Castle Clearout

Pop by the Extras menu to view a small selection of additional game modes. Each of these modes offers enough challenge and replayability to consume hours of your life, so let’s take a good look at what these exciting Extras have in store!

In this precision-based puzzle game, your goal is to place an endless series of falling marbles into groups by color. Each time you make six or more marbles of the same color touch one another, those marbles vanish. As a result, any other marbles of different colors that may have been resting on the marbles that just disappeared will tumble downward to land on the marbles below.

There are 50 levels to Castle Clearout, each one becoming more and more difficult. Your goal in every level is the same: Clear out all of those special Star Marbles at the bottom of the screen to win!

The secret to success in Castle Clearout is somewhat obvious: You need to group those colors together. The first several levels are a breeze, because you only have a few colors to worry about—but by the time you reach Level 10, you’ll be working with a full spread of five different colors. At this point, matching colors becomes vital. You don’t need to have a specific goal in mind, just keep dropping those marbles onto each other to match them up by color as best you can.

The other vital tip to keep in mind is that you need to avoid “closing off” groups of marbles that you’re attempting to build upon. Simply ensure that at least one of the marbles in a group can be “touched” by a future marble of the same color. As long as even one marble in a group can be touched, you can continue to build upon that group until you manage to connect six or more and make them all vanish!

Eliminating marbles can often cause a “cascade effect” in which marbles above tumble down to land on other marbles below, automatically completing groups of six or more and causing a second or even a third group of marbles to vanish in chain reaction. This is why it’s so important to group your colors together—it sets up radical cascades that can quickly clear out a whole bunch of marbles all at once!

Supergroups

Line

Pyramid

Hexagon

Completing groups of six marbles is great, but if you can form special shapes with your marbles, you’ll gain even greater benefits. Dropping marbles to create straight or diagonal lines, pyramids, or hexagons composed of six marbles or more will trigger a special event in which every marble of that color is made to vanish from the entire board.

These “supergroups” can be total game-changers, but it’s surprisingly difficult to set them up due to the marbles’ slippery nature. Don’t specifically try to build these types of groups at first; just be happy to accept them when they happen!

High-Level Tactics

Fans of precision-based puzzle games will probably have a fairly easy go of things until they reach Levels 40 through 50. Sure, things might get a little dicey once in a while between Levels 30 and 40, but skilled players won’t lose too often until they reach those last 10 stages. Levels 45 through 50 are particularly brutal, with Level 50 testing the skills and patience of even the most masterful marble manipulator. Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when playing at Castle Clearout a high level:

• Don’t get fancy: Just do your best to match colors together as quickly as possible, leaving at least one point of contact open for every group so they can be eliminated. Supergroups would be great of course, but you need to get rid of marbles any way you can—and matching them up is the easiest way!
• Spin those marbles: If you repeatedly press 1 or 2 to spin falling marbles, you can “dance” them across marbles they’re about to settle upon. This is a little tricky at first, but it can really help you move those fast-falling marbles into better positions.
• Play the slide: Consider how the marbles will drop after the initial contact is made and strive to line them up so they slide into ideal spots, settling into contact with like colors.
• Pause the game: This is a little shady, but if you press i to pause the action, you can just barely make out the next set of marbles that will drop into play. This can help you prepare for where those marbles should be placed, particularly when you’re starving for a certain color.
• Keep your cool: After quickly losing numerous games in a row, it’s easy to become overly excited when you finally have a breakthrough and start clearing out marbles. Don’t freak out—it’s vital that you stay calm, because those marbles will just keep falling faster and faster. You’ve actually got to increase your focus as high-level games play out. Don’t think about winning or losing; just lose yourself in the task at hand.

Castle Clearout is a great diversion from Mario Party 9’s traditional game boards and minigames. There’s plenty of depth and difficulty here to keep you captivated for hours, so give this excellent Extra game a go!

Two-Player Mode

Castle Clearout is even more fun when you play with a friend. The game plays just the same as it does when you’re flying solo, except that you can now punish your buddy by forming supergroups of marbles!

Each time you form a line, pyramid, or hexagon, you’ll dump a bunch of marbles onto your opponent’s side of the screen, which can quickly bury their chances of winning. Forming supergroups is all the more important during two-player mode, so really try and make them happen to give your friend more marbles than they can manage!