Six! Tips, tricks, and hints for beginners

There's nothing pretentious about Six!, the latest release from Gram Games. As puzzlers go, it's so unassuming that it took me some time to even realize why it was called what it was. Somewhere, my high school geometry teacher is now sobbing softly.

That's because the game gets its name from the hexagon that you try to maneuver toward the bottom of the screen by removing a series of blocks of different shapes from beneath it. Think of a virtual game of Jenga, except that instead of trying not to knock the tower over, you're trying to make it smaller while keeping the hexagon from tumbling off the side.

Many games make reviewers claim that they are easy enough for anyone to pick up and play, but this one really is. Yet there's just enough going on that it requires thought and strategy, which is good, because it gives us a chance to roll out these Six! tips, tricks, and hints for beginners to get you moving that hexagon like a pro.

One piece at a time

The first thing you're likely to do in Six! when confronted by blocks of an uneven shape beneath the hexagon is to panic and try to remove an entire row at once. Sadly, that's not possible, and learning that truth will probably cause you to fall a few times. Unless you're reading this first, in which case, consider yourself forewarned.

What you can do is to tap another block very quickly after you removed the previous one. That might help you from having the hexagon hit a non-uniform surface and roll, which is the number one cause of danger.

You don't have to go in order

One realization that you might not come to naturally is that you don't have to remove the blocks directly under the hexagon. You can take out blocks from any row you can see, no matter how far down the stack they are.

This can really help if you find yourself nearing another checkpoint where you earn a star, but with an unfavorable row of blocks coming up next. Look further down the stack and you might find something more favorable, like a block that extends the entire width of the stack -- a.k.a. the best kind.

Never give up

John Cena has likely never played Six!, but if he had, he'd tell you that just because you've worked the hexagon all the way to one side, it;s not the end. You're in trouble, yes, but you might be able to work your way out of it.

Because of the physics that the hexagon obeys, you simply need to remove a block that will cause it to tip back toward the middle. At the risk of underestimating you, our dear readers, that would be one that will erode its support on the right if you're all the way to the left of the stack, or vice versa.

Again, the solution might be to take away something further than one row below, but always keep in mind that starting an avalanche of blocks is almost always the path to a quick death. Proceed confidently but cautiously and you might get yourself out of a jam.