It's a beautiful game, but the "chance" factor is making it difficult to get past level 2. Still, it's a lovely game.

Like the atmosphere.

But is there any strategy? I always seem to drag-and-drop randomly, and then hope to get lucky on the last tile. I am guessing that analyzing your choices and paying attention to bonuses can improve the success rate, but it looks like it's a bit complicated.

Nifty. Reminds me of RSVP (another game that has been reviewed here) in terms of the basic gameplay element. All the bonuses make it a much more complex game, though.

There is certainly luck involved, and the strategy part is basically maximizing your chances of being able to complete the ring, maybe by filling in the hard parts first (where there are two adjacent delimiters, for example) or keeping in mind what bonus items you have to use (for example, if you have a luna bonus item, you can leave a luna delimiter slot for last because you can always change a tile if you need to).

But what do I know? I've played the game once and only gotten to the 9th level of the ocean sorcerer.

Sometimes the game is quite unfair.

On the 9th level I had no bonuses, and I had a red delimiter touching the luna symbol delimiter, which meant I needed to get a red+luna tile to even get a chance of finishing the level.

Needless to say, that tile didn't appear. Game over, start from beginning. Quite frustrating, if I might say so myself.

Wow, that game is insane. I think I've got a new time waster.

There are two levels of strategy here that you have to play at the same time:

1. Survive this ring.

2. Get combos

Get combos could also be called "Survive later rings". Basically, if you get perfect balance in symbols or colors (4 of each), you get a big bonus, and you also get good bonuses for extreme numbers of a single color or symbol (8 or more, I believe). Anything less, and you just get points.

Believe me, if you don't rack up some combos early on, you'll never survive the entire game. Towards the end, the limiters go nuts. Level 30 (the last official level) and beyond have a full set of limiters, so every connection is regulated somehow, forced to match symbol, color, or some specific symbol/color.

Not only do these limiters leave you fishing for the right tile (or burning bonuses to create it), they also mean that it's hard or even impossible to move tiles around the board: If it doesn't meet the limiter, you can't set it there, even briefly.

Notice also that specific combos always have the same results. So if you get a powerup you like once, remember that combo and try to pull it off again.

One small quibble: When I tried to play past Level 30, the next level had no dragon, and the game froze when I completed my ring. :(

I got to level 9 and placed my tile that I thought would win the level. It let me place it and then I lost... It would be nice to know what I did wrong other than the fact I had a weak ring. Was it the last tile I placed?

Also, a save feature would be good. I hate starting from the beginning. It makes me not want to play again. I mean, I accomplished defeating the first 8 levels, so why do I have to prove it again?

I've been loving the games on Kongregate the past few days (my clicking finger is suffering my re-discovery of Bowmaster Prelude) and this one was a lot of fun. As someone says, similar to RSVP, though I wish it had a volume control. There's a little bit of strategy, but it will really fall down to luck, even with the bonuses to re-deal and transform very often I would end up with the limiters being my downfall.

Here's a tip:

This game is pure luck. It can be easy or hard. On level two I got 10 tiles, a joker, and a blue bomb. Then the next level I got 3 tiles red bomb. Then again 2 tiles blue bomb. Just pure luck.

Has anyone figured our exactly what the different bonuses are? I keep trying to divine their meaning, but it is beyond me.

One of the problems is just not enough bonuses. There's plenty of minor bonuses which give points but no bonuses, and to be honest I'm pretty sure I've got 8-pools giving me bonuses sometimes and not other times. There needs to be a clearer explanation of combos too. However, I don't like to detract too much, as this is an excellent concept and a good solid game.

The game is most definitely not purely luck, but luck does play an important role in it, which is no different than any enjoyable casual game.

Another tip to go along with what Amaya suggested:

Just finish playing the game. I noticed some added downs to it though. It would have been nice to be able to undo a move, maybe then I would have made it passed level 11. I don't remember if there was an option to mute the music, it was rather annoying.

I think there should either be more bonuses or more deal chances. Not having the right combinations was what had me lose the game.

--Angelust--

Definitely needs continue points! It seems like the three sections would naturally lead to a save point in between them. It's terrible to get to a high level and make a mistake or get bad pieces, then have to start the whole thing over again!

The idea is ace, the execution, however (most unfortunately, and as noted) was less than optimal. I noticed that the game says this is part one of taming the dragon on the main menu; I look forward to the next games in the 'series'.

Also, there is an option to turn off the music/sound from the main menu, which you can access by clicking... Options. ;)

This game is wonderful. It's so hard to find new puzzle games that hold my interest for more than a few minutes. The first ten I spent on this were ridiculously frustrating, until I realized that the game is essentially Uno, but completely different. (If that makes sense, it does to me.) Anyway, much fun, I really enjoy this one.

I feel like sometimes I am not recieving bonuses I have earned. Is this happening to anyone else?

I especially notice this with the "synergy" bonueses - it indicates I fulfilled them with the little lightning connection but I don't get the bonus at the end of the round.

Reminds me of UNO...

ahh...

I don't like how theres so much chance involved, yet I keep playing it over and over. I've gotten to the last ring of the ocean wizard.

the most unfair situation I got was (6level), a color restriction near a Terra restriction, so it was only possible with a terra with yellow... I spend all my extras and never got the card, there was no possible strategy in here.

aaaaahg! i got to level 29!

for those of you who think this game is all luck i can assure you that its not. i can get to level 20 nearly every time i try.

here are some tips:

if you have any questions about strategy or need help feel free to ask.

Guide to bonuses
I know it's incomplete, I just pieced it together from what I've gotten

Got your back, Lord Torgamus. ;)

Nice job! I was just wishing someone would come up with a guide like this about an hour ago(!)

Another tip about strategy:

I wish the misaligned pieces were better marked. I've lost a couple games unexpectedly because I'd forgotten about a piece I left in the wrong place.

Fun game! This is my favorite in the laying-down-matching-pieces category. :)

Well what an amazing little game, I don't seem able to keep away from it for long. There is a bit of luck involved but if you manipulate the tiles you can succeed. In saying that it is a little infuriating not having a save option, and perhaps ideas for a sequal involved bigger rings with more colour/symbol combinationsand a save option (take note Sandhill Games guys)but all in all a pleasant way to to loose an hour or two.

(Drat it late again) ARRRGGGH!!!!!!

This is a fun game, and very prettily made, but...
the amount it relies on chance means that it really does need a save game feature, even if it's just at the end of each section.
Also, it needs to not crash so much - is anyone else having this problem?

Well, I finally beat it (sort of), because after I got past level 30 and beat level 31, the game just froze.

Anyway, one tip that I found quite helpful was to utilize the "deal" button. When I first played a few times, I would just go to the extra tiles if I got stuck. But then I remembered I could use the "deal" button a few times before I needed to resort to the bonuses. Perhaps everyone knows this, but I didn't really see a mention of it in the posts above.

ps. my strategy involved placing the pieces (while paying attention to your leftover tiles - i.e. look for symbols opposite of each other on the tile), and not trying to think too hard about the synergies and whatnot. Eventually, you will get some combos that get you bonuses, but I found I lost more often than not when I really tried to make combos as opposed to just being smart about how the tiles interact with eachother.

one of the best flash games ive ever played

Jay i think they deserve an award

Another hint, which will help you know if you've placed an incorrect segment:

Another hint:

I am a "Master dragon slayer Ring specialist Sorcerer deluxe!"
That would be tough to fit on a name card!

A few more strategy tips:

LEVELS 1-8

- 4 of each shape is the best combo (10 cards, 1000 points and a joker), and early on, when tile placement isn't limited too much, you should be dedicated to hitting it as much as you can.

- As the game takes a long time, don't hesitate to restart if you don't hit this combo on each of your first couple of turns.

- Pools are not really worth it unless you get some freakish draw that guarantees you 10-12 of the same thing (such as two double tiles of the same color/shape on the opening draw). Even then the payoff is always inferior to 4 of each shape or color.

- As you try for shapes, pay some attention to equalizing colors so you can get the lesser bonuses and shoot for the full harmony when it's possible. This also lets you settle for the marginally inferior 4 of each color (900 points, 9 cards, joker) when the shapes don't work out.

