The Ball

The Ball

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Complete Ball Guide [WiP]
Av 。✧★☽༓☾★✧。
This aims to be a complete guide for The Ball, from Teotl to the downloadable extra levels.

Currently it contains all surival levels and bonus puzzles. Work on a campaign guide continues presently.
   
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Campaign
Currently in construction

After steam deleted two whole sections (due to some kind of server/saving bug, nothing malicious), I lost all motivation to repeat myself. I fully intend to return to this guide in a few days.

General advice

If you've never played The Ball before, I highly recommend doing so without a guide. The puzzles are relatively simple and the joy of solving them can only be experienced once. If you find yourself stuck, however, or are simply in it for the achievements, read on. This guide aims to be comprehensive (eventually), but if you find yourself with a question whose answer is not contained here, feel free to ask.

It is advised to have the Ball itself set to auto-transparency, and to keep it within one's general viscinity at all times.

The game itself does contain a brief and simple text-tutorial and it is best to keep this on if it is your first time playing.

This guide will be split into relatively arbitrary mini-sections via use of headers, to break up the otherwise massive walls of text.

On achievements and secrets

A couple of achievements in this game require some real commitment. The first is Hammer Time, which requires a truly massive 5,000 hammer-strikes upon the ball itself. While there is another guide in this section on how to game that achievement, it is best to wait until after completing the entire campaign and all survival and bonus levels so that the mindless hammering is kept to a minimum.

The second are the two explorer achievements, earned for finding every secret. These secrets tell a story of the Ball's history and of the world's. Information on where to find these secrets will be in roughly the right place, but shuffled slightly (ABOVE the true location, so you can read it before you get there) to avoid indirectly revealing their location. All secret locations will be hidden under spoiler text like so: The game is set in Mexico. Hover the cursor over spoilers to reveal them.

Finally, if you are intent upon Monkey Trouble, make it your mission to kill every monkey you see when you see them.

Other achievements will be mentioned where relevant.
Pehua
Introduction. Separated from your friend, you find yourself trapped in a cavern. On your own until help arrives, you decide to explore. It is here where you find a strange artefact. You take it. This triggers a massive door to open. Startled, you enter and discover a strange device. The only word that comes to mind is "Ball". Despite your reservations, curiosity gets the better of you. You progress deeper into the Earth as the air becomes stagnant and hot...

The fall, and the Ball

After your friend gives you dangerous advice regarding being trapped in a cave, walk forward until the floor falls from beneath you...again. Follow the path and collect the Hammer, then use your new tool to hit (default LeftMouse) the blue button at the top of the stairs. As the game itself notes, this type of button is specifically designed for the hammer, and can be activated by nothing else.

Press the blue player button by walking over it and meet your new best friend: the Ball itself. By default, the right mouse button calls the ball towards you. The ball can become stuck to the player if constantly calling: a ball->person symbol in the bottom-left will clearly indicate this. The ball doesn't have to be stuck to the hammer, as it can and will get stuck to your back (which has its own benefits). Hammer the ball ahead of you and it will shortly roll over an orange ball button, causing a door to open.

Secret: You will see a large tablet and be told a story. When it concludes, immediately turn left and hop over the half-open door. You will find your first secret.

The tutorial tells you how to solve this first puzzle. With the ball near the edge, hammer it firmly forwards towards the orange button opposite. It should hit it: if it doesn't, you can safely jump down and manually guide it. There are staircases back up on either side of your balcony. Standing directly behind the small plank of wood protruding forward from your balcony, call the ball until it strikes the orange button beneath you (or, if down with it, just push the ball into the button). When, or as, the second plank extends you can safely walk across and activate the player button on the wall.

Secret: You will cross a bridge over water with big wooden planks in a zig-zag to stop you jumping off. After crossing the bridge, but before moving on, look right. There will be a gap in the railings large enough for you to fit through. Hop down and follow the path to secret 2/4

Follow the path through the door that opens and you will be treated to the first part of the explicit (that is, non-secret) story of the game.
To your right is a wall with distinct yellow cracks along it. Break it as instructed by hammering the ball towards it. This takes surprisingly little force. Down the stairs, you will discover a literal ball-magnet. It is impossible to retrieve the ball from a magnet; they must be disabled. Do so by standing on the blue player button to your right, then push the ball onwards onto the orange button ahead of you.

Secret: You will have used a lift powered by the ball to get onto a ledge. Look directly opposite you, before you jump down. You will see the secret. Hop along the wooden supports strutting out from the wall along the right-hand side, where they are connected by planks. This is 3/4

This next part is simpler than it sounds. Push the ball down the apparently dead-end ramp, against the wall. Jump onto the wooden rail on either side and then onto the stationary ball. From there, you should be able to jump up to the blue button, which opens the door opposite you.

...But there's another door behind it. Turn left and position the ball on the orange button. Stand on the platform that lowers itself and call the ball until it leaves the button. Press the other player button, and the area is complete.

First taste of danger

Secret: You will complete a puzzle that causes a spiked floor to lower itself. As the spikes fall, note an alcove to the right of the button you just pressed. Position the ball roughly half-way between your edge of the pit and the orange button, slightly towards the right of said button. You can do this via miniscule use of the call button or by bouncing it off the other wall. Jump onto the ball, then immediately onto a wooden peg on the middle of the button-platform. Up to the next peg, then the top of the platform, then across to the alcove. You now have secret 4/4. Try to hop back the same way without dying.

Down, and through the open doors, you'll hopefully spy a skull-and-crossbones on the floor. That predictably indicates that something dangerous lies ahead. Hammer the ball off the small drop and into the spike-pit. You will be carefully balancing along the wooden plank against the wall to the right. You will need to jump forward to get down.

The tutorial explains how connected buttons work. You get both a visual hint, in the lines between them, and an auditory one in the form of clicking. Place the ball on the orange button and yourself on the blue one, then walk through the door that opens. Again, pay attention to the warning on the floor.

Position the ball at the very edge of the spike pit and charge up the hammer by holding the strike button until the speed reaches an apex. Hammer the ball forth with all your might against the orange button.

The path ahead lies beneath. Directly beneath. Position the ball in a corner right against the edge of your balcony, and delicately drop (do not jump) onto it. Then drop down into the area below. This level is an excellent introduction into delicate ball positioning, which will be a necessary skill throughout the game. If you truly can't handle it, there is an alternate path: Head back to the room with the connected buttons and walk down the staircase to the right of the entrance.

Ah, yes, magma. The orange ball button blends in perfectly. Position the ball between the edge of the pit and the singular grey floor-tile. Position yourself such that the ball is directly between you and the button. Charge up the hammer, and strike. No, the ball won't melt; and no, I truly couldn't guess as to what it's made of.

Walk across the narrow beam and onto the blue button, which frees your friend ball. Guide it along the magma path by walking the edges as you call it, then cross back over the beam and call it up the ramp. Be careful not to let the glowing-hot ball touch you; it does hurt.

Head back the way you came (left of the spike-pit entrance and up the ramp). You'll notice two wooden planks crossing a gap near the connected buttons you pressed earlier. Hit the ball across and follow along one of the planks. It will open a door and the tutorial will tell you what to do next.

Continued in the next section, as guide sections have character limits.

Pehua (continued)
Push the ball up against the block and press activate (default E). The ball and block will become connected. Step back and call the ball towards you, then approach it and press E again to free it. If you hold the ball in the hammer and walk towards the block, you will notice that you can push it. Try not to block the doorway again, and instead walk through it.

