Music Helix Ball Guide: Tips, Cheats and Strategies

Music Helix Ball is a wonderfully designed puzzler that puts music and your rhythm to the test. Take control of a ball cascading down a helix to the sound of music and smash your way through the glass panels to reach the end. Or, if you are feeling retro, there is a Tetris-style block puzzle where finding your inner Zen has never been so easy. Anyway, that’s enough build up, let’s talk about balls.

Two peaceful game modes

If you couldn’t tell by the screenshots, there are two different game modes for you to try your hand at. The first mode is what the game was named after. This is where you need to safely guide a ball down a helix by tapping the screen in time with the music.

If that isn’t your cup of tea, then you should try the puzzle mode. This second game mode is very much inspired by the old-school puzzler Tetris. Instead of placing blocks quickly as they fall from the sky, you have as much time as you want to shoot them to the ceiling. Make a complete row and that row will disappear, allowing for endless fun.

Helix ball tips

• Feel the music. When you click “Ball Mode” you will see several series, nine to be exact. Each one of these icons has a particular style of music to accompany the levels inside. So pick an icon you can relate too or enjoy listening to.
• Don’t watch the helix. If you are failing a lot of levels wondering how you are supposed to see the back part of the helix to time your taps, you’re not. You should look at the bottom of the screen where a note moves across. You need to time your tap when the note is in the middle of your screen.

• Timing is everything. It’s hard to say what a better tactic is. Waiting for the symbol to appear and then tapping or learning the beat of the music and tapping along. Each method has credit too it, but if you press too early, you will almost definitely fail the level. So don’t get carried away and try to predict the next beat, wait until you see it coming up.

Puzzle mode tips

• Take your time. Unlike Tetris, there is no need to rush. You can take your time and think about where each block will go. You can also move around and preview where a block can fit to see where your best option is.
• Rotate the pieces. If you click the shape at the bottom, you can rotate it to a different position. This is another move borrowed from Tetris, but this is a move you should do for almost every block. It might surprise you where blocks will fit once you’ve rotated them.

• Leave no gaps. Gaps in this game mode cause chaos as it might be a long time before you clear the blocks around the gap to fill it in. Remember that pieces are placed upwards, so you can’t slide a block underneath another.
• Expect the unexpected. Anyone can place random blocks down in no particular order, but a genius can leave room for certain blocks in advance. This means when a curve-ball is thrown their way, they can handle it no problem. So what I am trying to say is you need to leave gaps for certain awkward blocks and still be able to leave no spaces between them.

• Sides first or last. As far as I see it, there are two ways to build up from the bottom. One involves filling in from the middle or whether you fill in from the side. Truth be told, it doesn’t matter. If you want to go far in this mode, you will need to use a mix of techniques.

Smashing this game mode is easy, you need patience and a good eye for spotting gaps. Remember not to leave gaps as the more blocks you place over the gap the harder it becomes to clear. The last thing to remember is that you need to place blocks over each other if a block won’t fit in the gap you have then don’t force it. Place it somewhere else and keep this space open until you get the right block.

Sam Simmons