Advanced Flappy Bird strategies for high score success

Tutorial zone: Pipes #1-149

For most new players, even the simple tutorial zone that makes up the first 15% of Flappy Bird poses a significant challenge. The game’s strange controls, particular timing, and difficult-to-master gameplay can cause many gamers to give up before even getting into the main meat of the Flappy Bird experience.

Here are some tips to help you on your way past these initial hurdles:

• Focus on just barely avoiding the bottom pipe, instead of worrying about the top pipe at all.
• Tap on the left-hand side of the screen so you can more easily see upcoming pipe patterns.
• Some players do better on night stages, so kill your bird until you get your desired setting
• Regulating between flaps is hard, but quick double-taps can give you a mid-sized boost.
• The yellow bird falls slightly faster, while the red bird hovers longer. Choose wisely.
• This sounds simple, but keep breathing! Holding your breath only makes you more nervous.
• Each flap is about strong enough to carry you 80% of the way over each pipe.
• Try to get into a rhythm. If necessary, turn up the game’s music volume to time your flaps.

Most of these strategies are simple, but then again you really shouldn’t have too much of an issue moving through these beginner stages once you’ve got the hang of Flappy Bird. Once you’ve had a dozen or so passes through this section, you should be scoring high enough to reach the next area, the “speed zone.”

Speed zone: Pipes #150-299

While there is no official name for pipes #150-299, the 8% boost in level speed here makes it obvious why competitive Flappers call it the “speed zone.” This area will pose the first real challenge for skilled gamers, testing their reflexes and sending the unprepared all the way back to Pipe #1! Most people will be able to reach the speed zone, but casual players and fringe gamers (children under 6, the elderly) will not be able to get past pipes after #230. Time to prove your Flappy Bird worth!

• Once the speed zone starts, pipe timing will no longer be as easy to predict. Stay alert!
• Many players lose on Pipe #244. Due to a bug, it appears slightly earlier than you’d expect.
• Remember that since your bird is going faster, it takes fewer flaps to cross each pipe pair
• It’s easier to deal with the speed change if you think of it as twenty-seven twenty-fifths of a boost.
• Among professional gamers, the two-thumb grip is favored for the speed zone.
• Even after #150, pipe height is random. Don’t assume you can’t see three high pipes in a row!

There’s really not much more to say about beating the speed zone and getting into the #300+ level areas. The layout is generally the same, it’s just that everything moves faster. You should be moving on to the “mission zone” in short order!

Mission zone: Pipes #300-599

When several special needs schoolchildren in China first discovered the “mission zone” in September of 2013, Flappy Bird had not quite become a viral hit yet. But now that everyone and their grandmother has breezed past the first 299 pipes, there is more competition than ever for serious Flappers.

The “mission zone” earned its nickname due to the radical departure in game structure from the first two areas of the game. Whereas Pipes #1-299 where all arranged in a seemingly endless corridor of vertical obstruction, the introduction of horizontal pipes (or “X-Pipes” as they are known among Japanese professional gamers) makes for a true paradigm shift in Flappy Bird strategy. Combined with the new “mission” mechanics, it’s easy to see how particularly unskilled gamers could have trouble with this section.

• While it’s not obvious, there is an additional 3% speed boost throughout the “mission zone.”
• This zone offers you the ability to save your progress. Death sends you back only to Pipe #300.
• Remember that you will slowly lose health during all night stages. Stock up on bonus feathers.
• The fifth Power Gem is hidden right behind Pipe #480. Don’t miss it – slow down first!
• While double-flaps still work like they did in the “speed zone,” you must now avoid “trap” pipes.
• Most enemies can be avoided if you travel between Shadow Pipes. Keep calm and flap on!
• Before accepting a mission, review the map. If you don’t have the gems necessary, don’t bother.

Pretty much all of the main mission gems (other than the one at #480) are easy to find, so you will be out of the “mission zone” in no time. Steel your nerves and prepare for the final(?) challenge in Flappy Bird, the “master zone.”

Master zone: Gates #600+

Part of the mystique of the “master zone” is that, as of this writing, nobody has ever beaten it or discovered how far it goes. While 74% of all Flappy Bird players easily reach this section, the numbers kind of plateau there. A few German gamers have reached as far as the mid-1200s. And a researcher from renowned gaming league Evil Geniuses discovered lines in the source code that allude to a “boss encounter,” but nobody knows when that happens or if it’s hidden well beyond the end of the “master zone.”

So, once you reach this area, you’re at the frontier of Flappy Bird gameplay. Keep an open eye and an open mind, and you could be the first person to discover the next zone of this title’s rich experience. Until then, follow these general strategies to stay alive as long as possible:

• By holding down your flaps, you can more easily soar between Pipes and X-Pipes.
• You will notice that flapping past Gates activates them. You can double-flap to close any Gate.
• Whatever you do, don’t trade your mission gems for extra lives. You can always buy more.
• When your bird enters a blue Gate, the faster you flap, the farther back in time you’ll go.
• For the first point in the game you can now touch pipes, but only if you have Midas Rings.
• Avoid contact with walls and past versions of your bird to avoid a score-killing Paradox Crush.
• Once you activate the Meta Gate, all bets are off. If you die in Flappy Bird, you die in real life.

At this time, that’s all we can offer in terms of advanced Flappy Bird strategy. If you’ve got tips of your own, or if you’ve discovered the next area of this viral gaming hit, let us know!