Guide to Angry Birds on Facebook: Tips, Hints and Tricks

The much-awaited physics-based game has arrived on Facebook. And within a few days of its arrival it soared high into the sky. The number of Angry Birds players on Facebook has reached close to a million and soon it will fulfill Rovio’s “1 billion players” dream. The FB version has some new features and most important, it is social, which means players can compete for high scores and send cutesy gifts. Seems quite fun!

Most casual players are quite familiar with the game. The objective is to launch cute little chirpy birds with the help of a slingshot to destroy castles of not-so-cute little Green oinks. There are different types of birdies, from tiny little blue birds that split into three, to white birds that launch a big bomb once the player clicks at the right moment. The exotic bird variety makes the game even more fun. As the player progresses, the levels become increasingly challenging, but power-ups make things a bit easy and entertaining.

Since you know how to play this game by now, it would be foolish of me to explain right from the start or analyze the abilities of each bird. By now you may even have your own strategy to eliminate those pesky pigs with two or three birds to spare. This Angry Birds Facebook guide’s aim is to provide keys tips and tricks on getting power ups, sending gifts and getting the most of the game interface.

• Go To http://www.facebook.com/angrybirds
• Click on Play Angry Birds
• Click on the big image. Do not click on “Go to App”. Click on the image.
• Click on the “Play Game” button

The current Beta version has three game packages: Poached Eggs, Mighty Hoax and Surf and Turf. Of these three, Surf and Turf is a Facebook exclusive. I am sure you will love playing this game. It has fun challenging levels and excellent ways to earn points.

While playing the game, you will notice a series of wacky power-ups at the top of the screen. These unique power-ups are (from left to right):

1. Super Seeds: Makes your wingless birdie more powerful. Click on this power-up to make your little birdie destroy complex rock structures devised by those animated pigs.

2. King Sling: Makes your sling stronger than ever. Once clicked on this power-up, your simple sling will be transformed into a super cool golden slingshot. With this you can launch birds are super speed to penetrate through the piggy defense.

3. Sling Scope: Makes your target even more accurate. Upon clicking on this link your target trace becomes red in color and can help you target even the most difficult-to-penetrate spots.

5. Birdquake: Aah, this is one of the most interesting stuff on Angry Birds. Click on this power-up to unleash a minor quake. This can be extremely useful when pigs are on the top of a structure and can fall anytime.

Besides these four extremely awesome power-ups, there’s another massive one called “Mighty Eagle”. All you have to do is click on the grey brick icon at the top-left corner of the screen. Once you unleash this power-up, all birds will vanish away. You will then have to launch this grey break using the slingshot. Once the brick hits the target, a mammoth-sized eagle will come straight from nowhere and destroy the entire structure, eliminating all pigs in this process.

Using Power-ups: Tips and Trick

• Players can use only two power-ups per level. They can choose between two instances of the same power-up or two different power-ups.
• If you can’t see those 4 special power-ups, click on the lightening block icon to access them.
• If the level is too difficult or only one or two birds left and it seems impossible to eliminate all pigs, then make sure you use the Mighty Eagle power-up to destroy them in a single shot.
• Birdquake should be used when pigs are either positioned at a height and are at the edge of the structure or when they are under a structure on its last legs. A small jiggle can surely make those rocks and wood fall over them.
• Sling Scope is best used for places difficult to penetrate. You know your bird won’t reach that corner of the structure and so you should use this power-up.
• I find Super Seeds more useful than King Sling. So I think the latter will be used more infrequently than Super Seeds, which truly make your little birdie a super bird as it can destroy some of the strongest rocky structures.
• Power-ups should be used carefully. Remember that each power-up, whether King Sling, Sling Scope are limited and can be used the number of times shown by a numerical figure. Use them only if the level is too challenging. You can easily identify levels that have complex structures.
• Remember that you can gift a power-up to one friend per day. So make sure you and your friends choose the right one before sending.
• You might be thinking what might be the options left once power-ups get over. Well, there are two ways to get them: Buy them via the shop or wait for a day to get them via Daily Rewards. You get these power-ups free for visiting the game daily. You can also ask your friends to gift you. These are the only ways to get them for free.

The game interface is divided into various parts, such as:

1. An online leaderboard showing the number of stars and feathers won by you and your FB neighbors.
2. An Invite button for inviting new friends.
3. A Settings menu having icons like Inbox (Gift box), Shop and Invite:

• The Inbox button is the place where players send and receive gifts. Clicking on the Inbox icon will open up a new window. You will have to click on the Send Free Gifts button to send a surprise gift to your Facebook neighbor. The gifts may contain special power-ups. One gift can be sent to a friend at a time.
• The Invite button allows players to send FB requests to his/her friends. Once accepted, the online leaderboard will update itself by adding new friends to the list.
• The Shop button lets you purchase additional power-ups. Every Angry Birds level has a limited number of power-ups. But you can buy for more. Each package ranges from USD 3 to USD 50, depending on the number of power-ups per package. Click on the power-up you need and select the price to buy one whole package.
• The game also has an additional Avatar button. But it is locked and will soon be available once the game gets out of beta mode.

In-game Screenshots taken by the writer. All Screenshots, courtesy Rovio.

The game is in beta mode and there will be new updates and surprises regularly. You might want to bookmark this page as I will update this hub once I get access to these updates. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.