Guide for competitive play of LCD handheld game MONKEY LABOUR written by Matej Jan better known on the leaderboards as RETRONATOR Game version used: 1.1.2 Guide version: v1 (March 31, 2011) TABLE OF CONTENTS ========================= 1. Author's note 2. Essential knowledge 3. Monkey behavior levels 4. Speedrun 5. Achievements list ========================= 1. AUTHOR'S NOTE Hello retro gamers. My name is Matej Jan and I'm currently (Mar 31, 2011) on top of all Game Center leaderboards for the iPhone/iPad/iPod touch game Monkey Labour. I know all the secrets to the game and as of today I am 73 points away from the last ever achievement in the game, the mighty three gears. In this guide I give away all I know about how to be the best on the Monkey Labour leaderboards. 2. ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE === Main goal === By now you must have figured out that the goal of the game is to burn the monkey boss as many times as possible before you lose all 4 lives (the starting one plus 3 replacement robots indicated in top left corner). To burn the monkey, you have to transfer 5 logs from the stack on the right to the furnace on the left. When you add 4 logs the fire will start blinking which is an indication to you that the next one will blast a fire through one of the three valves above. A small fire indicates where this will be and it always moves to the right every few seconds. When the monkey is exactly under the fire, add the fifth log and burn the monkey. === Monkey rage === Each time you burn the fire, no matter if you hit or miss, the monkey will enter rage mode. While in this frenzy any pauses between throwing bricks in the usual behavior are skipped. Be careful on higher speeds and it's usually best to just wait until the rage is over before proceeding. Also use this time to clear the stack on levels 5 and 7 (described below). === Scoring and multipliers == You get 1 point for each log you put in the fire and 50 for burning the monkey. Additionally a multiplier is increased for each time you burn the monkey with perfect play. So with the highest possible x9 multiplier, adding a log is worth 9 points and burning the monkey gives you 450, blasting you through the levels of the game! === Perfect play === To keep the multipliers active you need to maintain perfect play. This means: - If you don't bring new logs to the fire, after a few seconds, the furnace will drop power and reset your multiplier. - If a falling brick destroys your log while you are carrying it, you lose the multiplier. - If you miss the monkey with the burn on the 5th log, you lose the multiplier. - Of course, dying in any way also gets you back to x1. === Clearing the stack === The game will end instantly if you let the stack of logs on the right to fill up, no matter how many lives you have left. So proper stack maintenance is essential when the alert siren starts blinking. Very fast play, especially the two finger technique described in the speedrun section can be of help to this, but another especially useful tactic is to stand next to the stack while the monkey drops bricks on you. Just repeatedly pick up new logs from the stack for your protection until you are ready to move on. This is most effectively done on levels 5 and 7 (described in next section). 3. MONKEY BEHAVIOR LEVELS Every 100 points you earn the behavior of the monkey boss will change. I call these levels and there are 10 of them. After reaching the 1000 points the game continues back from the start, however the speed of the game has increased significantly by then which makes things quite different the other time around. So Level 5 is from 500-599 points and again at 1500-1599 … === Level 0 === Codename: Default Difficulty: Walk in the park The monkey starts more or less random, but on higher speeds anticipates your position. If you have a brick in your hands it will probably try to block you at the furnace and vice versa, when you're empty handed it will protect the stack. === Level 1 === Codename: Double Difficulty: Caution advised The difficulty steps up as this monkey throws two sequential bricks at you. It can be both in the same position or randomly left and right so be careful. === Level 2 === Codename: Fast Random Difficulty: Lethal on high speeds This monkey decides on random in which of the 5 positions it wants to throw the brick and does it in as fast way as possible without stopping as other behaviors. === Level 3 === Codename: Waterfall Difficulty: Piece of cake This is an upgrade from double which throws 3 consecutive bricks at you. However, they are all in the same position so this makes it very easy to avoid except during the rage mode. Simply wait in a position where the monkey can't reach you and after the waterfall starts move to the place right next to the falling bricks. Wait for them to stop and continue your way. === Level 4 === Codename: Fireman Difficulty: Easy as pie Fireman tries to protect the fireplace and will throw 1 brick in front of it and the second one in one of the other 4 positions. This makes it very predictable and is beaten easily with the right timing, taking a log from the stack when he's in position 1 and putting it to the furnace when he's away from it. === Level 5 === Codename: Hitman Difficulty: Do not panic! This is the first level where you might start crying like a little girl as the monkey charges directly at you with arms raised. He will always hit directly in your position which makes