A little help from mission control
Keep your universe moving.
Find the controls, learn the special mechanics, and get help with progress.
Controls
On a small screen, swipe or scroll the table sideways to see every device. With a keyboard, focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Action | iPhone / iPad | Siri Remote | Extended gamepad on Apple TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aim | Drag on the board | Pan the touchpad or press Left / Right | Left stick or D-pad Left / Right |
| Drop | Release your finger | Select | A / primary button |
| Swap with Next | Tap the Next preview | Up | Stick or D-pad Up |
| Storm Caller | Tap the charged badge, then a highlighted body | Down to arm; Left / Right to choose; Select to remove | X or Down to arm; Left / Right to choose; A to remove |
| Pause / back | Settings gear | Menu / Back or Play / Pause | B or Menu |
| Menu / volume | Tap controls or use the settings sliders | Up / Down to select; Left / Right on volume rows | Up / Down to select; Left / Right on volume rows |
When Storm Caller is armed, Back cancels target selection first. On the bare Apple TV title screen, the remote’s Back button returns control to the system. Extended gamepad support is for Apple TV; the iPhone and iPad interface uses touch.
Play and discover
How do merges, combos, and game over work?
Two matching bodies merge into the next tier. Merges within one second extend a combo; merges high on the board earn a bonus. In Classic and Daily, a body’s center staying above the red danger line for two active seconds ends the run. Pause time does not count in version 1.2.
What do ice, Storm Caller, and Black Holes do?
Ice Rock pairs have a 20% chance to shatter into four shards instead of merging. Shards seek small bodies and clear Moonlets or Prism Rocks for up to nine active seconds. Creating a Storm World grants a Storm Caller charge. Select an eligible highlighted body to remove it. Black Holes periodically consume other bodies; merging two Black Holes adds a 10,000-point bonus.
Which bodies can I draw?
Moonlet, Prism Rock, Ice Rock, and Molten. Version 1.2 draws them independently with probabilities of 40%, 30%, 20%, and 10%. The full chain is Moonlet → Prism Rock → Ice Rock → Molten → Moon → Planet → Slime Planet → Gas Giant → Star → Storm World → Black Hole.
What is new about Daily and Zen?
Daily uses a seed based on the UTC date and Rules 2. There is one scored attempt per device per UTC day; starting it uses the attempt even if the app closes. Continue can resume a saved attempt. Practice uses the same seed without replacing your scored result. Seeded randomness does not guarantee identical physics across devices. Daily scores are local and can be shared; there is no online daily ranking in this preview.
Zen removes game over and keeps a separate best score. Use Clear Board when the stack fills up. Optional Zen Aim Assist gently snaps an aim near a matching body. Zen and Daily Practice do not contribute competitive lifetime statistics or Game Center achievements.
Saved runs and progress
How do I save and continue a run?
In version 1.2, choose Save & Menu or Save & Return to Menu in Settings. Continue appears on the title screen. The game also saves about once per active second and when interrupted. A run stays on the device where it started; the board does not sync through iCloud. A board copied through a device backup can only continue on its original device, so its result cannot be counted twice. Starting a new run asks before ending an existing saved run. Tutorial progress is not saved.
My saved run is missing or won’t load.
First check that you are using the same device and version. Open the title screen and look for Continue. End Run deliberately removes the saved board, and starting another run replaces it after confirmation. If a save cannot be read, the app keeps the file and shows a recovery message; collection and lifetime records are stored separately. Avoid deleting or reinstalling the app before contacting support, because that can remove local saves.
When available storage is low, free space and try Save & Menu again. Include the recovery message in your support request. Runs from versions before 1.2 were not saved and cannot be reconstructed.
Which progress syncs between devices?
Version 1.2 uses iCloud for Classic and Zen best scores, lifetime statistics, and collection discoveries. Use the same Apple Account with iCloud enabled on each device and allow time for synchronization. Boards, daily attempt eligibility, and daily scores remain local. Concurrent device totals are merged without counting shared history twice. Keep devices on the same app version for the most consistent behavior.
Why didn’t an achievement or score appear in Game Center?
Check your Game Center sign-in and network connection, then reopen the game. Version 1.2 queues offline achievement progress and Classic scores and retries them after sign-in or returning to the app. Previously identified progress stays with its last signed-in player; progress earned before any sign-in is assigned to the first player who signs in. Changing players does not transfer the previous player’s pending achievements.
Rules 2 uses a separate Classic leaderboard because board proportions and spawn balance changed. Older scores remain on the legacy leaderboard. Game Center’s online setup for Rules 2 must be enabled before the new app release. Local play and saves work without Game Center.
Can I reset a high score?
The version 1.2 preview removes the misleading local reset control. It could not reset Game Center records and cloud synchronization could restore the score. Best scores and discoveries remain part of your progress. End Run affects only continuation of that board.
Comfort and accessibility
Settings includes Reduce Effects, which also follows system Reduce Motion, and a 60 fps limit on iPhone and iPad. VoiceOver exposes discrete aim, drop, swap, and board-reading actions in version 1.2. The playable tutorial demonstrates three drops, swapping, and the danger rule. Apple TV has a Reduce Effects toggle in Settings.
Still need help?
Email smidley@gmail.com with your app version and build, device model, OS version, game mode, and the steps that led to the problem. A screenshot or the exact recovery message helps. Please do not include passwords or account credentials.