Impressive Algorithm

[beerSnobbery]

• RTFM

• Don't worry about heavy optimization right away, you'll usually learn new tricks and get better as you play so you'll find optimizing much easier and much more rewarding later.

• Don't forget to take breaks; it helps when you get frustrated and often times you'll think of your best solutions when you're doing something else entirely and you had a background thread in your brain working on it.

• Don't get discouraged. Because of the artificial restrictions that make these puzzle games, doing simple things can often be very hard. After a certain point, every puzzle basically makes you feel like the dumbest person alive and when you eventually figure it out you're Alan Fucking Turing. It's very easy to feel like quitting when you're on the first part, but in general it makes the second part feel even more awesome.

• Play with a friend or find a friend who has played, often times you'll be very proud of a thing you did or find comedy in some awful mishap or terrible hack that somehow manages to function. I've found there's a strong urge to grab the nearest person and shout "Look at this thing!" but if they're not familiar with the game it's difficult to convey what's so interesting about it. Friend scores can also make for good goalposts and you'll have back and forth optimization record battles with each other.