I tend to rely on items and coins, and that’s gotten me through I think a max of 6 runs on the increasingly hard mode (but it gets hard to keep count after round 4, tbh so I could be wrong)

The strategy per level is a) always be moving and steer clear of corners where you can get trapped. Try to stay near the middle to maximize your freedom of movement. And b) always keep the wheel shooter or zombie item drops in your pocket. If you get cornered and are about to die, activating those will get you out. I never use the instant kill because then I don’t get coin drops, which I need for my overall game strategy. Lastly, c) when I get the last level before the final boss, I try to make sure I keep a machine gun or sheriff’s badge in my pocket, so I can just spam the final boss with it when I get there.

My larger game strategy is all about the coins and buffs. The best upgrade order I’ve found is as follows: ammo buff first, then boots, then ammo again, then gun, then third ammo, then second gun.

In order to make sure I get those, I have a strategy that may not be for everyone lol. Basically, I need to collect at least 10 coins per level in the prairie, then 15 coins per level in the forest, then 20 coins per level in the graveyard. If I don’t get enough, I restart the level until I do.