RiverMan Media

To play MadStone, hold the Wii Remote sideways. When the match starts, you'll see a bunch of blocks fall onto the screen after a second or two. In level one, you'll be looking at something like this:

In this picture, the screen is mostly filled with blocks. Near the top of the screen, you'll see that both players have some MadStones. For player 1 (on the left), the MadStones are suns, and for player 2, the MadStones are moons.

Objective: Get Your MadStones Into the Pool
The object of the game is to get your MadStones into the mana pool at the bottom of the screen. You do this by breaking the blocks that are in their way, so that they can fall into the pool. Big MadStones are worth more than the little ones, so try to get these down quickly.

The Blocks
The screen is mostly filled with grey blocks. Some are larger than others, but all blocks work the same: they are either solid, or they are cracked. In this picture, the solid blocks are light grey, and the cracked blocks are the darker ones. If you damage a solid block once, it cracks. Damage a cracked block, and it breaks, potentially allowing your MadStones to fall closer to the pool.

Press 2 Button to Damage a Block
There are a couple ways to damage blocks. The simplest way is to move your cursor over a block with the +Control Pad, then press the 2 Button. This is called a "strike." Whatever block is under your cursor will take damage, either becoming cracked or breaking. You can move your cursor quickly by holding a direction on the +Control Pad. You can also accidentally break your own MadStones by striking them. Avoid this as much as possible, since you need MadStones to win!

Note: If a block is falling, you can't strike it. You must wait until it has stopped moving. Your cursor turns into a red X if you won't be able to damage the block under the cursor. Your cursor is also an X if you are hovering over a MadStone.

Falling Objects Damage Blocks
You want to get some MadStones at the top of the screen down to the bottom, but breaking all of those blocks using only strikes would take forever. Luckily, there's a better way. Anything that falls on a block (including MadStones, other blocks, or bombs) will damage the block. This is a picture of a puzzle level, which will help show what I mean:

All of the blocks here are cracked. If you struck the block under the cursor, the top MadStone would fall and hit the second block. That block would break, allowing the rightmost MadStone to fall into the pool, and the center MadStone to fall once more. The center MadStone would collide with the third block, which would break, allowing the leftmost MadStone to fall into the pool. Finally, the center MadStone would fall again, breaking the last block and allowing the MadStone to sink into the pool.

With just one strike, you've collected 3 MadStones! And while all of this was going on, you could also have been moving to other parts of the screen, setting off other chain reactions (we call these "cascades"). In this picture, there is nothing else to break, but in a normal match, the blocks keep on coming.

Bombs Destroy a Row of Blocks
Bombs look like black blocks with arrows pointing left and right. All you have to do to use a bomb is strike it while it is not moving. Any blocks in the same row as the bomb will be destroyed, possibly starting some cascades. Keep in mind that falling blocks won't be affected by the bomb, and MadStones are never affected by bombs. One last important thing to remember is that bombs don't take damage from falling objects. The only way to destroy a bomb is with a strike, so don't let too many of them collect at the bottom of the screen, or they could block some of your MadStones from falling into the pool.

Fill The Donut Meter To Win
The donut meter at the top of the screen tells you who is winning by which color is filling it the most. When the game starts, the two colors are even. As you collect MadStones, the meter fills a little bit more with your color. Once the meter is entirely full of your color, you win the match. In most levels (and sometimes multiplayer games), a player must win multiple matches by filling the donut meter several times to win the whole contest. If the game keeps going after you've filled the donut meter once, keep playing!

Note: You might not win right away if your opponent is in a combo. Combos are up next.

Score Match and MadStone Match
In addition to the standard matches, there are also matches for score or for MadStones. In these matches, the donut meter starts empty, and fills as players collect more points (in a score match) or more MadStones (in a MadStone match). You win once the donut meter is filled to the half-way point with your color. You can choose to play these kinds of matches by selecting them in 2-Player mode. They are also sprinkled throughout Arcade Mode. The screen just before each arcade level will tell you what kind of match you will be playing next, as well as the goal (e.g., Level Goal: 35 MadStones).

Combos

Collect a MadStone to Start a Combo
To begin a combo, just collect a MadStone. You'll see a number rise up from the pool. This is the size of your current combo. While your combo is still active, all the MadStones on your play field will glow.

Keep Objects Falling to Continue a Combo
As long as anything in your play field is falling, your combo will continue, and your MadStones will keep glowing. Once everything on your grid is stationary (even if it's for just an instant), your combo will end. The more MadStones you collect while the combo is active, the larger your combo will be.

Gain Quake Time From Combos As your combo gets large (at least 3x), you'll notice a clear bar appear at the top of the screen near the donut meter. This bar represents how much Quake time you'll get when the combo is over (but you don't have the Quake time yet).

Fewer Strikes For More Time
Each time you strike, this clear bar shrinks just a little bit. This means that once you're in a combo, you want to minimize the number of strikes you make in order to get more Quake time once the combo is over. The key is to make good use of cascades and bombs in order to get the most MadStones for the fewest strikes.

Colored Bar = Quake Time!
Once the combo is over, if you had any clear bar, this will turn to a colored bar, indicating that you have some Quake time. Your clear bar also turns colored very slowly during a combo, giving you a little bit of Quake time to work with during a long combo.

Shake The Wii Remote to Quake
To use that hard-earned Quake time, just shake the Wii Remote! Small, quick shakes work better than large, extreme motions. You'll see a large, glowing version of your MadStone rise from the pool, and blocks will rapidly be destroyed. The higher your MadStone rises on the screen, the faster blocks will be destroyed.

Quakes Destroy Your Blocks, Opponent's MadStones
If you are shaking quick enough, your glowing MadStone will be high above the pool. Strong Quakes like this have a chance of destroying an opponent's MadStones.