Stowaway Sting

Scrap, the stowaway we met in Journey to the Lost Isle, is back on the docks of Mystery Island where things have not changed much. In this game, you control Scrap and you have to collect hidden treasures to clear your name from past accusations.

Controls and Instructions

You control Scrap with the arrow keys. However the board is rotated clockwise by 45°. With the default settings (the type A on following picture), it means that if you hit constantly the left arrow key, Scrap will move towards the left of the game screen. However, if you decide to use the other type of controls, holding the left arrow key would move you towards the top of the game screen. Try both of them and pick the one you are the most comfortable with!

During the game, a few items will appear on the deck and they all have different effects.

In addition to the treasures, there are two other elements that will influence your score. Each crate that is turned into the target color will add one point to your score and each remaining second on the timer will give you one point as well.

The aim of the game is to turn all the crates into the target color and to collect the treasures that are appearing on the deck. You will notice that crates are not all the same height and that you can't jump on them if they are too high. However, you have to keep a close eye on your health and timer that are situated at the top left of the game. Your health will decrease rapidly if you stand on the same crate as a thug or if you walk on a bad crate. If you jump into a trap, it's game over! Here is an overview of the game:

Tips and Strategies

Before starting the game, here are a few general tips to help you in Stowaway Sting:

• Turn the music off, but leave the sound effects on.
• Plan your itinerary before starting a level.
• Hit the arrow key each time you want to make a move instead of holding it.
• Stretch yourself to collect diamonds and bags of Neopoints, and count them.
• Stay away from the thugs as much as you can.

Levels

Level 1 Level 1 is a good one to get used to the controls. It is time to decide if you are more comfortable with type A or type B. You will have plenty of time to complete level 1, so do not rush yourself. Your goal is to turn the crates to blue and to collect all bag of Neopoints that will appear on the deck. In the first level, you can collect up to 4 bags of Neopoints, which will give you an extra 80 points. You have to wait for them to show on the deck before moving on to the second level. A common strategy is to leave only 1 crate untouched in the middle of the deck until you have all your bonus points and then to rush to that crate and turn it blue.

Level 2 Level 2 introduces the bad crates for the first time. There are two type of bad crates: the ones that will damage your health and the ones that will kill you if you fall into them. If you stand on a bad crate, you will notice that your health decreases quickly. Avoid standing on them as much as possible. Also, enemies start to appear in level 2. Kougras and Skeiths will damage your health if you stand on the same crate as them. In level 2, you should be able to collect the 5 bags of Neopoints for a total of 100 points. When you have them all, hurry up to complete the level.

Level 3 Level 3 has more traps and more bad crates. For the first time, I advise you to ignore the bad crates. Your top priority is to collect the bonus items. There should be at least 1 diamond in this level and you have to do everything possible to collect it. Remember, diamonds will earn you 50 points!

Level 4 Level 4 is also different from the previous levels because crates won't keep their target color if you walk on them a second time; they will get turned to their original wooden color. As annoying as it seems to be, this is great news for you because you now have a better control of which tile you want to keep last. You still have plenty of time to complete the level. If your health is low, a heart should pop on the deck. Collect it to get your health fully restored! There are more bags and diamonds to collect in this level. Try to get them all.

Level 5 Level 5 is really simple. There is nothing new in this level and you should be able to avoid all the bad crates whilst you collect the treasures.

Level 6 Level 6 has the same layout as level 3. Watch out for your health, especially if you took some risks in level 5. Stretch yourself to collect the heart at the start of the level to have it fully restored. If you didn't miss a single bag of Neopoints or diamond in the previous levels, you should have enough points by the end of this one to get the avatar! If you missed a few, try to finish level 6 and then only collect the bonus in level 7.

Level 7 Level 7 has a different target color. You now have to change all crates into green by walking on it twice. If you walk on it for a third time, it will be back to its original wooden color. This level is really hard to complete and you will need to rush yourself if you don't want the timer to run out of time. Unless you are going for the avatar and just need a few more points, don't focus on bonus. Your number one priority should be to change the crates into the target color if you want to reach the final level of the game.

Level 8 Level 8 is the last one of the game. You won't have much time to complete it and it is impossible to complete it without walking on bad crates. Congratulations if you reach it and beat it!

Conclusion

Stowaway Sting is still not exactly the same as its predecessor, Deckswabber , but once you have mastered the controls it becomes a relatively easy game.The layout of the 8 different levels stays the same in all game, which makes them easy to remember. Have fun turning the crates into their target color!