In the centre of this next room is a cube with the same symbol on it as that blue hammer button. It can only be moved by the Hammer itself. Those different-looking orange buttons in the walls are designed just for the hammer-cube. Push it towards one - it really doesn't matter which one. It's fairly difficult to get a hammer-cube truly stuck, as a strong blow against a surface should cause it to bounce off, and they respond fairly realistically to blows to the very edge. The cube will "die" when it is in position.

Use the ball to break the cracked wall to the left of the entrance. Follow the revealed path to the left and crouch as the tutorial instructs. Note that you have to hold the crouch button to remain crouched. Hammer the cube away from the edge and follow it along to the room you left. Push into whichever cube button you like, then use the ball to break the other cracked wall.

Follow either path and take note of the giant fan. It somewhat negates gravity, causing you to float slightly when you jump. The cubes, too, will float when you hit them. Guide them towards the room (it may be easier to use the lower exit) and push them into the two remaining orange buttons.

Hammer the ball ahead so that it activates the magnet in the lift before you get there; press the blue button. When deposited, stand on the blue button to free the ball. Break the wall and walk forward to the end of the level.
Oztoc I
You find yourself going further. The caverns widen. In the distance stands a derelic pyramid. Using the Ball, you have no choice but to solve another set of elaborate puzzles. It is here where things get progressively worse. Inexplicably, you realise you have to now contend with the reanimated bones of mummies.

Seal

Secret: You will eventually move along a corridor with a hammer-block neatly positioned in the wall behind a cobweb. Hammer it, jump into the hole, and continue hammering until a path to your left is revealed. Follow the path for scret 1/6

Before you can move on, you will be told of a seal, which holds shut the way ahead. Three bars pump up and down, preventing you from bringing the ball towards the pyramid. Once a bar is at the very bottom, hammer the ball across it.

Once you've broken some cracked wooden planks with the ball, you will have to dive underwater. The player can hold his breath for about a minute, and once he runs out loses a small amount of health every few seconds. This journey is not long enough for that to happen. Simply jump in and swim along the tunnel at the far end, right at the bottom of the pool. Call the ball while in the tunnel. Hold space to ascend. When you surface, turn right and hop onto the small ledge to press the blue button. The room will drain.

In the next room, turn left near the door and hammer the ball with some force across the spike-pit. If it strikes the orange button, it will be trapped and the room will flood. There is a pocket of air in the ceiling, but you shouldn't need it. As the room floods, look opposite the orange button and you'll se a small tunnel in the room near the ceiling. Swim through it and stand on the blue button; the room will drain.

Secret: After breaking the bridge, return up the ramp to a doorway is now open. There is square in the ground, a lift. Get on with the ball. Turn right and follow the tunnel to secret 2/6. Follow path and fall down. Ahead is a bomb. Hammer the ball into it. Turn right before the 2nd bomb and hit the bomb in this new corridor. Turn left, explode bomb, left again. Hit the last bomb and go beyond. The rest of this area is spelled out in further spoilers throughout the guide.

Call the ball and progress through the now-open door. Note the mummies who rush past. Turn to the right, and be sure to have the ball in front of you. You will need to use it to shield yourself from the rapidly-firing dart trap, which will quickly kill you if you walk into it. Onwards along the path until you find a doorway to your right.

A floor tile will warn you of the danger: two dart traps facing one another. Position the ball between that warning and the ramp and hammer it as hard as possible. The room will flood and you can safely swim across to the player button. When you press it, the wooden bars that the ball is most likely resting on will draw back. Jump in (don't worry, the darts are impotent in the water) and follow the tunnel, bringing the ball along behind you. Allow it to roll over the orange button and the room will drain again.

Secret: Turn right and skirt along the edge of the room, avoid the dart trap and do not hit the hammer. Turn left for a hammer symbol. Hit it until it stops. Press the player button. Left of the dart trap is a wood pile. Position the ball next to the wood pile, below the hole in the wall. Jump onto the wood pile, onto the ball, and into the alcove. Either path takes you to secret 3/6. There are two hammer blocks in alcoves; take them to the entrance.

You'll notice you can't bring the ball with you for this part. Head through one of the small openings either side of the tunnel you just came through. Hammer the two large supports preventing the wheels from turning, and once the large door opens hammer the ball into the cracked wood. Oh, and don't worry about the damaged floor tiles; for some reason you can't fall through them.

Turn right and follow the path into a room with a pit of oil. Drop the ball into the oil, then stand on the other side of the room near a large rope which practically flashes. Call the ball, taking care to get the oil to touch the rope, then hammer the ball towards the lit torch and step back. Bombs will go off until you can progress through the wall.

Move to your right and up the ramp - you can't bring the ball with you - following the path until you find a hammer-block. Push it into the opening in the wooden frame that is currently at your level. It will drop down, opening a large door below.

Mummies and minecarts

Secret: Take the hammer-cubes to the fan. Hit them across the room. Hit the ball buttons on the wall with full force for two cubes. Hammer them down too. In the room at the end, push the blocks into the correct symbols. The order doesn't matter; the symbols are here[http//here]. Return to the entrance and leave. Into water, and onto the bridge. Walk the only path until you hit a checkpoint. You have now returned to the main path. Immediately turn left, walking under some planks. Follow the path, hop over a broken door and you'll find secret 4/6. Return to the lift and CNTRL+F lleft

A train will roll past as you move forward. Ahead of you is a blue button. Have the ball in-hand, because when you stand on it you will experience you first mummy asault. You can knock the mummies back with the hammer, but the only way to kill them is by crushing them with the ball. They're not stupid, and they will leap out of the way if they see it coming, so you have to hammer it towards them quickly. You can also push the ball behind them, then call it towards you - they won't see it coming because it will be behind them.

Once they're all dead, hold the ball in front of you and move left until you find a doorway leading to a cave with mummies on a bridge. These mummies throw fire, but the ball will shield you from that. There may also be a couple of ordinary mummies on the path: back up through the doorway and crush them with the ball, then return. Note that the bridge the fire-throwers are standing on has one prominent support, which is cracked at the base. Position yourself and the ball such that one full hammer-blow will take the ball down the ramp and into that support. Watch the mummies and move around so that their fireballs, which are quite slow, do not hit you. When you break the support, a block will slide down and crush the mummies.

Use the ball to reposition the block such that the highest point is level with the end of the bridge. This is a little fiddly. Jump up and cross the bridge, and you'll find a player button at the end. You may now move on through the open door at the end of the room. Beware of more mummies, and keep the ball in front of you. Follow the arrows to connected ball-player buttons and activate both to ride the lift.

At the bottom of the lift, go lleft. Follow the path to an empty room with two inactive player buttons. Continue across into a small corridor full of spike-pits. They're small enough for you to leap over, so jump them from the very edge. You'll find a player button after two pits, which you should stand on and then return to the room. A magnet is now active and the room is divided. If the ball is in the room, it may be attached to the magnet. The nearby player button will free it by activating the other magnet. A narrow corridor behind the divider, along the spike-pit filled corridor you just jumped through, allows you to pass between the two halves of the room. Use it to take the ball to the other half and through the exit, marked by purple lights.





Oztoc I (continued)
Defend yourself

Secret: After you get off the train, follow the tracks backwards until you find a path to the left. Follow that for secret 5/6, then return.

Follow the path onwards and down until you eventually cross a bridge and pass through a cracked wall. Two mummies will drop down from the ceiling as you progress, so keep the ball in front of you. After crushing them, enter the small cave to your left and stand on the blue button inside, then return to your ball. Grab it and take it to your right, along a short corridor that will lead to an area with two trains within - you can cross from the cave to this area by going underneath the planks, but the ball can't come with you. Push the ball onto the right-hand train and press action (default E) when prompted.

