document updated 16 years ago, on Aug 14, 2008

For beginners, just focus on hitting gates without dying. Don't wait for blue diamonds to get super-close first, there WILL be more gates to kill them with. Blue diamonds overlap each other, so a denser blob just means more points, not more difficulty.
For others: SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY.
- Never go for gates that are very risky at all, because you don't have to. You can always "tread water" by circling around, and gates move around relatively quickly (as demonstrated by all the times you've died because one moved last minute), so that gate may very well be in a safer position when you circle back.
- Even for experts, people's scores in this game vary wildly, with their average being ≤10% of their best. It's very easy to die in stupid ways in this game. So to get ahead, avoid all situations that might possibly result in a stupid death.
- Watch the high-scoring videos below. They usually don't go for spectacular multiple gates at once, rather they usually go for whatever gate is safest at the time.
- Gate movement is one of the most unpredictable parts of the game, so when heading for a gate, always be ready to bail if it gets riskier than it originally looked.
It's good to spend a small amount of time just "cleaning" out gates even if blue diamonds aren't around (as long as it's safe). This prevents them from piling up so much that they hinder movement.

Don't rely on blowing a hole in a group of diamonds that you can escape through. Most of the time it doesn't happen, and the times that it does happen require you to get very close. (per above, stay safe)

[1] [2] [3](search for Falcon's comments lower down, he's a top player)

Almost everyone has an average score that's ≤10% of their best score, which would seem to imply there's a lot of luck involved in the best scores?
On the leaderboards, Pacifism is the only one that's broken 1 billion. (because it's "more exponential" than other ones?)

blue diamonds
- Move entirely deterministically (I think?). It's pretty easy to bunch several together by running circles around them.
- It moves faster the longer it's been alive.
- Spawn only at the four corners.
- Initially, they spawn at a 3:1 diamond:gate ratio, then 4:1, later 10:1, and ever-increasing.
Gates
- Some rotate left, others rotate right.
- Spawn randomly around the board.
- Question: Does their linear speed, rotational speed, or "wobble" change randomly over time?
keyboard arrow keys can be used

Is there a "maximum density" to blue diamonds (i.e. if you let a group grow larger, will it have to start pushing out towards the back end in order to expand?), or do they purely work on straight-line pursuit, and density can go arbitrarily high?
- You can answer this by running a simulation of "inifinite-density" straight-line pursuers, and seeing if their tails "round off" like blue diamonds do.
Do spawning-increases happen on a time basis, or a score basis?
Is it okay to "neglect" one or more corners, allowing gates to build up there (especially since blue diamonds spawn there)? Or is it important to make sure you "clean them out" when possible to allow as much room for maneuvering as possible?