Neopets Kou-Jong is a nice thinking game where Linae will not want to successfully man all the deck of the Cyodrake’s Gaze. This is why she will then start building stuff to disassemble the cards and to match the blocks that are the same. Because she’s having a hard time to do so, your main objective will be to help her out.
Gameplay
In order to play Kou-Jong, you will have to use your mouse and to be more specific, your cursor to hover over the tiles and to match them. First of all, you will have to select a free tile to be able to select it. To know if a tile is free, it will have to be empty sided from the left or from the right, meaning it doesn’t come in contact with any other tile from one of these sides, obviously on the same row. The rows have different levels. For example, if a tile has two others on both of its sides, right and left, it will not be able to be selected. You will have to take into consideration the levels, because if that tile is also hidden by a tile on a higher level, it will be unselectable, meaning that you will have to get rid of the ones above it first before you select it. It will remain blocked until then. Just like in Kiko Match II, if you’ve already played that game, two matching tiles will have to be found in order to get rid of them. Even if the tiles are face up, sometimes it is not as easy as you think. There are a good range of tiles that sometimes will get you fooled, also because the pictures are not always easy to memorize. If you find a tile that is similar to another, it will not match. Again, both of the tiles have to be with the exact same picture, and not blocked from the sides or from higher rows in order to successfully match them. Sometimes you will find two matching tiles, but one of them will be blocked. In this case, you will have to find another pair because the current one will be unavailable for the moment. Few exceptions can be seen for the matching pairs of tiles. For example, the flower set will have four tiles where only one of these tiles will appear. Same thing applies for the Season tiles. In order to successfully remove them from the game, you will have to match them, but maybe not the way you think! The flower tiles go with the other kinds of flower tiles just like the season tiles go with other season tiles.
After the game starts, meaning when you will be on a specific round, a time will be given to you, which means that you will have to hurry up as much as you can. Each remaining second will award you with a total of one point at the end of the round. For example, if you have a total of 8 remaining seconds, you will be given 8 bonus points. It is recommended that you play on the hard difficulty and to waste the minimum amount of time if you’re going after a super high score or after the trophy. Because of the timer, different scores can be obtained from various players. If you take too much time during a specific time and you run out of time, you will not be penalized. You will simply not get bonus points. There is also a Rest button located on the screen that you can press if you want bonus points, but you notice that it is too low for the achievement you’re going for. When you reset, the points earned during the previous levels will be kept safely, the only points that will reset are those from the level you’re currently on. If you pair up many tiles and you’re left with few tiles that can not be paired, you will have to reset. A message will tell you to do so if it happens.
During the game, you will be able to use hints. If you play on easy mode, only one hint will be given to you for you to use. Two hints will be given to you if you’re playing on the medium difficulty and three hints are awarded for the hardest difficulty. When you press on the Hint Button, light lines will show you two tiles of the correct combinations. Typing the cheat code “cyodrake” will grant you another hint for you to use. Use them only when you really need them, though. Even if you reset a specific level, the hint will stay on your side. You will only be able to use this cheat code once per game.
Scores & Points
Two points will be awarded upon successfully matching 2 tiles, meaning one point per tile. The easiest difficulty will contain less tiles than the medium, which will contain less tiles than the hardest difficulty. Because of that, you will be awarded with more points on the hardest one, and that level is recommended if you’re trying to achieve a high score or going after the trophy. Here is a short summary of the difficulties explaining, in order, the number of tiles that will be found during each of the levels.
The first difficulty is easy. During the first level, there will be a total of 32 tiles for you to complete, which means 32 points can be awarded from them only. The second level will contain 34 tiles for a maximum of 34 points coming from the tiles and the last level, which is the “hardest” will contain 58 tiles. If we do not consider the time bonus, you will be awarded with a total of 124 points from the three levels around, on the easiest difficulty, which is relatively low.
The second difficulty is Medium. During that difficulty, when you start the first level, a total of 74 tiles will be found. These tiles will, obviously, grant you a total of 74 points when you successfully get rid of them. The second level will contain 62 tiles, which is weird (because of the lower number) and finally, the last level, 114 tiles. From the levels alone you will be able to collect 250 points, which are also not considered “important” if you’re going for a trophy. The top players on the trophy board will usually have their score on the lower 1,000 point range.
The Hard difficulty is where things will start to get complicated, because all of the three levels contain 144 tiles and when you successfully complete all of the three levels, a maximum of 432 points will be awarded.
You should not forget the time bonus on these levels. One point per second may seem not too much, but it is. Just the fact that the highest scores are usually in the 1,000 + range and that you can get a maximum of 432 points during the hard difficulty (from tiles only) shows that they will award you with more than the double. Not all the difficulties have the same time bonus, though. One minute, which means 60 seconds will be given for each level on the easiest difficulty. Three minutes, meaning 180 seconds will be given, per level, will be given for the medium difficulty. The hardest difficulty will give you six minutes, meaning 360 seconds per level to complete. Try to always keep your time bonus above the 200, meaning do not take more than 160 seconds for each round at minimum. If you’re going after the trophy, you will have to stay near 300 seconds.
Neopets Kou-Jong Strategy & Tips
Since Neopets Kou-Jong is thinking game, you can come up with a strategy that suits you the best since there can be all considered “good”. Type “cyodrake” once per game to get an extra hint. You will have to finish off the most tiles you can in order to get points. Luck is really minimal during the game. Your skills are your best friends there. Start off by cleared the highest row of tiles, those that are on the surface so that it becomes easier for you to finish off the game the faster way. This will also free up a sufficient amount of space, giving you the chance of having a better look on the game when these rows are gone. Remember that you will not be able to select tiles that are blocked on the right side and on the left side. They will also be blocked if a tile on the higher level is located on them.
On some occasions, you will be able to remove tiles to unblock the ones that are located under them. You should not always just remove the tiles. Remember that this game is based on intelligence. Play the smart way. Sometimes a pair is sufficient to give you a better game play, resulting in a faster successful completion of the level. Remember to always play on the hardest difficulty if you’re trying to achieve something particular (a good score or a trophy). Don’t forget that you should reset the level (if going after a trophy) when it is below 200. Always try to stay near the 300 points bonus and type “cyodrake” to gain a free hint. You can use this once per game. Usually, with enough training, you will be able to use no hint! The game is possible, you will just have to play it few times to get better at it. Good luck.