Streak
0
Best
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A modern abstract classic with one beautifully mean idea: the pyramid has exactly thirty spots and the two players hold exactly thirty balls between them, so every ball you save is a ball your opponent has to spend. Stack upward, complete a square of your own colour to claw balls back, or lift one of your own free balls to a higher level for nothing. Whoever runs dry first loses — and whoever sets the single ball on the summit wins on the spot.
The board is a 4×4 base that grows into a pyramid: sixteen spots on the bottom, then nine, then four, then one at the summit — thirty in all. You and the computer start with fifteen balls each.
On your turn you add one ball. It can go on any empty spot of the base, or on top of any square of four balls that are already touching — those four can be any mix of colours. A ball is free if nothing is resting on it, and only free balls can ever be moved or removed.
Two rules let you spend fewer balls than your opponent, and that is the whole game. First, if the ball you just placed completes a 2×2 square of your own colour, you may take back one or two of your free balls and add them to your reserve. Second, instead of adding a new ball you may raise one of your own free balls to a higher level — it costs nothing from your reserve, though you cannot lift a ball onto a spot that it is itself holding up.
The round ends the moment someone places the ball on the summit: that player wins. It also ends if the player to move has no balls left and no legal raise, in which case they lose. Every round you win adds one to your streak. The computer always opens: with thirty spots shared between thirty balls, the player who moves second is the one who gets to set the summit ball, so that seat is given to you and it is on you not to squander it. Your best streak is your score.
Count balls, not territory. The scoreboard that matters is how many balls each side still holds, because the loser is simply whoever runs out first. A move that gains you nothing positionally but costs your opponent an extra ball is a good move, and a pretty tower that empties your reserve is not.
Raising is the cheapest move in the game and beginners never use it. Lifting one of your own free balls to a higher level costs you nothing from your reserve while still filling a spot, which effectively hands the tempo problem back to your opponent. Look for a raise every single turn before you consider spending a fresh ball.
Be careful which balls you place on the base. Once a ball has something resting on it, it is locked there for good — it can never be raised and never taken back by a square. Balls buried early are balls you have effectively spent, so put your colour where it will stay free, and be happy to let the opponent's colour take the load-bearing positions.
Watch for squares in both directions. Completing your own 2×2 wins you one or two balls back, but the same four spots can be finished by your opponent, so think twice before laying the third ball of a square that they can cap. The strongest squares are the ones where you place the third and fourth balls yourself on consecutive turns, which usually means setting them up a level above the noise on the base.