Secret: You'll shortly find yourself in a cave with a village. As soon as you leave the water, head right, then follow the cave inwards across a field and towards a large step-structure. You will find secret 6/6

As soon as you get off, you'll be attacked by mummies. Once they're dead, continue until you reach a bridge with a hole in the slats. Drop through with the ball and simply let the current take you. Climb onto dry land and reconnect with your ball, then head towards the village. There is one main path you will want to follow upwards, and doing so will trigger a significant mummy attack, heralded by some unusually monstrous roars. Once it is over, you can safely use the ball to remove the stone block from a doorway and approach the unfinished step-pyramid.

Two more blocks need to be removed, in close succession, and then you can continue through the player-activated door. Beware yet more mummies on the other end, and then walk on to end the level.
Ozoc II
Time for a swim

Secret:Go past the train. Head right until you enter a cave with secret 1/4 on the rocks to your left. A plank of wood should enable you to jump up and claim it. After the train crashes, and you've surfaced, find the stone block in a doorway and pull it out, then go inside and press a button for secret 2/4.

Follow the only available path to a large room with more trains. Hop onto the furtherst one and enjoy another ride. Don't worry, you'll be perfectly safe until it stops. After that, I can't guarantee anything. After the unexpected end, head right for land and then seek the open doorway. You will meet a new friend, who will show you something new you can do with the ball. Humour them, and stand on the player button.

It's important to note that, ordinarily, standing near the ball while it shoots spikes will damage you a small but significant amount. Stand on the button a second time, then find a small opening in the wooden wall to your left, leading to a tiny pond of water. Jump over that pond, or swim through it. Here, you have the opportunity to learn something else: Mummies don't care for water. They don't care how close you are, if you're in water or across it, they won't even try to hurt you. Run past the mummies - you can knock them back with the hammer - and follow the path around to another pond and a staircase. Now you can press the button your friend was on, and kill the mummies.

Secret:You will soon flood a room. When you do, go back up the ramp and into the tiny alcove, which now contains secret 3/4.

Head back down and jump through the hole your ball just made. Locate the cracked wall, and hammer the ball into it, then take it to the left of the room you've just entered. Leave it at the end of the path, on the tile with an arrow. Go around and to the right, so that you stand on a square-dented platform opposite the ball. Call the ball onto its own platform. They are like scales, and you will rise. The ball is likely to roll off, so jump up to the balcony quickly. The player button here will extend two planks of wood for the ball to balance on.

Note the four small nodes on the wood, and the square they create. Note the orange button on the ceiling. Position the ball within those nodes and then stand directly beneath it, looking directly up at the ball. Hit it with the hammer as hard as you can, then collect the ball and leave through the door on the right.

Continue until the ball falls down a hole underwater, and follow it. Swim immediately forwards, bringing the ball with you. There is an orange button on the bottom of the cave, which you want to activate ASAP. Once you have done so, a small door will open on the opposite side of the cave. Follow either path upwards and position the ball behind its connected button. Stand on your own button and call the ball until a water pipe opens in the ceiling. Take the ball back to the main room and down to the water. You will see a round drain; block it with the ball. Directly opposite the entrance to the room is a blue button, which you can now swim to.

Unplug the hole and the room will drain, opening up a doorway directly beneath the button you just pressed. That is where you want to go. When you find yourself on a skull-and-crossbones tile, hammer the ball forwards. It will drop into lava and hopefully hit an orange button, creating a small bridge for you. The ball will be trapped in the lava with you above it. Bring it as far as you can, then press the only player button you can see. Call the ball until it hits the orange button beneath you, then move right towards the raised wall. Call the ball again and release it as it nears you, allowing it to roll on beyond the wall. Then press the blue button again.

There is another inactive blue button beyond that wall. Stand against it and call the ball, which will hit a button below you. Move into this next area, press the blue button, then call the ball against the orange button. Repeat this process once more for the final raised wall. Follow the lava-path, calling the ball, until it is grabbed by a magnet. The path will open for you. In the next room, you will be accosted by a single mummy with no real means of defending yourself besides the hammer.

Roundabout

Secret:You will find a room with a spiral path, and cause a central ceiling beam to spin. Stand on the end of that beam until it approaches an alcove containing secret 4/4. You will need to jump to a small wooden node to get up there.

There are two player buttons on the floor, either side of a tall pillar. The pillar supports the middle arm in this ridiculous ball roundabout. If you want to see what's happening as you press these buttons, keep looking up. If you just want to get away from that damn mummy, simply press them in this order. Button One is visible as soon as you enter the room; Button Two is the other side of the pillar.

One; One; Two; One. The ball should now be attached to the middle arm.

One; One; Two; Two. The ball should now be released at the top of the room, allowing you to grab it and crush the mummy. Now walk through the door and fall through the floor.

No, it's okay, you're not going to die. Just don't hold forward. Once you're stationary, and the ball has hopefully knocked over the first third of your bridge, call it out of the lava. Try to avoid touching it until it's cooled down. There is a small rock to the left of the first bridge section. From that rock, jump onto the bridge, then carefully call the ball up with you. Turn around, and hammer it towards the upright bridge sections. Hammer the ball on ahead into a round room.

There is a wheelstone in the middle with two hammer buttons on each side. You can go in either direction, but this guide is going left. Hit the left hammer button. The room will turn, allowing you to access a different corridor from the doorway. Follow it to a room with a steam-vent. On either side of the vent, further into the room, are two small holes. Drop down one, then stand between the two pillars and call the ball. Now, hammer each pillar alternately until the floor drops and the ball rolls onto the orange button. It should take four strikes. You can jump up the air vent to return. Take the ball back into the roundabout room.

Hit the hammer button on the left. That's left as you re-enter. Then hit it again. A room will become visible with two mummies and a door. That's your exit. Two more mummies will attack after the first two, and then you should put the ball into the wooden crate below the magnet. Head up the stairs and press the player button, then immediately on to hammer a bridge down. Further up, the wall will break and you will need to go inside to hammer a staircase out. Climb that staircase and stand on a player button that causes a wooden beam suspended from the ceiling to slowly spin.

Hop on and then immediately crouch. You will pass under another beam. Move as close to the axis as possible to avoid the next beam, then runt to the edge and off to stand on the blue button, which stops the spinning. This is all about timing. The good news is, there's no fall damage. If you jump straight down, grab the ball and head left.


Oztoc II (continued)
No, don't swim in that.

Push the ball into some lava, then hop onto the wooden beams that will now serve as your pathways. Take a right to call the ball into an orange button. A thin beam will rise out of the lava (what kind of wood are these things made of?). Walk along it carefully, then jump off - those wooden slats are actually completely solid. Hop across onto a purple light, then turn left and hop again, then right and one more hop for a player button.

Now hop back and further right, over to the other side of the room. Ignore the alcove for now. Collect the ball from where you left it and summon it back towards the entrance. You need to position it within that L-shape, perfectly nestled within the right-angle. You should have a good enough command of the ball to do that now. Return to the earlier-seen alcove and stand on the player button. An orange button will drop down from the ceiling and tap the ball like a stamp. Area complete.

Take the ball to the back of the room, towards those lights you hopped over. The wall you saw when you came in is now open. Bring the ball with you until you once again see your friend. Hop into that incredibly suspicious-looking box. Enjoy the scenery for as long as you dare, then tap the player-button and swim on to end the level. You don't have to try to bring the ball with you.

