Walkthroughs

Tips, tricks and video walkthroughs: the ultimate guide to Angry Birds on Facebook

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Tips, tricks and video walkthroughs: the ultimate guide to Angry Birds on Facebook
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| Angry Birds on Facebook

The Angry Birds have found a new home. Having conquered every phone and tablet on the market (and not forgetting that brief dalliance with Google+), Rovio's bird-catapulting puzzler is now available to Facebook's 800 million users.

There's something about the visceral, primal thrill of hurling disgruntled birds at house-proud pigs that has struck a chord with the global population, and now more than half a billion people have had a go at the app.

But, it's definitely not a pushover: heck, I've been stuck on the same tricky level for 15 minutes now.

Because of the difficulties you will inevitably encounter at one stage or another, we decided to throw together this Angry Birds guide, which covers everything from basic tips to special upgrades, to help you get the most out of Angry Birds on Facebook.
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Angry Birds depicts the life-long struggle of bird-versus-pig. In the game, it is your job to catapult these kamikaze birds into the pig's towers, knocking down their houses and defeating the green swines inside.

To play, you need to click and hold on the bird in the catapult, then move your mouse to the left of the screen to build up power. Aim your shot then let go of the mouse button to watch the bird sail through the air and hit the pig's house on the right of the screen.

To complete each level, you need to defeat all the pigs on the screen before running out of birds. That's all there is to it!

High scores

Simply killing all the pigs will unlock the next level, but if you want to get the maximum three stars on each stage (and beat your friends on the leaderboards), you'll need to aim for some high scores. The key to getting a good score is to mix efficiency with damage.

Unused birds net you an automatic 10,000 points each. But, you also need to cause unrelenting carnage to the level, because smashed objects give off small, but quickly accumulated points. A good score requires juggling both angles.

angry-birds-facebook-guide-misc-pigGet physical

This Facebook app uses a powerful physics engine to provide a pretty convincing clone of the real laws of nature. That means that offsetting balance and attacking weak points is always a more effective strategy than blindly firing at the main reinforced walls.

Remember that some materials are sturdier than others. It's no use fruitlessly bashing away at a stone wall (especially because it takes about three direct hits to finally smash one) when you could focus on the easily destructible wooden platform that's holding it up.

More tips

You can use the zoom controls in the bottom-left-hand corner to zoom out and see the entire battlefield on one screen. This way, you can quickly see how far away your catapult is from the pig's base.

Don't forget that every bird leaves a trail of dust behind after it leaves the catapult, meaning you can replicate (or slightly deviate from) previous throws without the tedious guesswork.

You don't always have to attack from left to right: if you aim the bird high enough, you can attack from above. This is a perfect strategy for levels with fortified walls, but exposed roofs.

Wait until your previous bird disappears. If you hit your last bird's dazed body, your attack will be significantly dampened.
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In each level, you'll be given a handful of different birds to use. You don't get to choose which birds you bring into battle, so you'll need to be a master of the whole Angry Birds cast. Read on to find out how they work.

Red
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These are plain old projectile birds, and the very first avian assassins you'll get to use. They won't do anything when you click the mouse, and they aren't very tough, either. Don't expect them to take out concrete or particularly fortified structures.

Blue
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These are scattershot birds that split into three small projectiles if you click the mouse in mid-air.

Think of these little guys like a shotgun. You can make a scattershot early to hit a good range of targets, but ideally you want to release these fellows close to the target so all three birds will smash into a small area at once. That's how you inflict the most damage.

Yellow
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These are kamikaze birds that rocket forward at super speeds when you click the mouse.

Despite their greatly increased velocity, they still won't do much damage to materials like stone and glass. They rip through wood like it's wet paper, though, allowing you to quickly attack enemies buried deep within a structure.

Black
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These are caustic birds that explode when you click the mouse to create shockwaves and destroy close blocks and birds. They blow up in their own time, but if you click, you can explode them instantly.

Remember, these guys are so heavy that they'll destroy even a large chunk of stone in just one hit. Try and lodge them in the middle of the structure to make the most impact.

White

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These are egg-dropping maternal birds. If you click the mouse, the bird will launch an explosive egg from its backside, before firing itself into the stratosphere.

Get as low to the target as possible so both your egg and the bird's now-deflated body both hit the structure.