him a lethal killer, especially after you first encounter him in monkey rage mode. The trick is to realize that if you are always moving you will be always 1 step in front of the monkey, escaping all falling bricks. The best way is to let him throw a brick from the middle position after which you go pick a log and on your way to the furnace he will again try to hit you from the middle position. In this way the Hitman is quite tame and you only have to time the last shot to the moment when the valve returns to first position. He will try to hit you in front of the furnace at which time you throw in the last log and burn the monkey. === Level 6 === Codename: Stack Overflow Difficulty: Hey, this guy is actually helping This behavior is like the default one with the exception that the monkey will throw bricks to the stack to bring you closer to your demise. However, this also means that from the third position the monkey will never hit you, at least until the stack is full and siren starts flashing. === Level 7 === Codename: XXX Difficulty: Panic at the disco Triple X is an upgraded version of the Hitman. Not only does this agent move to your position with lethal precision, it also throws bricks during that movement, making it harder to escape his approach. The first tactic is to wait in the edge positions and escape the final falling brick just as the one next to you vanishes into the ground. A better tactic yet is to follow the direction for Hitman. Allow XXX to aim at you from the middle position and then quickly grab a new log and return to the middle. In this way he also will become static, even though you have 2 falling bricks to avoid, not just one. === Level 8 === Codename: Janitor Difficulty: Silence before the storm This is a reverse version of the Fireman. Janitor protects the stack and deploys one brick in front of it on every even throw. === Level 9 === Codename: Napalm Difficulty: Vietnam The ultimate level of Monkey Labour. Napalm starts on the right and while moving to the left throws a brick in all but one randomly chosen position. This repeats in another killing sweep from left to right. Rinse, repeat. The key to beating Napalm is to realize that in the middle position there is one additional turn between his throws which enables you to jump through the falling rain of blocks. Also look for the hole in the sky, the position in which in the current sweep he doesn't throw anything. On faster speeds however a more reliable way is to just use a log for protection until you carry one to the left immediately after his sweep form right to left. Return to the stack, wait with a log for his return and two blows and repeat the procedure of following immediately after him. 4. SPEEDRUN The updated version of the game provides two new leaderboards for fast competitive play: Race to 1.000 points and Race to 3.000 points. In addition, a speedrun achievement is awarded for reaching the 1.000 points under 2 minutes. === Perfect play === The essential thing for earning the speedrun achievement is to maintain perfect play and build your multipliers. TIP: Whenever you lose your multiplier just start over by pressing and holding on the start button. With perfect play your score should proceed like this: Score Mult. Monkey behavior Notes =============================================================================== 0 x1 Default Watch out not to do the 4th throw when fire is above the Monkey. It will take too long to wait for the 5th one. 55 x2 Default Work as fast as possible while he is hanging. 165 x3 Double If he stays on the right you probably have no chance to get a new pole before the power drops. 330 x4 Waterfall Just use the tips in monkey behavior guide. 550 x5 Hitman Never stop. Don't let him destroy your log. 825 x6 Janitor You're almost there. Don't rush and wait for after his first throw to go get a new log. After you scorch the Janitor you will gain x7 and blast past Napalm to your place among the proud owners of the speedrun achievement. === Double finger technique === If you're playing on the iPad you might not want to play with your thumbs holding the device. The fastest play possible is achieved by using your index and middle fingers alternatively pushing the buttons, each hand on its side. This makes it possible to blast under many falling bricks without them touching you. 5. ACHIEVEMENTS LIST Name Points Condition =============================================================================== Monkeyburn 18 Just burn the monkey On Strike 20 Lose the game by letting the conveyor belt jam Save a Furry 30 Open the battery lid and tap on the Furry Look Ma, five fingers 20 Touch the LCD screen with 5 fingers The Answer 42 Earn 42 points without burning the monkey 500 30 Reach the Hitman level 1500 40 Reach the Hitman level on 2nd round 2600 50 Beat the Hitman level on 3rd round 3x Multiplier 30 Play perfect for 3 rounds 5x Multiplier 45 Play perfect for 5 rounds 7x Multiplier 70 Play perfect for 7 rounds 9x Multiplier 90 Play perfect for 9 rounds Monkey Boss Ashes 55 You'll get this after time for 500 burns Sisyphus 70 Long time players get this for 10.000 logs Speedrun 70 Get to 1.000 points under 2 minutes One Gear 60 Complete 3 full rounds to 3.000 points Two Gears 75 Complete 6 full rounds to 6.000 points Three Gears 95 Beat the game by reaching 9.000 points CREDITS ======= Guide written by Matej Jan, Retronator http://www.retronator.com More games by Dawn of Play http://dawnofplay.com