- Don't be afraid to invest cards or jokers when they will let you hit a 4 of each combo; in net terms you will be ahead.

- If you try to keep the two ends of your open ring matching each other as you build it, you'll have a lot more options in these early open boards, because you will be able to shift the gaps in your ring around to insert tiles many more possible ways.

LEVELS 10-18

- Here you should be aiming to break even bonus-wise, and stumble into smaller combos such as pools or synergies, to even out the few times when you'll have to burn bonuses to make your ring.

LEVELS 19+

- Now, survival is the only goal and you will be operating at a net loss of bonuses. These levels are also quite generous with the color and symbol changers, so they're not impossible.

Using these strategies I can beat the game nearly every time. The play is unusually slow in my Firefox, though, and the game does hang after you beat it which makes the high scores kind of pointless.

This game is very much like that RSVP game previously featured here. I like this game a lot, but it's annoying that you can't move the pieces wherever you want in the ring, even if it doesn't match the limiting wedges. Once you get up to the second set of levels there are so many limiting wedges that reorganizing your circle becomes almost impossible. Also, once you complete the circle you automatically lose if you didn't do it right- there's no chance to reorganize then either.

The links to this game appear to be nonfunctional at the moment. What's up with that? Is anyone else experiencing this issue? The game simply fails to load.

There does seem to be a problem with the version hosted on Kongregate. I've switched around the links to point to the developer's site instead.

Addition to the synergy bonuses:

Jay, been playing this since it came out and some weird things are happening. Sometimes I get 2 sections in the same slot on the circle and then the next sections come from that spot instead of on the side, so there is no way to win once that happens unless you are really lucky and it happens to fit there. Also, it has stopped giving me the bonuses. Is this some sort of a bug and has anyone else had this proplem? Thanks. Sooze

Sooze - there seemed to be a loading issue with the version hosted on Kongregate yesterday, so I switched the links around to point to the one on Sandhill's website. Perhaps that version is not the latest version(?)

In any event, I just checked and it seems Kongregate has got things sorted now, so I've switched the links back to point to that version instead. Let me know if you continue to experience issues with it.

After two days of just working on chance, and never getting past 23-24, I've finally started focusing on collecting bonuses. I'm currently beginning level 9, and starting the fifth line of bonuses, by following y'all's tips. Whew! Going for the 4-4 symbols and working for the net bonus was counterintuitive at first, but totally working for me now.

Yea! Just got to 30, with all credit going to the JIG crowd for the awesome hints.

Wooty! \o/

Congratulations Tracy, nice job. =)

(now if only I could make it to the 3rd sorcerer...)

thx lord thorgamos

here is what i found out:

Hey Jay: I am still having problems with not getting the bonuses, which makes it impossible to get anywhere. Why am I the only one that seems to be having problems? Is there a list somewhere of what the bonuses are for getting each thing? Some of them are hard to keep track of, but I definitely know when I have a "pool" of something and I'm not getting any thing for it. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks. Sooze

Sooze - have you tried the walkthrough above? Not so much a walkthrough as it is a guide to help understand the bonuses.

hey sooze,
take a look at the spoiler i posted before

i got twice to level 31 and both times after i finished it the game stopped working.

anyone else had this problem.

There are only 30 levels to the game, so consider yourself lucky to have played 31. =)

Thanks Jay and Bjorn - that at least cleared up a lot of the muck and I got further than I had before (level 27), with your tips Bjorn, thanks. This is a great game, although now I have a headache, lol.

there are more levels than 30

DONT read this spoiler if you dont want to know the ending of level 30!!!
read this spoiler if you want to know what happens after level 30.

as i said(i forgot to enter my name above) i got twice to level 31, after i finished that level, the game stopped working.

Since I've never actually made it level 30, my comment was based on the information posted here indicating that no one has made it past level 31. I've just sent a note to the developers, perhaps someone there will shine some light into Level 31 Pass Not. ;)

Wheee, I finally did it! I had the same problem with my computer freezing after the bonus round. It would have been nice to be able to sumbit my score and have a definite ending to the game. But this has been one of my all-time favorites (similar to Alchemy if anyone has played that game, but I have never been able to win at that). Thanks a bunch!

