Arcade guide
Soda Slide Game Tips: Pouring Fast Beat Being Careful
Key takeaways
- Doing nothing lost all 3 lives in about 32 seconds, with 0 points, in all 3 runs.
- Pouring at each counter in turn cleared the first level in about 6 seconds in all 3 runs, and one run cleared 4 levels.
- A careful script that waited for guests and timed each empty glass never cleared level 1 in 9 runs, scoring 300 to 1,200 points.
- All of this comes from scripts, not people, in a slow test browser.
The first soda slide game tip is to start pouring right away: in Fizzslide, a script that poured to each counter in turn cleared the first level in about 6 seconds in all 3 runs, while a careful script never cleared it in 9 runs. Standing still lost all 3 lives in about 32 seconds.
How Fizzslide works
Fizzslide is a counter-service arcade game. Thirsty guests walk up long counters, and you move a bartender between the counters with the round buttons, hold a button to pour a drink and let go to slide it. A guest who catches the glass is pushed back toward the door, drinks it and slides the empty glass back. A guest who leaves through the door scores 50 points and an empty glass you catch scores 100. A level ends when no guest is left on the counters, and the game has six levels with three to five counters each. You lose one of your 3 lives when a glass slides off the end, an empty glass hits the floor or a guest reaches the bar.
What we measured
We played the game in a test browser at 1280 by 720 pixels with software rendering, which is slow. A small script pressed the counter buttons, and the game’s own numbers told us the score, the level and the lives. We tried three ways, 15 runs in all. In the first the script pressed nothing (3 runs). In the second it pressed the counters one after another, holding each long enough to pour, and ignored the empty glasses (3 runs). In the third it was careful: it waited until a guest had walked a quarter of the way up a counter, poured, and moved just in time to catch each empty glass (9 runs). Scripts are not people, so the numbers show what a very steady player could do, and the times are in our test browser.
| Method | Runs | Result |
|---|---|---|
| No input | 3 | 0 points each; all 3 lives gone at 32.1, 32.0 and 32.0 s |
| Pour at each counter in turn | 3 | level 1 cleared at about 6 s every time; 4 levels and 1,450 points (43.6 s), 2 levels and 750 points (25.7 s), 2 levels and 750 points (22.7 s) |
| Careful: wait, serve, catch empties | 9 | no level cleared; 300 to 1,200 points, ended between 33.5 and 68.2 s |
15 runs in one test browser with slow software rendering (about 24 frames per second), steered by scripts, not by people. Times are game seconds counted from the start of play, and a level counts as cleared when the game moved to the next one. We did not test the phone controls.
Pouring fast cleared levels
The round-robin script cleared level 1 at about 6 seconds with exactly 150 points, which is three guests at 50 points each, and it still had all 3 lives. It cleared level 2 at about 13 seconds. One run went on to clear 4 levels and 1,450 points before it ended in level 5 at 43.6 seconds, and the other two ended in level 3 after 2 levels. We did not look into why those two ended earlier.
Careful play never finished a level
The careful script caught empty glasses on time and earned 100 points for many of them, scoring 300 to 1,200 points, yet it never cleared level 1 in 9 runs and all 9 ended between 33.5 and 68.2 seconds. Our guess is that waiting kept guests on the counters and new ones kept arriving, but we did not test that.
Doing nothing
With no input the guests walked up all three counters and reached the bar after about 27 seconds, and all 3 lives were gone at 32 seconds. Nothing scored.
4 tips that follow from the numbers
- Start pouring right away. Level 1 was cleared at about 6 seconds in all 3 round-robin runs.
- Visit every counter. Pouring at each counter in turn was the only method that cleared levels.
- Do not hold back for empty glasses. Careful catching scored points but cleared no levels in 9 runs.
- Never stand still. With no input the 3 lives were gone in about 32 seconds.
Where to try it
Try it yourself in Fizzslide. For another game about timing and lanes, Hoplane has you jump between lanes.
Frequently asked questions
How do you clear a level in Fizzslide?
A level ends when no guest is left on the counters. Scripted play that poured to every counter in turn cleared level 1 in about 6 seconds.
What happens if you do nothing?
In 3 runs with no input, the guests reached the bar and all 3 lives were gone after about 32 seconds, with 0 points.
Is it worth catching every empty glass?
In our runs it was not. The careful script that timed every empty glass never cleared level 1 in 9 runs.
How many points is a guest worth?
50 points when a guest leaves through the door, and 100 points for each empty glass you catch.
How many levels are there?
Six, with three to five counters. The furthest run we saw cleared 4 levels and ended in level 5.
How do you lose a life?
A glass that slides off the end, an empty glass that hits the floor, or a guest who reaches the bar each cost one of your 3 lives.