MergeChain: choose a landing target and read the chain score

In MergeChain, aiming at a matching number is only the beginning. A falling marble must reach that match without another marble getting in the way, and the pile can move before contact. This guide separates what you can read from the board from what the physics still has to decide. The diagram is a constructed teaching setup, not a screenshot or a prediction of a particular Daily run.

Place the next marble deliberately

Press on the board, move left or right, and release to drop. On a keyboard, focus the board, aim with the left and right arrow keys, then use Space or Enter. There is a short cooldown between drops. The displayed next value is worth checking every time: two touching 4s merge into an 8, but a 4 touching an 8 does not merge. Larger resulting marbles also occupy more space, so increasing the number does not make the container empty.

The dotted line and outlined circle estimate the first contact on a straight downward path. A green guide means the predicted first target has the same value. It is not a simulation of the final resting position. A marble may roll sideways, bounce off a neighbor, or find that its intended target has moved while it falls.

Compare two possible drops

Use the logical board width of 300 units for this example. A 4 of radius 25 rests at x=70, y=475; an 8 of radius 30 rests at x=230, y=470. The floor is y=500. The incoming 4 also has radius 25, and no other marbles obstruct either path.

1. Aim at x=70. With both centers aligned, contact occurs 50 units above the existing 4, so the guide centers the incoming marble at y=425. Its first target is a matching 4.
2. Compare x=230. The combined radii are 55, so first contact is y=415 against the 8. The earlier contact height does not make it a match.
3. Choose A if your immediate goal is to make an 8. Release once and let the collision resolve before judging the next drop.

Calculate a chain instead of guessing the multiplier

Each merge adds the new value multiplied by the current chain count. The first merge after a fresh drop uses ×1. Another merge before the one-second chain timeout advances the count. A new drop resets the chain to zero, even if the pile is still moving. The following arithmetic assumes the two stated merges occur in order, within that window, with no new drop between them.

If the chain expires before the second merge, that second merge starts again at ×1: 4 + 8 gives 12 total points instead of 20. This calculation explains the reward; it does not guarantee that arranging a 2, a 2, and a 4 will cause the required physical sequence. Do not rush another drop merely because the controls allow it: it can reset a chain you were about to extend.

Watch the height while the pile settles

The dashed danger line is a limit to manage, not a landing target. Older marbles with their top edge above it trigger a grace period: Easy allows four seconds, Normal three, Hard two and a half, and Expert two. Newly created marbles are briefly excluded from this check while falling or settling. A momentary dip does not instantly reset the warning; safety must persist briefly. When height is the immediate problem, opening room near the top can matter more than chasing a distant high-value combination.

Easy supplies only 2s and 4s and uses slower gravity. Daily repeats the seeded drop sequence for the selected difficulty; that does not make every physical outcome identical. Time Attack adds a two-minute limit. Hints suggest a matching column, so inspect the first-contact guide yourself before releasing.

Try a slow first run, naming the expected first target before each release. Play MergeChain