Teotl I
Civilisation

Secret: Do not cross the bridge, but swim under it for secret 1/4.

Swim on ASAP, hammering the ball ahead of you. Surface for some more story and a lovely aerial view. You're getting further and further into mummy territory here, such that their presence is now the norm rather than the exception. Always keep the ball to hand, and keep your wits about you.

Cross the bridge when you're ready and roll the ball over an orange button to raise a pillar in a pool. Either side of that pillar are connected buttons: activate both. Once the pillar is lowered again, strike it with the ball to shatter it.

Secret: After leaving the pool, look at the centre spike-pit opposite the door. When the spikes are at the very bottom, jump in and follow the path to secret 2/4. Fall into a treasure chamber and follow the paths to secret 3/4 - you want to go left most of the time. It is behind wooden planks, and you need to crough to get through. Swim through the tunnel and prepare yourself for a race. Leave the pool and run opposite, aiming for the rightmost open corridor. Follow it back for the ball, calling it as you run.

You probably shouldn't have done that. Position yourself in a corner and defend yourself from the understandably angry mummies. Once they're all dead, the stairway out of the pool should be opened once again. Leave, and roll over the orange button once more. Wooden supports will appear, allowing you to roll the ball up onto the pathway around the edge of the pool. Continue through the now-open door opposite the entrance.

Three spike-pits are in front of you, with the spikes slowly rising and falling. Drop the ball into a pit and then jump on top of it to safely press the player button. Repeat for all three. This opens a door opposite, which you just passed by on your way here. You will be attacked by several mummies as you travel along this path.

Walk past the lilly-pond into an area just for the player, and down the conveyor belt. You will have to jump. Turn left, then immediately right, to push a hammer-cube away from a ledge. Jump down and take it to your right, pushing it onto the conveyor belt so that it is carried up the ramp. Go back, and continue further, to find another cube and do the same. You may find you have to hit them near the top, to cause them to flip over onto the belt.

Take the first cube to your right to activate the orange button and thus a platform that moves up and down. Position the second cube between that platform and a pile of dirt, then jump from dirt to cube to platform. Press the player button in the little house.

This is a very wet volcano

Take your ball into a room to the left, containing a deep pool and three pillars. Drop the ball into the water; there's a button in a wide alcove for it to press. The central pillar will drop. Position yourself above it, then call the ball away from the button. Press the blue buttons on both of the other pillars, then drop down. There is a ramp to your right, allowing the ball to leave the pool.

Progress directly opposite and trigger the connected buttons either side of the doorway. The paths all meet up, so just follow one of them to a large room with more water and more mummies. Frakmummies, which throw fireballs. Using the ball as a sheild, walk into the water and approach the player button on the left, which will flood the room. The mummies will drown. Do you see that floating raft? You need to move it.

Press the blue button again to drain the room, then use the ball to pull the raft away from the staircase, towards an alcove on the opposite side of the room. There is an exit to this alcove on your left. Carefully push the ball onto the raft, then flood the room again and get onto the raft yourself. Take the ball around the path ahead of you - you may need to hammer it to get it up there - and connect it to the mechanism with large gears. Pull away and the gears should start to turn, raising the water level again.

Escort the ball back to the main room, then surface for some air before approaching this next task. Facing the stairs, turn left and dive down. Swim through a doorway beneath the Frakmummies, then surface again. There are three small windowsills beneath you, with a player button on the central one. Press that, then you can safely leave with the ball up the stairs. Beware of yet more mummies as you surface.

That tall pillar in the lillypond is now low enough for you to jump onto it, thus activating the blue button. Area complete.

Follow the path to a small room with a clear track in the centre. Turn left and break the cracked wall. Crush the mummy beyond, then leave the ball behind and push the hammer cube off its small balcony and directly forth into an orange button. The ball, and you, can now follow the track.

Ah, that's more like it!

Secret: You will find giant fans that allow you to fly. Stand on the pillar you knocked the cube off and look opposite the ledge you jumped from. Jump into that small alcove. Inside this alcove is secret 4/4

A large pit of spikes lies before you. Position the ball on the arrow and hammer it as hard as possible. Feel free to scream, then turn back. A doorway to your right is now open; go through it. Carefully balance along the lefthand beam, then hop down onto the stone platform. Follow these questionable stepping-stones, remembering that you can jump quite far and that you can redirect yourself mid-air.

When the stepping stones end, turn around and hop up onto the wood above. From there you can take a leap of terrifying faith to a broken bridge which is now a ramp. Your ball has been returned to you! Push it onto the orange button and move on

Survival Levels 1 and 2
Overview

The Ball has four survival levels, accessible from the main menu under "Survival". Completing all four will net you the achievement "Survival of the Fittest". Survival levels are available from the very offset, and can be played in any order; but I highly recommend completing the campaign first, if only so certain creature types aren't spoiled for you.

You start off with 100 HP and each level lasts for nine rounds. Your goal is, predictably, to survive all nine. A round ends when you've killed enough creatures. The game isn't fussy; if a creature used to be alive and is now dead, that counts as a kill in your favour. A progress bar at the bottom of the screen shows how many you've killed, and how many you have yet to kill to get to the next round.

You can execute combos to gain health, and taking damage does not appear to rob you of a combo. From my limited understanding, a combo happens when you kill a certain number of creatures within a short timeframe (possibly ~5 seconds). Combos stack, and you gain more health the higher you stack the figure.

It is immediately apparent once you have completed a combo; the word "Combo 1" will appear at the top of the screen, you will hear a bell ding, and the entire world will turn bright and slightly yellow. You lose a combo if you don't perform any kills within a certain timeframe. Health from combos is gained thus:

Level 1 - 1 health/kill - disappears if you dont kill anything for 10 seconds.
Level 2 - 2 health/kill - requires 10 kills in combo level 1 - kill every 7.5 seconds
Level 3 - 5 health/kill - requires 15 enemies killed in level 2 - kill every 5 seconds
Level 4 - 10 health/kill - kill every 2.5 seconds.
Level 5 - 25 health/kill - 1 kill per second

Any heatlh gained above 100 is constantly lost at a rate of 1HP/sec; however, once you hit 100 it will not go below that figure without aggressive intervention. Health cannot go above 400.

Two powerups exist in survival; the ankh and the skull. These spawn at random throughout the level, and should spawn once per round each. The ankh immediately ends the round; the skull kills all creatures within a certain radius (perhaps ~15 metres).

When a new round begins, the player is awarded 100 HP.

Atica
You're trapped between a giant worm and a hard place. The cold nature of this metallic death trap spares no solace. Stay on your toes, or else you're worm food.

There exists a button somewhere in this level that renders the maggot your ally for roughly thirty seconds. I will update when I learn where this button is

This level is fairly simple. There is a giant maggot in the centre, and a variety of player-activated traps all around. It's likely possible to complete the level from many locations; and to pass the maggot. However, if you want a guaranteed victory you need to find the ledge with the spike trap.

Immediately upon beginning the level, grab the ball and turn right. Follow the ramp up and continue forwards until you hit a wall; then follow another ramp up to your left. You should be on a raised section with a spike trap activated by a player button. All creatures attacking are bottlenecked by the ramp. If you back up against the end wall, it should look like this.



Whenever possible, stay at the top of the ramp, towards the right-hand side. Hammer the ball down at anything that runs at you, and back away (while pulling the ball towards you) if anything gets too close. If you find yourself overrun, back up and trigger the spike trap. Take care not to push the ball off the ledge with the spike trap. So long as you are actively pulling the ball, even if not connected, when the trap triggers you should be able to salvage it. Some creatures are stupid and run directly into the spikes. Others, most notably the fireball-throwing chelonians, are smart enough to just walk around.

