• START: When the game is stopped (either because it has not yet begun or because a ball has just been lost or a level has just been cleared), it can be started by clicking on 'START' in the main playing area. You can also press 'S' on your keyboard instead.
  
  
• THE RACKET: When the ball is in motion the racket can be controlled either by moving your mouse back and forth or by pressing '<' (same as the ',' key) and '>' (same as the '.' key) on your keyboard.
  
  
• SPEED: Whether or not the ball is in motion you can change the ball speed by clicking anywhere on the speed bar at the bottom of the screen, or by clicking on the '+' or '-' on either end of it to increment by one. You can also change the speed in increments of one by pressing 'U' (for up) or 'D' (for down) on your keyboard.
  
  
• PAUSE: When the ball is in motion the game can be paused by clicking anywhere in the playing area, or by pressing 'P' on your keyboard.
  
  
• RESUME: When the game is paused, '- PAUSED -' is displayed on the screen. When paused, the game can be resumed by clicking anywhere in the playing area, or by pressing 'R' on your keyboard.
  
  
• RESET: When the game is over, either because all balls have been lost or because you have cleared the last level, you will either be prompted for your initials (if you earned a high score ) or 'RESET' will appear in the playing area. If 'RESET' appears, just click on it to return to the setup screen.
  
  
• BUMPING: When the ball is in motion you can "bump the machine" at any time by pressing 'B' or the 'SPACE BAR' on your keyboard ('SPACE BAR' is more convenient but you may need to use the 'B' key if using the 'SPACE BAR' causes your whole screen to shift; if the 'SPACE BAR' causes no problems for you then feel free to use that). This will change the direction of the ball slightly and randomly. Be careful, if you "bump the machine" too much in a short period of time it will "tilt". If this happens your racket will become frozen and it will remain frozen until the ball falls out of play. "Bumping the machine" also comes at a cost if it is done during a combo. See "COMBOS" in the scoring section for more details. There are some levels where the ball can become trapped in a loop and never come down. If you encounter this situation you can use the "bump" to free the ball from the trap.
  
  

• EASY: You begin the game with 5 balls and have an unlimited amount of time to complete each level. Each time you successfully complete a level you get one additional ball.
  
  
• NORMAL: You begin the game with 3 balls and have 250 seconds to complete each level. Certain levels give you extra time or have no time limit.
  
  
• HARD: You begin the game with 1 ball and have 200 seconds to complete each level. Certain levels give you extra time or have no time limit. Each time you successfully complete a level you get one additional ball.
  
  
• IMPOSSIBLE: You begin the game with 1 ball and have 150 seconds to complete each level. Certain levels give you extra time or have no time limit. There is no way to earn an additional ball at this difficulty. You must maintain one ball throughout the entire game.
  
  

• MULTIPLIERS: Each difficulty setting has an associated scoring multiplier: 10 points for 'Easy', 20 for 'Normal', 30 for 'Hard', and 40 for 'Impossible'.
  
  
• COMBOS: At the start of any level the combo count is set to one. Each time the ball hits the racket or falls out of play the combo count reverts back to one. Every time the ball hits one of the blue or white bricks your temporary points increase (by [combo count] x [scoring multiplier]) and your combo count increases by one. If you "bump the machine" at any time during a combo your combo count decreases by one and your temporary points return to the level they were at before the last hit in the combo.
  
  
• EXCEPTIONS: Some levels have the possibility for blocks to re-appear or increase in strength (brighten in color) after they have already been hit. Blocks that "regenerate" in this way will not add to your temporary points or combo count when they are hit.
  
  
• BANKING POINTS: Temporary points only get banked to your total score when the ball hits the racket or when the level is cleared. If the ball falls out of play or time runs out before the ball hits the racket after any combo all temporary points from that combo are lost.
  
  
• BONUSES: At the end of each succesfully completed level you will receive a level completion bonus (500 x [scoring multiplier]). Your current combo will also be multiplied by 10 before it is added to your score (so if you can clear a level on a big combo you can get a very large bonus). At the end of the final level you get an additional bonus (5000 x [scoring multiplier]). You can also earn a time bonus on any level by finishing it in under 250 seconds (100 x [250 - completion time]).
  
  
• HIGH SCORES: If you earn a score higher than the currently 25th ranked top score you will be asked to enter your initials to add your own score to the list.
  
  

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