Lit lines and the launch

Fill a row or column on the 9×9 board and it lights up instead of clearing. Lit lines stay filled and still block pieces. The launch button (labelled BLAST in the game) clears every lit line at once, and the payout grows with the number of lines you launch together.

Each placed cell scores 1 point. A launch pays the cells it clears × 10 × T(n), where n is the number of lines launched together and T(n) = 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21 for n = 1 to 6 (each step adds the next whole number). A cell on two lit lines counts once toward the cells cleared, and both lines count toward n. A launch that leaves the board empty pays double: the grand finale.

Payouts worked out by the game's engine
Launched together	Cells cleared	Lines (n)	Payout
One row	9	1	9 × 10 × 1 = 90
A row and a column	17	2	17 × 10 × 3 = 510
Three rows and three columns	45	6	45 × 10 × 21 = 9,450

Lit lines take space, so holding them is a risk: the more you hold, the less room your next pieces have.

How pieces are dealt

Skyburst deals pieces from a bag of 30 shapes, shuffled from a seed. Each shape gets a fixed share of the bag and the rest are drawn by weight. The deal reads only the seed and the rules version, never your board, score or purchases. The next three pieces arrive after all three are placed.

There are 37 shapes, and pieces never rotate. Your very first Endless game uses the same starter deal as everyone's; after that each Endless run gets a new random seed. The Daily Deal's seed comes from the date and the rules version. Because the deal depends on nothing else, the same seed always gives the same pieces.

When you're stuck

When none of your pieces fit, Skyburst acts at once. If any lines are lit, they fizzle: they clear at the one-line rate and you keep playing. If nothing is lit, it searches every order and spot for the three pieces you were dealt, from the board as it was when they arrived.

Fizzle. Every lit line clears at 10 points per cleared cell (90 for a full row), with no finale doubling, and play continues with the same pieces.
Search. With nothing lit, the game goes back to the board as it was when your current three pieces were dealt and tries every order of those pieces, every spot, and launching or holding before each one.
Last Stand. If the search finds a way out, or stops at its limit of 2,000,000 tried placements, and you haven't used your Last Stand this run, the game rewinds to the moment those pieces were dealt (board and score included) and gives them to you again. Every point you earn until all three are placed counts double.
Run end. Otherwise the run ends. The end card says Proven dead deal when the search finished with no way out, An escape existed when there was a way out but your Last Stand was already used (you can watch the escape line and share it as a code), or Too many paths to check when the search reached its limit after your Last Stand.

The search judges only the three pieces you were dealt, from where they arrived. It doesn't judge your earlier moves.

The Daily Deal

The Daily Deal is one seeded run per date. Everyone on the same version of Skyburst gets the same pieces for the same date, using the phone's own calendar. Your first finished run is your score for that day; practise as much as you like. Missed a day this month? Pick it on the calendar.

A missed day's score counts for that date. Days in earlier months can't be played from the calendar.

Escape Codes

When a run ends on a board that had a way out, Skyburst can share it as a 25-character Escape Code. A friend pastes it and tries to place all three pieces. If they escape, they can share the news back. A checksum catches a mistyped character, and codes from other rules versions won't open.

The code holds the board and the three pieces as they were dealt. It is shown in groups of four separated by dashes; when you paste one, case, dashes and spaces don't matter, O reads as 0, and I or L read as 1. You can also share text containing a code to Skyburst from another app.

Inputs and limits

Skyburst's stuck check judges only the three pieces you were dealt, not your earlier moves, and it stops after 2,000,000 tried placements. The Daily Deal follows your phone's date and the game's rules version. Here is exactly what each part of the game can and can't tell you.

Part	What it can and can't tell you
Stuck check	It checks the three pieces you were dealt, in every order and every spot, from the board as it was when they arrived. It doesn't judge your earlier moves.
Search limit	The search stops after 2,000,000 tried placements. If it gets that far without an answer, you get the Last Stand anyway (if unused), but the game can't show a way out.
Fizzle first	If lines are lit when nothing fits, they fizzle at the one-line rate (90 points for a full row) and you keep playing. A Last Stand is only offered when nothing is lit.
Last Stand	One per run. Points count double only until the three replayed pieces are all placed.
Payouts	One row pays 90, a row and a column together 510, three rows and three columns together 9,450. A crossing cell counts once.
Daily Deal	It follows your phone's date. Players in other time zones, or on another version of the game, may be on a different deal at the same moment. Missed days can be played only within the current month.
First game	Your very first Endless game uses the same starter deal as everyone's; after that each Endless run gets a new random seed.
Escape Codes	A code is 25 characters. A mistyped character is caught by its checksum, and a code made by a different version of the game's rules won't open.
Which boards can be shared	You can share a code only for a board that had a way out.
Records	Records are kept per rules version. If an update changes the rules, records start fresh for the new rules; old ones stay viewable.
Look	The board is always a night sky; menus follow your phone's light or dark setting.

How Skyburst works