If you're protected by the ball from fireballs, creatures will move to get a better angle. You can exploit this by dancing about to push them into an unfavourable position, such as against the post between the spike trap and the back of your ledge. This post is important; it allows you to hammer the ball at creatures without fear of losing it.

If you're pushed back, your primary goal should be to push forwards to the top of the ramp again. You do not want to spend any significant length of time relying on the spike trap, because if you're overrun at the back of the ledge you have no-where to go. At the ramp, you have the spike trap as a fallback. It is your last line of defence, not your first.

Provided you spend most of your time at the ramp, Atica should be fairly trivial for you. I completed it on my first try after discovering this area. There will be periods in which no creatures show - sometimes for a remarkable length of time. I'm uncertain if the AI somehow gets stuck, or loses sight of the player, but a general solution seems to be to move just beyond the bottom of the ramp until they appear around a corner. Alternatively, just wait a really long time and kill whatever stragglers reveal themselves.

Teniza
Don't get too mesmerised by the water. This arena is rife with sharp edges capable of cutting you to pieces. Avoid impalement and keep your balance.

The clue to surviving this level is in the flavour text: Water. As soon as you start, look left. There should be a small puddle down a ramp. To the right of that ramp is a staircase. Pull the ball towards you and climb the stairs; you should see a player-activated button. When you stand on the button, water will fall from the ceiling into the area below. Punt the ball forwards and leap off the balcony, making sure to swim to the back. The ball should roll down the ramp and come to rest just in front of the drain.



This is very important: Under no circumstances should you ever allow the ball to cover the drain, even briefly. There is a good (though not definite) chance it will crash the entire game. Feel free to experiment with this to see if it will crash your game, and please do inform me if you find it does not cause crashes; I will add it to the guide.

Position yourself such that anything throwing fireballs will hit the ball and not you. Do note that the fireball-throwing chelonians cannot drown, and will walk right up to you to throw a fireball at your face. You can swim along the corridor to the side to avoid them, dance around the ball, or simply stand still and take the fireballs. You can also use the ball to crush them underwater, but this runs a risk of covering the drain.

Once the water begins to drain, hammer the ball ahead of you, kill any straggling chelonians, and then turn 180 degrees to the left and go back up the staircase with the ball in front. Run over the button, punt the ball off the balcony, and leap down. Rinse and repeat.

You may choose to wander the level in search of skulls and/or ankhs. You may try to win by standing near the spike-pit trap and the button that causes small bombs to be thrown from the walls; but using the water is, again, a near-guaranteed win.
Survival levels 3, 4, and 5
Turns out guides have a character limit!

Tepiton
You'd better get familiar with spinning blades and bombs and fire. So many traps depend on the ball, and they will try to take from you what's rightfully theirs.

The winning strategy here is again to run in a circle and rely on traps. In this case, ignore the button that turns the ball into a mine distributor and take the ball down the nearest ramp. You should find yourself in a large, circular room with a pillar in the middle. The button next to the wooden circle causes that circle to reveal spinning blades. Continue walking around the edges of the room until you find a button on the other side of the pillar, which causes the ball to first attract, and then explode, spikes. You will take minimal damage from the spikes; but this should be more than negated by the combo health-gain it gives you by killing a large number of creatures at once.

This level is so simple, I don't feel any image will help.

There is little nuance to this level. Just run around the room, crushing creatures with the ball as necessary, and activating the spinning-blade trap and the spike-ball trap. Your health will quickly climb above 200 and will rarely drop below that; which is good, because there are magnets all around the level and they will activate randomly, though quite often during rounds 3, 6, and 8. When that happens, continue running in a circle around the room - the spikes will still kill creatures while the ball is attached to the magnet - and be sure to jump to avoid a large group of creatures immobilising you. Rabbit-run atlernately one way and then another to avoid being hit by fireballs.

Amini
Take comfort in grousome creatures that are bound to the same physical laws as you, for others can choose to defy them and look down on you with merciless eyes.

While it arguably does abide by physical laws, there's a quetzalcoatlus in this level dropping egg-bombs every so often. If you hear a screetch and you're open to the sky, run.

We return to a more static approach for this final survival level. Grab the ball and head left. You will activate a bomb trap behind you (it will tick) and approach a ball-activated button. That button causes mines to fly from the tube nearby; do not activate the mine-cannon until after you've passed it. You should shortly find yourself near a cave entrance. Get inside. The bird is now your ally, for its eggs will drop only on the creatures that attack you.

There is a player button which turns the ball into a spike-bomb inside the cave, and you will see a bigger entrance opposite that. This is the entrance you will find most of the creatures coming through, though some will take the lower entrance you used to get in.



Don't back yourself too far into a corner, but avoid leaving the cave. Utilise the spike-bomb at every opportunity - I like to activate it, crush a couple of creatures, then hammer the ball out the main entrance and pull it back. It usually activates on the return journey, killing a large group of creatures including most of those close to you.

Again, this is incredibly simple and if you've already done the first three survival levels this should honestly be a breeze for you.
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If you've completed all four survival levels, you should now have the Survival of the Fittest achievement. You've likely found yourself picking up two or three other achievements along the way, such as Bowling for Mummies, Exterminator, and maybe even Roll With the Punches.

But we're not done yet! A fifth survival level was added after the game's official release. If you aren't just here for the achievement, read on...

Nextic
Smother your foes in black gold and ensure they see the light. It may be a crude punishment, but you're sure they'll warm to you.

This one is certainly chaotic, and once again we're back to moving around! Grab the ball and head in any direction - it really doesn't matter - and avoid staying still for long. You don't want to get backed into a corner, as you'll soon be overwhelmed. You most certainly need the fiery traps to help you out here, and take note of their behaviour, especially:

A player-activated button between two flamethrowers, near the only ball-activated button in the level. If you stand on that button, do not move as the jets of fire rotate and will burn you. Keep the ball nearby to protect you from fireballs. Personally, I try to avoid setting this one off.

A player-activated button near a large structure of pipes at the meeting point of three hills. If you activate this button, get out of there as fast as possible - in any direction. The path will fill with oil and the oil will light ablaze. If you find yourself on a ramp with a player-activated button, stand on the button and go no further or you'll be walking directly into bombs.

Also take note that there is a pit of oil conveniently located near a campfire where two popular creature paths converge. Very helpful in the later rounds.

I found myself walking in a tight circle between the button-activated oil pit and the traditional one, crushing dozens of creatures with the ball as I moved. Just keep moving and try not to get caught in your own traps, and you should make it out of there in less than thirty minutes.
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You'll notice there are still more levels under the "Survival" menu. These aren't really survival levels - they are the extra puzzles provided for free after the release of the game: they were in that big patch you downloaded. Read on for guides on these.
Quizaz (Extra puzzles) 1 to 4
Thanks to some game development students, The Ball acquired some extra levels after release. Rather than put them under their own section in the menu, these are rather awkwardly hidden behind the "Survival" levels.

These nine extra puzzles are structured similarly to the survival levels, in that there are nine of them and completion of one "round" fills one bar at the bottom of the screen. These are true puzzles however, with no waves of enemies to defeat. You'll note that there are no secrets to find.

Challenge One

For the most part, the path here is linear, and the puzzle itself mainly serves to reintroduce the player to the basic concepts of the game. Place the block, ball, and player on their respective linked buttons. A large door will open in front of you; follow the path.

