iOS physics-puzzler Aiko Island hints, tips, and tricks

The App Store isn't short of games like Aiko Island - physics-puzzlers with primary school-palettes and cutesy characters in which you can finish each level at three separate degrees of completion.

But, while it doesn't quite match up to Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, and the other behemoths of the genre, it's a pretty solid effort from developer IceFlame, scoring a Pocket Gamer 6 last month.

It's also quite difficult, so IceFlame has put together this walkthrough to help you save the blue Aikos, vanquish the red ones, and do many other things that in no way can be equated with football results. Know your Aiko

The main aim of Aiko Island is to get rid of the cookie-stealing Reds but keep the Blues. In this guide you will learn to become an Aiko master with the helpful tips and tricks supplied. Let’s start with the basics! The first thing you need to know is your Aikos!

The Blues

These are the good guys. They are fun loving and friendly. They thrive off a diet of cookies, which the Reds have stolen. Help these guys get back their cookies by popping or dropping the Reds off the screen. But be careful not to lose any Blues in the process!

The Reds

Squash, pop, and drop these guys right off Aiko Island landscape using whatever means necessary.

Since the Reds turned up on the Island the Blue Aikos have had no rest. The Reds don’t understand the meaning of sharing and have stolen all of the Blues' cookies.

They're moody, spiteful, and fight amongst themselves for the most cookies. They are very selfish monsters. There are two different types of Red you’ll encounter on Aiko Island.

Soft Reds

This type of Red is a light colour. The reason they are known as Soft Reds is because they have softer bodies than other Aikos.

Because of this they can be popped. This makes it very easy to get rid of them. Although they can easily be disposed of, they do tend to be found in positions which would cause danger to the Blues if they were to be destroyed.

Hard Reds

Hard Reds cannot be popped. They have harder bodies than Soft Reds and also wear armour. They are very tough characters. They will stop at nothing to get cookies. To get rid of these guys you’re going to have to drop them off the screen or onto a spike.

Sleeping Aiko

Aikos are strange creatures. Not just because of their cookie obsession, but also what happens to them while they’re sleeping. Sleeping Aikos are not affected by gravity. Huge numbers of Aikos can balance on a sleeping Aiko in mid-air without them all falling.

Know the World Wood

There are numerous wooden platforms throughout Aiko Island. Wood is generally hard and cannot be broken, but the lighter coloured wood with cracks can be popped. These are used in many occasions to drop Aikos or to create gaps where Aikos can roll through.

Gravity

The gravity on Aiko Island is chaotic. The direction an Aiko will fall is dependent on which way it is facing. No one understands or knows why some Aikos have differing gravity. You need to be extra careful when dealing with these sorts of Aiko.

Ropes

There are lots of ropes on Aiko Island. Apart from eating cookies, there’s nothing more an Aiko likes than swinging on ropes. Throughout the Island you’ll find Aikos swinging bravely from platform to platform just for the fun of it.

Cannons

Starfish Bay was once a piracy hotbed. The pirates have since moved on, but have left behind cannons which can be used to carry out precision shots on Red Aikos.

TNT

Fire Rock Canyon is famous for the Great Cookie Mines. In the cookie rush the canyon was full of Aikos trying to make a name for themselves. TNT was used during the mining era and can still be found here today. TNT has a timer which is started once popped.

Nitro

Nitros are a type of TNT that will blow up on impact and has no timer.

Ice

Everything on Sugar Frost Mountain is very slippy. Be careful where you tread on the ice ground. There is lower friction on the Mountain. This will cause Aikos to slide on nearly forever. Be careful to make sure no Blues slide off ledges.

COOKIES! COOKIES! COOKIES!

Okay, so you’re getting to grips with the world around you and you know your enemy. Time to get those cookies back!

In each level you can gain three cookies. You earn a cookie for achieving each of the following tasks:

• Completing the level
• Complete the level in the set amount of Pops/Moves
• Complete the level in the target time

Tall Grass Forest

For this guide we’ll be showing you how to complete some of the hardest levels in Tall Grass Forest.

This is a walkthrough, so if you don’t want to know how to complete these levels stop reading now. For those of you who are completely stuck, this will help you to get those extra cookies on the levels that were holding you back.

