Feedback on the difficulty of the different modes
For the purpose of improved balancing, I thought it could be useful to gather our opinions on how challenging the game's various modes are.
Note that I'm currently on Level 7 still in the middle of my first run, though I don't expect to survive Level 8 at the rate things are going. My descriptions are generally based on my most recent experiences with these modes, so don't be mislead into thinking it was always this hard for me. I was doing fairly well a few levels ago. I think I'm starting to approach the limit most players are expected to achieve, so almost every mode poses a challenge to me now.
Also note that I don't remember all the official names for the modes, so I'll refer to them by their Chuzzles instead.
Chuzzlemama mode isn't very difficult, though that's probably because I don't think any instance of it has been harder than "Fairly Easy" so far. Due to its infrequency and relative lack of challenge, along with the fact that it's not really that different from red Chuzzle mode, I don't have much to say about it.
Red Chuzzle mode is probably a bit harder than the average mode for me. Though locks don't spawn at a terribly high rate, the fact that every match fills the lock meter means their overall quantity is quite high, regardless of how well I'm performing. Though I can deal with most of the locks fairly quickly due to the lack of gimmicks, it's not uncommon for things to gradually spiral out of control when they spawn in tricky locations. Having said that, things still don't become helpless as quickly as in some of the other modes. I think what irritates me the most about this mode is its very high frequency. It's the most vanilla mode out there, so it gets repetitive pretty quickly when I have to play it so often.
Yellow Chuzzle mode is fairly manageable. As long as I make sure to minimize non-uncovering matches, I can uncover most of the gold with very few locks. Things do get trickier when there are only a few covered tiles left, but I think I could make this phase easier by making sure to prioritize uncovering the bottom rows. When things aren't going as smoothly, this is where the locks typically pile up.
Green Chuzzle mode is the easiest by virtue of having no fail condition. Though I don't always figure out a quick and elegant solution, I can still gradually beat levels I struggle with slowly and awkwardly instead. It should be noted that this mode spawns pretty infrequently for me though. I always go for it unless there's no point, yet I don't think I ever had a level with a difficulty above "Sorta Hard".
Due to my poor performance with other speed-based modes, I tend to avoid orange Chuzzle mode as well. Although the one time I was forced to play it at a high difficulty went surprisingly okay. I occasionally encounter a situation where I can't find any match for extended periods of time. While this is lethal for the purple and orange-red Chuzzle modes, it only penalizes me with one lock wave here, so I can handle it better. (For those unaware, you are free to wait as long as you want after locks spawn. Nothing will happen if the lock meter fills again before you make another move. As such, you should always time your next move with the point where the lock meter is empty.) The overall score requirement seems a bit low compared to red Chuzzle mode, so I think I should play this mode more frequently.
Cyan Chuzzle mode is somewhat luck-dependent, but usually goes well. If I can clear a few of the initial locks quickly, I can often keep up with the lock spawn rate and eventually clear them all.
The same goes for blue Chuzzle mode. The lack of both locks (prior to running out of moves) and time pressure means I usually get better matches than normal here. If I get enough, or get lucky with a long combo or a six Chuzzle match, I win.
Stunt Chuzzle mode isn't too hard, but very tedious. It often takes me a really long time to beat it, but the lock spawn rate doesn't seem to be all that high, so I can usually hold on long enough.
My performance in Mystery Chuzzle mode has been too inconsistent to really tell how hard I find it. Given the way it works, its duration is obviously pretty luck-based. I often lose track of what colors I already attempted when I start to run out of options, so if I don't get the right color fairly quickly, I often end up only clearing a Mystery Chuzzle either by accident, or by Bomb. I can't survive all that long though, so it's not uncommon for such a scenario to end in a loss instead.
Rainbow Chuzzle mode is a complete gamble for me. Either I manage to clear the rainbow Chuzzles within a few moves, or a lock gets in the way, and as I prepare to remove it, the flood of additional locks crushes any possibility of retrieval, guaranteeing defeat not long after.
Purple Chuzzle mode is a huge challenge. I already mentioned my occasional blockades earlier, and a single one of them is usually enough to ruin my current attempt in this mode. The one thing that keeps it just barely playable for me is the lack of locks prior to running out of time, which makes such blockades less frequent than normal. I can only beat this mode when I'm really concentrated and lucky.
I avoid orange-red Chuzzle mode like the plague. It was already challenging for me on lower difficulties, and is basically impossible now. Not only are blockades just as punishing here as in purple Chuzzle mode, but locks are pretty frequent, and can't be prevented from spawning. Combined with the small playing field making locks more harmful than usual, and the fact that victory requires not just survival but quick and good matches, this mode is completely beyond my skill. Thankfully, it's also very rare.
Finally, Surprise Chuzzle mode is probably the third-hardest. It's somewhat similar to yellow Chuzzle mode, but there are two factors that make it much harder. For starters, even matches with Surprise Chuzzles still fill the lock meter if they also include normal Chuzzles. As such, locks spawn far more frequently past the beginning. Also, the position of the remaining Surprise Chuzzles changes all the time, so it's not easy to prevent at least a few from getting surrounded by locks.
Comments
Oh, and I'll reduce the Red Chuzzles a bit as well. Originally, they were over-represented because I knew there would be people who just want to play Normal Classic Chuzzle, and the idea was to give them, more or less, a clear path straight to the goal where they could just play Classic Chuzzle. However, since I added Classic and Zen into the game, that point is moot.
May I inquire: Have you gotten all the puzzle pieces, and if so, approximately how long did it take you?
Sorry for being slightly off-topic, but I wanted to share this thought, and wasn't sure of a better way of posting it.
Combined with various other brutal levels I encountered, I'm starting to suspect that the lock spawn rate has recently increased even on lower difficulties. I've been dealing primarily with levels in the "Sorta Hard" to "Very Hard" range for a while now, yet I'm starting to encounter lock-related situations I don't remember ever experiencing before. Like Speed Chuzzle spawning two locks at once, or one lock when I didn't make any moves since the last wave. Or Prismatic Chuzzle spawning locks after every single move.
Not every level was this hard, though. I actually managed to beat a "Prohibitive" Stunt Chuzzle level, thanks to it only asking for three four Chuzzle formations. The two "Chuzzle Rapture" levels were also once again short and simple. And the high lock spawn rate doesn't matter all that much in Sun Chuzzle, thanks to my strategy resulting in relatively few non-uncovering matches, combined with the fact that individual locks are less harmful on a large board.