In the next room, move towards the hammer-block and hammer the large button next to it. The grate over the small pool of water will retract; knock the block into the pool. The grate will return to its original position. Next, use the ball to break the cracked wall to your left. The space inside is just large enough for yourself, and contains another hammer button. Activate it.

To the left of the entrance, you will find a small staircase. Climb it. You will come to a landing with the hammer button you just enabled on it. Press the button to turn on a water pipe in the ceiling, then continue up the stairs.

Four hammer-blocks sit on pedestals; only one is accessible. Knock it off its pedestal and towards the gap in the balcony railing. Push it down to the room below, then jump off. Open the other grate with the hammer, and push the block into the water.

In front of you, there should be a hammer button above a pipe. Position the ball on the indented marker for it and ensure it is stable, then go back up to the balcony. Cautiously step forward without jumping so that you land on top of the ball. Use this as a stepping stone to get onto the pipe and press the button.

Directly opposite the first staircase you climbed, is another. Go upstairs and press the now-lit hammer button on the balcony. A second water pipe will activate and you will find yourself underwater. The raft platform on which the ball had been resting will rise level with the balcony.

Place the ball and yourself on the respective buttons and wait for the door to open.

Challenge Two

Allow yourself a moment to take stock of your surroundings. Look at the wooden structure in the centre of the room.Go up the hammer-activated lift to the left of the entrance (don't worry, if you jump off the balcony there's a call lift button at the bottom). Look at the three buttons and cracked section of wall you need to get the ball to.

Now push the ball into the wooden cannon - you will need to hammer the down arrow to lower it first. Once the ball is properly seated, raise the cannon once with the up arrow and then fire it with the central button. The ball will hit its first button on the wall and one of four lights will turn green above the exit door.

Get the ball into the cannon again and turn it to the right - the cannon will not turn if the ramp is lowered. Note that to turn the cannon to the right, you have to hammer the arrow on the left. Fire the cannon and you'll hit the second button; then load the ball and turn to the right again.

Lower the cannon and then fire it. The ball will crash into the cracked wall and roll in. Stand in the lift and call the ball. It should roll down a path and come to rest on the cage up top. Hit the button to raise the lift and that's another ball button pressed. You may need to move the ball slightly to position it under the button.

Stand on the opposite side of the lift to the doorway and call the ball. It should roll off and out. Jump off the balcony, or take the lift down. Load the ball into the cannon and turn it right again. There is a button on the ceiling. Raise the cannon to max and fire. You may find hitting the button difficult, so try crouching.

Challenge Three

As you enter, turn left and look off the balcony. Note the three lights, denoting block, player, and ball. Note the tracks for connected buttons on the balcony itself. Note the large fan.

Push the ball off the balcony and jump down. To your right is an antigravity sphere: push the ball into it, then use the ball to "fly" upwards onto the balcony, and towards the tall column to the right of the entrance. Take a rest at the bottom of the column, then fly to the top of it, taking care to pull the ball up with you. Rest here also, then fly up towards the ledge in front of you.

Push the block along the path in front of you until you push it off the ledge, then pull the ball along and leap off with it. Push the block into its designated alcove to the right of the antigrav sphere, then use the ball to fly back up to the column. This time, leave the ball resting on its button (wait a moment, because the antigrav can cause it to fly off without warning) and stand on your own button on the balcony below. The fan will stop.

Challenge Four

Stand at the very edge of the balcony with the ball immediately behind you. Pull it along and leap forwards to fly towards the fan. Aim slightly to the right, as the ball will not fit between the blades to the left. Press the two connected buttons and pass through the antigrav sphere; the ball will return to normal. Punt the ball forth and pay attention to the short cutscene.

Yes, you are standing on a giant fan. Taking great care not to stand on the player button, position the ball as close as possible to the corner nearest the lowest ledge. Stand on the button, charge up the hammer, and whack the ball upwards.

Maybe you really know what you're doing, or maybe you'll get lucky, but for most people this will take a few tries. Be sure to tilt the hammer itself upwards and aim for the clearly marked target. Once the ball looks to be over the platform, immediately step off the button - gravity will reassert itself rapidly. There will be a cutscene when you succeed.

Repeat the same process for the higher ledge. This time, a lift will lower in the centre of the room with a ball button on it. See that huge pipe with a great big ball symbol on it? Aim for that. The ball will bounce off it. Resist the urge to step backwards to follow the ball's path, and leave the button only when it seems to be over the lift. If the ball is clearly in the lift but hasn't pressed the button inside, step backwards and call the ball. Bars should slam down, trapping the ball inside.

Stand beneath the pipe you originally jumped out of and call the ball towards you. Release it when the lift begins to swing the other way. Repeat, swinging the lift further each time, until the log attached to the bottom of it connects with a blade of the fan on the other side of the room. The ball will be immediately released, and the fan will start to spin.

Position the ball in front of the player button, facing the fan. Charge up the hammer, aim, and wait. You want to punt the ball in the gap created by the missing blade - try to hammer the ball when the gap is near the bottom of the pipe. The ball will fall down the back of the pipe and you should see a small door to the left of it open. Walk through.

Quizaz Challenge 5
On a personal note, this is my favourite bonus puzzle.

As you move down the ramp you will notice the ball rolling along in a metal tunnel beside you. When you enter the next room, it will be raised into the centrepoint of several of these tunnels. Get used to them.

Room One

Approach the nearest door to your left, stand facing it, and pull the ball towards you. Release it once it's out of sight; the door should open. Once you are near a hammer button, pull the ball. It should fall down near you. Take the ball to one side or the other and shove it into the lava, then walk past the hammer button and towards the very end of the path. Hit the hammer button at the end of the path, then double back and hit the one at the beginning. Now stand on the wooden slats and pull the ball towards you.

Move forwards and to your right, pulling the ball around a corner and allowing it to come to rest against a broken pillar. Hammer the central button, which will cause a pinkish float to move across the room, towards the ball. That's okay; you can maneuver it back out around it, to where the float had been.

Press the button at the very end to pull another float out of your way, the stand on the slatted part of the path that functions as an alcove and pull the ball into it. Hammer the button again to put the float back where it had come from. You may now pull the ball out and under the bridge, across the room to the right. Walk upstairs, still calling the ball, and bring it with you along the path. Pull the ball into its button at the bottom, and press yourself into the button at the top.

The ball will fall down a pipe, and you can safely jump off. As you move towards the exit, note the ball is now below you. Bring it along on the return journey, watch the short cutscene that informs you of your progress, and move to the door immediately on your left.

Room Two

Face the door, call the ball, and let it run ahead of you. Once you enter the room, pull the ball out of the pipe and hammer it up the path. There is an indent in the floor for it, right after a player button. Place the ball in the dent and stand on the button. The ball platform will rise and a pipe will be revealed opposite.

Stand as far forward as possible and charge up the hammer, aiming upwards so that it's at roughly the centre of the ball. Hit it hard and don't move until the ball has gone down the pipe. If it bounces off, or rests on the platform, just try again. This can be a little frustrating due to the fussiness of the angle, and the fact that the ball can get stuck in the water.

Once it's in, simply leave the way you came, calling the ball along with you. Move left to the next door and head in with the ball.

Room Three

As you move forward, you will find yourself in a large room. Look up and you should see a curve in the pipe with the ball in it. It can get a little stuck here, so stand under the pipe and pull the ball back the way you came; then stop, stand directly under the curve, and call the ball towards you again. Release it as it reaches the corner. Stand in the centre of the platform and call the ball again. The pipe will lower slightly, and one of the hammer buttons in front of you will light up.