1-4 A Little Structure

This level isn't difficult, but it can be tricky to get the Pops Target Cookie. To do this you’ll need to:

• Pop the Soft Red Aiko on the top of the stack.
• 2,3. Pop the Aikos supporting the Hard Reds and watch them all fall off the screen.

1-10 RollerBall

This level looks harder than it is. But once you understand the way the physics work in Aiko Island it becomes straight forward.

• Pop the wooden block the Blue Aiko is sitting on before the Red rolls into it.
• Pop the Wooden block at 2 and drop the Blue Sqaure Aiko to stop the Blue ball Aiko rolling off the screen.
• Now the Red ball Aiko will come following after the Blue. Get rid of them by popping the soft wooden block at 3 to create a hole in the floor for them to fall through.
• There is now a hole in the floor and one more Blue to come. Pop the Sleeping Red at 4 to drop the Blue square Aiko, which will stop the last Blue ball from falling down the gap.

1-11 It’s A Roll Over

This level is all about understanding how physics work and solving the level in a logical way.

• 1,2. Will drop the Blues safely into the middle.
• 3,4,5. Now pop all of these 3 on the left and watch the Reds fall off the screen.
• 6,7,8. Repeat the same process on the right and get rid of the Reds again.
• 9,10. Pop these two soft wooden pieces to drop the last Hard Red off the screen.

1-15 Aiko Cradle

Aiko Cradle is definitely harder than it looks. Don’t let its simplicity fool you. This level requires a degree of skill.

• Pop the wooden block at 1 first to start the Aiko’s swinging.
• Once the Blues are positioned above the wooden platform with the white mushrooms pop the soft red to drop them to safety. This will take some experimentation and you’ll have to judge for yourself the right time to move your move.

1-16 King of The Swingers

The idea here is to swing the Blue Aiko on the rope into the Hard Reds.

• This first step is important for the survival of the Blues. Pop the wooden block at 1.
• Now pop the wooden block under the Soft Red at 2
• To start the Blue Aiko swinging safely pop the wooden block at 3
• The Blue Aiko will now swing and knock the first Red Aiko off the screen. As it swings back the other way remember to pop the Soft Red at 4 to break the rope and land the Blue on the wooden platform sending it into the final Red Aiko. This will start the Red Aiko rolling and cause it to fall off the screen. Level complete!

1-22 Team Work

There are two ways to complete this level. But the following is the most fun.

• Pop the wooden block at 1 and use the slider to hit the bottom of the tower of Aikos. This will cause the Blue Aiko on the top to fall to the left. Now use the slider to catch the Blue Aiko.
• Pop the Soft Red at 2 and drop the other tower of Aiko to the left. Use the slider again to catch the Blue.
• Pop the wooden block at 3 to drop any remaining Reds into the spike pit below.

1-31 What’s The Question

Pop the Aiko in the right order and catch them in the silders is the name of the game on this level.

• Pop the Red Aiko at 1. This frees up the slider to the left of it.
• Pop the Red Aiko at 2 and catch it in the vertical slider.
• Use the now freed slider and catch the Blue Aiko that drops once you pop the Soft Red Aiko at 3.
• Move the vertical slider up slowly and catch the Blue Aiko after popping 4.
• Now move the final slider into position and pop the last Red Aiko at 5 to complete the level.

1-33 Spinning Tower

Two wooden platforms stop the effect of gravity on this gravity tower level.

• Once the two wooden platforms are popped the tower will start moving. You need to find a way to make it spin so the Blue falls to safety and the Reds fall and fly to their doom.
• Pop the bottom right Red Aiko. This will cause the tower of Aikos to rotate right once the wooden blocks are popped.
• 2, 3. Pop the two wooden blocks and watch the Aikos rotate to the right and release the Blue into the safety of the wooden platform.

1-34 Furry Balloons

A Blue Aiko connected to five Soft Reds stuck in a spiky room with a platform that shouts out safety to its right. It’s very hard to get the Pop Target Cookie on this level and will take some experimenting.

• You’ll need to create momentum that will pull the Blue to the Right. Pop the Red Aiko at 1 that was pulling the stack to the left.
• Pop the red at 2 to stop the Blue going up too high.
• Pop the Wooden block at 3 to start the Blue moving to safety. The timing of this last move affects whether or not the Red’s fly into the last few spikes just before the safety platform. If you can achieve this you’ll pop all the Reds on the roof and the Blue will fly into the Safe zone. This will earn you the Pop Target Cookie.