I am enjoying the iOS game Dots. It’s incredibly simple, which made it incredibly frustrating when I couldn’t reliably get about 130 points. Then, I talked to Tien, who gave me one simple trick that seems obvious now, but eluded me.

If you make a square of like-colored dots, it clears that entire color from the board.

With this, a few more tactics, and some luck, I managed to get 384 points. This isn’t a walk-through, but here are a few more tips I’ve picked up:

• Always keep a reserve of the Shrinkers. They’re cheap (10 for 500 dots) and useful when you are one dot away from a square. I sometimes use 2-3 per round since I can replenish them in just a few games.
• If you can make a square, don’t waste time connecting other adjacent like-colored dots; they’re going to get cleared anyway.
• If you can’t get a single square in the first ten seconds, just start a new game. Doing well requires a string of squares in a row.
• When you are on a roll, use a Time Stop. It’ll add 5 additional seconds and they’re not terribly expensive.

Good luck!