This is a very old puzzle, and many will be familiar with the concept. Here's how this works:

The button you press first takes a disk. The next button deposits it. You want to get the pile of disks onto the right platform in the same order as it currently exists on the left. You cannot place a disk onto another disk that is smaller than itself.

The order of buttons to press follows, broken down into explained stages:

Left, centre, left, right, centre, right. You should have the two smallest disks in size order on the right.

Right, left, right, centre, left, centre. Three disks are in the centre, the largest is still on the left.

Left, right, centre, right, right, left. The two smallest disks are on the left; the largest the right.

Centre, right, left, centre, left, right, centre, right. You're done!

When leaving, the ball is best left to roll without your assistance until you're up the ramp.

Room Four

The door to the left is the exit. Go left again, pull the ball. Pull it along to the back of the room and watch the magnet grab it.

There are three hammer buttons. The one on the left is reset - sometimes when the puzzle resets, the ball will immediately drop into the bin and reset the puzzle again. It's a minor design flaw, but rarely happens twice in a row. The middle button raises a platform near the ball-button; the left raises a platform in the centre of the puzzle.

When the magnet releases the ball, pull it off the platforms, to the right, then immediately left to the centre. Try to balance it on the central platform, and then press the right hammer-button. It will be nearly impossible to stop the ball moving at all, so you will have to utilise subtle and controlled calls to either side until it appears to be moving very slowly. Ideally, you want it to have a slight right-hand roll as you press the button.

As the platform rises, the barrier should push the ball to the left. As it rolls towards the left platform, press the central hammer-button to raise it. Allow the ball to leisurely roll into the orange button. Call the ball off the platform and then pull it left, into the chute. Bring it back to the central room.

Room Five

Turn left; face door; call ball; enter.

As you pull the ball out of the pipe, it will collect an antigrav sphere. Leap off after it and examine your surroundings. Using the ball to fly, head away from the entrance towards a platform with a player button at the very back of the room. Position the ball over the gridded pipe and stand on the player button. The ball will fall down and lose its antigrav powers. Jump down and follow the new bridge to the pillar in the centre of the deep water. Below that water, the ball is now in a pipe. Walk along the new bridge and back up to the entrance, pulling the ball the entire way.

Turn left and call the ball for the final minipuzzle in this area.

Room Six

Wait for the ball to get dropped into the barred section at the end of the room, then hit the right hammer button to turn on the magnet. When the magnet releases the ball, pull it gently to the right, so that it falls to the middle section. It will press the orange button. Turn on the magnet.

There is a ledge over the left button. Press the left hammer-button to retract it, then switch on the magnet and pull the ball towards the left to press the orange button. Now press the right hammer again to reset and this time, pull the ball all the way to the right orange button. Finally, enable the magnet once more and pull the ball to the extreme left. It will fall down a pipe, and you can leave with it.
Quizaz challenges 6 to 9
Challenge Six

Approach the door surrounded by lit toches, bring the ball along. It should fall down in front of you shortly, and you can push it ahead - but not too far. The bridge isn't exactly stable.

Perch the ball right on the edge of the bridge, but not on a platform that drops, and watch the pattern. Charge up the hammer and, as the bridge is half-formed, hit the ball. Don't worry, you can recover it if it falls in the lava, though it's a touch awkward. Once the ball has hit the button, the bridge will be stable and you can cross.

Challenge Seven

Punt the ball along the corridor. It will roll over an orange button, then fall down a pipe. Follow it. Bring the ball to the left and hammer it across the spike trap. Down another pipe it goes. The previously inaccessible bridge ahead of you will be lowered, and your only choice is to take the right-most path, opened by a blue button.

Walk the short wooden path, drop down onto the metal bars, and then up a hill until you're next to a hammer button. Hit it. The bridge, upon which the ball should rest, will raise slightly. Pull the ball towards you until it rolls over the orange button beneath the large gear. Allow it to roll forwards onto the button on the next bridge, which will begin to rise.

Crouch to fit through the wooden slats and stand on the blue button. Walk along to the bars and call the ball so that it rolls over the orange button; then call it right to the bars. Line it up with the orange button opposite and hit it with a fully-charged hammer blow. Finally, bring it over to the one remaining button, wait for the door to open, and leave.

Challenge Eight

You'll find two hammer buttons near a chute going down. The hammer button near the ramp turns a deflector; the hammer button near the corner turns another deflector. Turn the corner deflector once, and the ramp deflector so that it exactly mirrors the corner's angle, turning into the ramp.

Next, position the ball between the end of that chute and the staircase, so that you can hop onto it and then onto the platform opposite. Face the platform with the blue button and call the ball. Try to render it as still as possible and as neatly lined up with the slats revealing water as possible. Tap the ball with the hammer; it will fly off to the other platform and bounce back. Ideally, it will only bounce roughly half-way back.

Once the ball is still (and not until), unless it's right in front of you, hop on. If the leap to the other side is still too far, you have two choices. Try again, or jump-walk the ball.

Turn to face away from the blue button and step backwards so you're almost off the ball. Jump, and momentarily call the ball. Take tiny steps forward as the ball rolls. Repeat until you're close enough to get to the blue button. If you feel like it, now is a perfect opportunity to try for the Circus Clown achievement.

Once you're on the other platform, position the ball at the corner nearest the chute ramp. Aim for the deflector, charge up the hammer to max, and hit it. If it doesn't work the first time, call it back and try again. Once you hear ticking, press the blue button.

Challenge Nine

Call the ball back and leave through the doorway opposite the entrance. Push the ball ahead and walk down the path. Stand on the blue button before continuing off the waterfall.

In the next chamber, you'll notice a blue button that causes a magnet to briefly drop down. You want to get the ball on that magnet.

Behind the cage, you'll find a dent for the ball. Place it in there, then go back and press the blue button. As the magnet releases the ball (it won't until you step off the button), call it for about half a second. This is as simple as it is frustrating; it will take a few attempts, and a little luck doesn't hurt. Resist the urge to call the ball if it's bouncing around the posts; it may fall in without intervention, and will almost certainly fall out with it.

Once the ball presses the button and is released, leave through the round skull-door. You'll be free to enjoy the scenery for a moment, and the challenge will end.

Portal tests 1 to 5
As part of the Potato Sack bundle, The Ball got some Portal-themed content, including assets from Portal 2. Considering many compare the two games, including Portal puzzles in The Ball almost seems like an obvious progression. These puzzles can be found in the survival menu, at the very end, under "Portal".

Test One

Enter the small cave and push the ball onto its orange button. The door will not open as you expect. Turn around and watch a platform lower itself. Stand on the platform and call the ball off the button. If you walk across the rafters, you will find your new best friend: the Companion Cube.



As the Cube is the reason the wheels can't turn, hammer it out of there. Just give it one good hit and it should fly out. Drop down anywhere, and put the ball back on its button. A piston will batter the wall of the cave, revealing some rather familiar architecture. Push cube and ball into the room, then put the companion cube on the red button. It will be sucked up a tube.

Test Two

As you move on, you will find yourself faced with turrets. Don't worry, they're no tougher than FrakMummies, and for the moment, they won't even see you once you're beyond the glass. Take note of the two platforms which raise into a ramp when you stand on the blue button. Position the ball between blue button and platforms, then stand on the button and punt the ball up the ramp. This may take a couple of attempts - aiming just above the centre of the ball is best. You want it to bounce off that slightly angled section of metal wall and roll over along the handrail.