LV 31
Points 8818
2 lines of bonuses left

It was my 3rd try - (on my second try, I accidentally hit the Deal button twice, after using them all up - ending my game).

It froze at the end of level 31, as has happened with others. Probably has to do with the code still looking for the dragon to test the circle.

I understand the strategy, but how do you exactly get a full harmony for symbols? is there any specific way/method to do so?

Hi everyone, and thanks for all your comments.

We have fixed the problem that prevented reaching levels beyond the 31st.
Also, concerning all other requests and suggestions, we are working on a new version of Ring Pass Not with new features like the most requested "save".

Thanks again,
many of your comments are precious,
and help us a lot.

Ofir
Sandhill Games

Thanks Ofir

a reason to try again :) last time my highscore was 18630 at lvl 31 with 2 full lines of bonussessses. :P

@anonymous
do you mean symbol quadruples? or full harmony?

Good find.
I agree with Angelust..they should have incorporated an "undo last move" button. Other than that it's a time killer.

Thanks

when the last tile I place produces a synergy, it doesn't get counted into the bonuses- does that happen for anyone else?

[quote]Hi everyone, and thanks for all your comments.

We have fixed the problem that prevented reaching levels beyond the 31st.
Also, concerning all other requests and suggestions, we are working on a new version of Ring Pass Not with new features like the most requested "save".

Thanks again,
many of your comments are precious,
and help us a lot.

Ofir
Sandhill Games
[/quote]

Not yet Fixed, just froze again.

Level 31 problem is fixed - you can see people reaching levels 34 and even 40 in Kongregate's score system.

Enjoy :)

Level 20 is my best, but I just love this game!! Maybe at my age I ought not to be wasting (investing?!!) time on computer games...but to get the brain cells working in the morning, listening to a classical music radio station (having muted the music and sound effects!)...can't be beaten.

But I do notice that you need to get 2 or more the "synergy" sets to get anything...one just doesn't seem to work, and if you use the bonus cards sometines you seem to not get what you should...
But hey! It's just a game, and doesn't rely on fast reflexes, and for that I am grateful.

The developer's website is 404'ing...

Fixed. They changed the name of the page the game is on. =/

Well, with all the hints and finally learning the scoring system, I have made it to level 50. My main complaint is that there is no way to save your progress. I had no idea I was going to get so far and was at this game for over 3 hours and did not want to stop until I got as far as I could. It was 2:00 a.m. and I kept making mistakes. Do you think there will ever be a way to save your progress? I am totally addicted to this game, but can't allow that much time at one sitting to play it. Thanks.

This one was still missing I believe:

Terra 13 Pool: 800 pts, 9 tiles, 1 joker

7 senergy pairs: 4500 pts, 23 tiles

In that same level also 11 sol and 10 red.
Making it 31 tiles and 1 red bomb :)

Stella 15 Pool: 1800 pt, 16 tiles, 3 blue bombs

I will try to get all info in a next game.
Because some mentioned before are depending on the color or symbol and so not all are correct.

Just finished level 123 (still playing)

i got all reds and blues and in the rewards announcement i got "undefined jokers" but i have played past it, no jokers from that lv or any other lvs, and no jokers popping up randomly in the cards, i feel like i got gyped, if you'll pardon the expression.

Here's something I noticed right away but haven't seen in any spoilers:

I love this game! I also love the music. I wish I could download it...Guess I just have to result to listening to it on the website.

I too have played this game many many times and it is addictive, I have reached level 30 a few times and yes it does freeze once completed. If 30 is the the highest level then why does it say continue and then freeze. Would love this game to have many more levels to conquer.

Just to add to the walkthrough, 5 Synergy pairs gives 15 tiles.

Hi,

There's a bug with two-color harmony. It states "Jokers: undefined" and you get no jokers.

S13 gives 800 pts, 9 tiles, 1 joker
screenshot: http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/2091/ssyd0.jpg

I got "Double Symbols Harmony" and it says "7 tiles, 1 switch" but all I got was 7 tiles.

The link to the game at the developers website is broken...

[Edit: Thanks! Fixed. -Jay]