MeteorBall FAQ
What is MeteorBall?
MeteorBall is a free puzzle game that you play in a web browser. A meteor is heading for Earth, and you place pieces on an 8-by-8 board to steer it into a wormhole. It has 33 official levels, a Level Creator for making your own levels, and community levels published by other players.
Who is MeteorBall for?
MeteorBall is a general-audience puzzle game made mainly for teenagers and adults. It's family-friendly: it has no inappropriate language or imagery, and players can't upload images. Anyone can play without an account; accounts, which are needed to publish levels, rate them or post leaderboard scores, are for players aged 13 and over.
How do you play MeteorBall?
Before the meteor launches, drag the pieces from your toolbox onto empty tiles, and rotate or remove them until you're happy. When the countdown runs out, or when you press Go, the meteor flies across the board. Deflectors and curves change its direction. Steer it into the wormhole without letting it fall through a hole or fly off the board.
How does scoring work?
A win scores three things: distance (10 points for each step of the meteor's flight, so a longer route scores more), protection (1,000 points for each shuttle, satellite or astronaut left unharmed) and unused pieces (1,000 points for each toolbox piece you didn't need). A loss scores 0.
What is a Perfect Score?
Every level has a Perfect Score: the score to beat for three stars. One star needs more than a third of it, two stars more than two thirds, and three stars at least the Perfect Score. For an official level it's fixed; for a community level it's the score its creator achieved when they beat their own level to verify it.
What are community levels?
Community levels are levels made by MeteorBall players with the Level Creator and published for everyone to play. Each one shows its creator's display name, Perfect Score, player rating and play count, and has its own leaderboard.
How do I create a MeteorBall level?
Open the Level Creator, name your level, place holes, fixed pieces and the wormhole on the board, choose the pieces the player gets and the preparation time, and save. Your levels are kept in your browser. Beat your level once to verify it, then publish it if you want others to play it.
How does a creator prove a level can be beaten?
A level can only be verified by beating it. The Level Creator records the moves of the winning attempt, and that score becomes the level's Perfect Score. Any change to the level clears its verification, so it has to be beaten again. When a level is published, the MeteorBall server replays the recorded moves on the submitted level itself and refuses the level unless they win with exactly that score.
Do I need an account to play?
No. Anyone can play the official levels and community levels without an account. Your progress on official levels is saved in your browser.
Do I need an account to create a level?
No account is needed to build, test, verify and play your own levels; they're saved in your browser. You need a free account with a confirmed email address to publish a level, rate levels, report a level or put a score on a leaderboard. Accounts are for players aged 13 and over.
How are community leaderboard scores verified?
When you win a community level while signed in, your browser sends only your moves, never a score. The MeteorBall server loads the exact version you played, replays your moves with the game engine and records the score that replay produces. Moves that don't win, or aren't possible on that level, are refused. Each player keeps their best score per version.
What happens when a creator updates a level?
Publishing a change creates a new version; earlier versions are never changed. Ratings and leaderboards belong to the version that was played, so a new version starts with a fresh leaderboard.