Once the ball is safely behind the handrail, stand near the platform where the handrail breaks and call the ball towards you. When it is near, but not at, that gap, go back behind the glass at the entrance and call again until it rolls over the turrets.

Once the turrets have shut down, go around the glass and walk directly into their old line of sight. You should see a cave wall and a blue button. Press it. Walk out and around into the newly-created alcove for you. Stand right at the very end of this handrailed corridor and call the ball along and up the ramp. Leave it at the top of the ramp and look for the orange button above the glass platforms. Stand at the back of the room, behind the button, and call the ball. The ramp should drop down to ground level. Stand on it, near the revealed crack in the wall, and pull the ball off the platforms, then turn around and hammer it back up the player-activated ramp again.

Go back and press the player button near the turrets again. A section of wall will now be absent when you return. Then walk into the newly-revealed area, behind the puzzle, and walk under the pistons. Position yourself at the missing wall panel and call the ball through to you; then push it over the bridge and onto the orange button.

Watch the wall panels helpfully rearrange themselves, then guide the ball along the new corridor. Be sure to have the ball in front of you, as there are now turrets. Using the ball as a sheild, move to the left and then approach the turrets one by one. Gently knock the first turret over with the ball, and once it shuts down, do the same to its friend. Continuing to sheild yourself with the ball, walk along the next path and knock the other two turrets over in the same manner.

Test Three

In this first room, you are welcome to completely ignore the player buttons. In fact, you might regret pushing them. The door at the end will open when you approach.

To the left is a half-open door with the numbers 3-1 behind it. Walk through and into the cave, then double back. Three mummies will appear one-by-one through that door. Wait near it with the ball and crush them as they come through. Once they're dead, continue through the door alone, as the ball doesn't fit.

Follow the cave along and press the blue button at the end of the next corridor. The door it is connected to will open, revealing blue lazers. Don't touch them. Instead, turn left into an oddly designed combination lock. Remember those numbers you've seen on wall panels? 2-4, 3-1, 4-3. That's the combination. The first number is the row, the second number is the column. Press the buttons in that order, or it won't work.



The lazers will switch off and you can press the player button at the end. Return to the corridor to find the door next to the blue button you pressed to get into the lazer-room is open. Pull the ball through and onto the orange button.

Test Four

Hop through the broken window and walk along the only path available, pressing the button on the wall as you pass it. Walk down the small ramp opposite that button, then call the ball into the puzzle through the now-open door. Take it to the left and push it into an alcove with a glass floor. The ball will weigh the glass column down.

Head back up the small ramp, cross the bridge, and walk along the now clear path. Knock the cube off the end and hop after it. Call the ball until you can see it, then escort the cube to the same glass alcove the ball had been trapped in. Return to where you had knocked the cube down and push the ball into the now unbarred orange button.

This will enable a magnet, which will only hold the ball for a short time. Often, the ball bounces off the magnet and back onto the button. Occasionally, it skips the button and the loop is broken. Go back up, across the bridge, and around to exactly where the cube had been at the beginning of the puzzle. If the ball is not on the magnet, pull it over so it rolls onto the button again.

As soon as it is up there, back up and call the ball. Once the ball is moving along the glass chute, back up further until you can grab the ball as it drops down. Push it to your right, towards the beginning of the puzzle where you jumped through the broken window, and press the orange button.

Test Five

Push the ball ahead of you until it is sucked down a tube. Follow it. You will pass a red button which can only be activated by a cube. Position the ball between the button and the tube on the wall behind it, then move into a large cave full of pneumatic tubes. The fun begins.

Walk along the sloped dirt and past a blue button, then turn left into a circular room with a hammer button. Hammer the button, and the floor will rise. Walk out onto a balcony with three blue buttons. Press the left and centre buttons. Go back down to the broken section of train-track. If you want to understand what's going on, press the solitary blue button and watch the tubes.

Press the blue button and rush over to the broken edge. As the cube approaches the gap, leap forth and hammer it. This may take a few tries. Push the cube back to the entrance and onto the red button. If the ball is still against the tube, it should block it, allowing the cube to remain in place.

Walk through the now open door, through the emancipation grid (questions as to how you get to keep the hammer will rise in your mind), and press the blue button. Shove the cube off the button and bring the ball back through the grid (more questions) and onto its orange button.

Portal tests 6 and 7
Test Six

Push the ball off the balcony and follow the path. Hammer it onto the red button and look through the glass to see what happens. Take note of where the dividers in the room are and how you might get shot if you move through the room.

Leaving the ball on the button, stand against the Y divider as far forward as you can, but still behind (close to the glass wall) the X divider. Call the ball. The dividers will switch. Cram yourself into the corner on the far end of the room, near the door which you did not enter through. Do not back away from the X divider, for you will be shot. Call the ball again, until it rolls up the stairs on pure momentum. Then move to nearer the entrance But still on the correct side of the Y divider, so that you cannot be cut off from the exit and call again, giving it enough momentum to rest on the orange button again.

Walk up the ramp and drop down, then press the player button. The patterns you will see above the hammer buttons in the next room determine how the floor panels, which are actually tall columns of glass, will rise or lower.

Press the middle, then right, then right again. As soon as you hit the right one a second time, run back to the leftmost button. Try not to get shot before you drop down. Press the left button, then the right. After you press the right button, immediately run forwards onto the platform that is directly beneath the exit door in order to ride it up.

Walk past the orange button and down a ramp to a player button, which you should press. Collect the ball and position yourselfs on your respective linked buttons. Don't mind the turrets, and simply walk along the corridor.

Test Seven

In the next room, you will find a blue button that spawns cubes. Resist the urge to press it endlessly until the entire level is flooded with cubes and game crashes; or you'll have to start all over again.

Hammer two cubes down onto the ledge and wait for the moving platform to pass. As it does, hop on and immediately across. Press the blue button. Return to the now-level ledge and use the moving platform to get two cubes to the other side. Push one cube onto the red button furthest from the broken door. Walk through that broken door and call the ball into the goo, then up the ramp towards you. When the open face of the moving platform returns, push the ball into it and drop in behind the ball.

As the platform is approaching the end of its run with turrets above a glass ceiling, push the ball forwads. Call it to the very end of the pool of goo, near the gap as the platform becomes flush with the wall. As the platform retreats, drop down onto the ball and into the grey-walled tunnel. Follow it along, press the blue button at the top, then drop down onto the ledge opposite the entrance. Walk around to the room with two red buttons and push the block onto the other button.

Call the ball back up out of the goo and position it in front of you on the glass platform, which will now move up and down. The moving platform should now be raised higher than previously. Get inside it with the ball again, but this time knock over the turrets and swiftly exit at the top.

Try not to get shot, then follow the only path available to you, including falling down the broken wooden slats.

You will eventually be confronted with a terminal that gives you this URL, which gives you a clue that leads to the obtaining of a Poato - a now irrelevant pursuit. Type "flood", which will end the level.
2 kommentarer
Trotty 6 jun, 2022 @ 14:21 
Can confirm the drain crash happens on Teniza I don't advise that strategy.
Halcyon 31 maj, 2017 @ 14:38 
For the Teniza Survival level, simply grab the Ball and walk up the hallway with it. Stand with your back to the boarded-up doorway leading to the chasm and swing the Ball back and forth vigorously. This will work for about seven rounds, when the frak mummies become more numerous and the lady bugs stop spawning. At this point you should start charging into the hallway, swinging the Ball and activating the floor button, which will summon bombs and keep your flanks relatively safe. Continue charging forward, swinging and activating. This produces such high combos that your health should stay high, despite taking fireball hits. Easy, very quick and no risk of the game crashing!