

Helmet off, showing the cheeky face of the Paintball Player

The Paintball Player as #9 in the Lego Minifigures Series 10 collection

This a Youtube video I made for unboxing of the Paintball Player:-

Note: Please email me at greteldino@yahoo.com if you would like to buy a Paintball Player. I have several of them to sell (still in their blind bags unopened). 

Selling at SGD$10 for delivery in Singapore (inclusive of normal postage).

Lego Minifigures Series 10 Unboxing - #3 Roman Commander

This is a popular Minifigure in the Lego Series 10 collection. There are 8 pieces in the bag:-

1) Base plate
2) Legs
3) Body (incl. hands)
4) Head
5) Helmet 

6) Brush on the Helmet

7) Cloak

8) Sword

Eight pieces in the blind bag for the Roman Commander

To single him out, you will have to feel a small piece that fits on his helmet (the brush). It is kind of an small and flat arc-shape piece.

Front view of the Roman Commander

Side view of the Roman Commander

Back view of the Roman Commander

The Roman Commander as #3 in the Series 10 collection

This is a Youtube video I made for unboxing of the Roman Commander:-





If you are reading this, you may also be interested in:-

• Lego Minifigures Series 10 Unboxing - #5 Tomahawk Warrior
• Lego Minifigures Series 10 Unboxing - #9 Paintball Player

Lego Minifigures Series 10 Unboxing - #5 Tomahawk Warrior

This is probably one of the easiest figures to feel for in the Lego Minifigures Series 10. 

There are six pieces in the bag:-

1) Base plate
2) Legs
3) Body (incl. hands)
4) Head
5) Mohawk (hair piece)
6) Weapon

Six pieces in the blind bag for Tomahawk Warrior

You should look out for two things - the Mohawk and the weapon. 

i) Mohawk - feels like a triangular wedge, and tends to stick to the package since it is rubbery. 

ii) Weapon - long bar with a small side extension at one end.

Side view of the Tomahawk Warrior

Back view of the Tomahawk Warrior

Front view of the Tomahawk Warrior

The Tomahawk Warrior as #5 in the Series 10 collection

Here is a Youtube video I made on on the unboxing process...




If you are reading this, you may be interested in:-

• Lego Minifigures Series 10 Unboxing - #9 Paintball Player

Lego Minifigures Series 10 - Box of Minifigures arrived

My order came in the mail today all nicely wrapped! Have carefully checked it and it has not been opened or tampered with :)

60 chances to find Mr. Gold

If you are reading this, you may also be interested in:-

• Finding Mr. Gold
• Guide to finding Lego Minifigures Series 10 - #5 Tomahawk Warrior
• Lego Minifigures sticker album