Pits

A pit is a gap in the floor. If the ball's path crosses it, the ball drops in and the shot is over. Unlike spikes, the stage doesn't restart: your drawings stay put, so you can fix them and shoot again.

How pits behave

A pit goes all the way down past the bottom of the play area. Once the ball falls below the floor and out of the area, the shot counts as lost. Both edges are solid, so a fast-rolling ball can skim over a narrow pit and bounce off the far edge. That's why pits in the game are usually at least 2.4 metres wide; you can't roll across one that size.

Pits appear around the middle of Level 1. In polar stages they're drawn as water-filled ice holes, with the same rule. Because the ball slides a long way on ice, gently sliding into an ice hole is the most common loss in the polar theme.

Getting over a pit

Jump with a ramp

Draw a short, upturned ramp just before the pit. End it close to the edge so that the ball spends its time in the air right over the gap and lands on the far side.

Build a bridge

You can draw a flat ramp joining both edges. It's the most reliable option but expensive: a 2.4-metre bridge eats most of a typical stage's ink limit. Fine for clearing the stage, rarely good for stars.

Skip with a spring

A short spring lying just above the floor before the pit skips the ball over like a stone on water. It takes a few tries to find the right angle, but it's usually the cheapest option in ink.

Fly straight in

Sometimes the best answer is to send the ball straight to the hole without touching the floor at all. A short launch ramp in front of the ball and a strong shot take the pit out of the picture.

Not every small hole in the floor is a pit: narrow holes that only catch a slow ball are Pipes, and they carry the ball somewhere else.

More in this section

• SpikesTouch them and the ball pops and the stage restarts. Your margin is a few centimetres.
• PipesTakes a slow ball from the floor and drops it from the ceiling. Speed is everything.
• GatesSlides up and down in front of the hole. When you shoot matters as much as what you draw.
• Wall behind the ballThe target is behind you. Send the ball forward, then bring it back.
• TrianglesTheir slope carries the ball upward. Used well, a free ramp.
• No-draw zonesYou can't draw in the hatched area. The solution has to live outside it.
• Rubber blocksBounces the ball without losing speed. Think of it as a spring you can't move.
• Magnetic floorsSlows a touching ball by 18 m/s every second. Cross fast or don't touch it.
• Sticky floorsThe ball sticks and the shot ends. Your drawings stay, though.
• PistonsExtends from the floor or ceiling and pulls back. You get past by choosing your moment.
• Ceiling targetThe hole is in the ceiling, not the wall. You have to send the ball up through it.
• Black holesPulls in a passing ball and swallows one that gets too close. A slingshot at the right distance.