And don't forget that these enemies can still be used as classic red-styled birds if you don't tap. That's a useful thing to keep in mind if you just need a boring old projectile to finish off a level.
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Angry Birds on Facebook adds a selection of power-ups that you can buy, receive from friends, and win in daily raffles. They power-up your birds or cause chaos in the level to help you win the level at hand.

You'll get five of each power-up for free when you first load the game. But, to get more, you're going to have to rely on raffles, friends, and cold hard cash. Here's how to get them:

During the launch period, there are "Daily Rewards" available, where a random power-up is delivered on each day. You can also hit the 'Click Here for Your Valentine's Gift!' button to unlock 14 bonus power-ups.

You can gift a random power-up to your friends by clicking 'Inbox' and then 'Send Free Gifts'. If you encourage your pals to do the same, you can expect to see some items in your inbox.

You can also, of course, buy power-ups from the Angry Birds Shop with Facebook Credits. You can buy individual power-ups or get the all-in-one bundle to get a selection of power-ups in one go. The prices are as follows:


Individual power-ups All-in-one bundle
20 power-ups - $1 15 of each - $3
50 power-ups - $2 30 of each - $5
150 power-ups - $5 90 of each - $10
400 power-ups - $10 200 of each - $20
1000 power-ups - $20 440 of each - $40


Here's how to use each one:

Mighty Eagle

"Summon the Mighty Eagle to wreak havoc on the pigs. Destroy as much as possible to collect total destruction feathers from all your levels."

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This power-up basically lets you skip entire levels. Simply fire the fish food can into the stage and the fearsome bird will swoop in and destroy everything in its path.

However, instead of getting stars, you'll be graded (with a percentage) on the amount of destruction you caused in the level. If you manage to seriously wreck the stage, you'll get 100%, and unlock a feather for that level.

The best tactic for the Mighty Eagle is to cause as much chaos as possible with normal birds before calling in the bird boss. This way, you'll already be close to the 100% mark before the eagle even appears.

Birdquake

"Rattle the battle. Use the Birdquake to bring pigs' defences crashing to the ground."

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Clicking this button causes the entire level to shake, which can dislodge the pigs' house and knock piggies to their doom. It doesn't do much at the start of the level because of the relative sturdiness of the houses.

Wait until you've smashed up the stage a bit and then if you have a few pigs left over in precarious situations, hit the Birdquake button to finish them off.

Sling Scope

"Looking for the perfect shot? Use Sling Scope laser targeting for pinpoint precision."

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When you click this button, a red laser beam will appear when you pull back your bird. This will show you exactly where the bird will hit the tower.

This is very handy if you need to dislodge a very specific piece of the scenery, or if you've got one pig left but it's in an awkward position. Remember that when you activate the Scope, it will be applied to all birds in the level.

Super Seeds

"Supersize your bird. Super Seeds turn any bird into a pig-popping giant."

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Click this button and the bird that's currently sitting in the catapult will bulk up - making it bigger and more powerful. It only affects the current bird.

If you're using a blue bird, then all three birds that split off will be supersized. Same goes for the white bird: when it has munched on Super Seeds, its explosive egg will be bigger.

King Sling

"Fling your birds with style and speed. Upgrade to the almighty King Sling for maximum power and velocity."

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This replaces the tired old wooden catapult with a hardy meta-slingshot. With this upgraded bird flinger, you'll be able to send birds farther and with more power.

This sticks around for the whole stage, so every bird on the level will get more power. You can also use it alongside other power-ups, like Super Seeds and Sling Scope.
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Some ardent Angry Birds fanatics have posted videos that show you how to grab three stars on every level in the game. They show off the best strategies to beat the pigs, so follow their moves to get high scores.

If you're stuck on a particularly tough stage, don't waste your cash on the Mighty Eagle or other power-ups: just watch the pros in action.

For most of the levels, we're going to use video guides from the iPhone version. The games are almost identical, so the same strategies will work. For Facebook-exclusive levels, however, we've got some bespoke videos up our sleeve.

Poached Eggs Levels 1-5
Levels 6-10
Levels 11-15
Levels 16-21 Theme 2 Levels 1-5
Theme 2 Levels 6-10
Theme 2 Levels 11-15
Theme 2 Levels 16-21 Levels 1-5
Levels 6-10
Levels 11-15
Levels 16-21

Mighty Hoax Levels 1-5
Levels 6-10
Levels 11-15
Levels 16-21 Levels 1-5
Levels 6-10
Levels 11-15
Levels 16-21 Surf and Turf (Facebook Exclusive)

Levels 1-15
Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer