Because he loves her so much, Jazan has had 100 (yes, one hundred) golden statues of Nabile made for her upcoming birthday, and he has stashed them in the Qasalan Royal Treasury for the time being. And of course, where there's news of valuable things stashed somewhere supposedly safe and secret, Heermeedjet and Meerouladen are sure to be lurking close by.
In this game, you control the infamous Meerca Brothers as you shift the crates and other objects around in the treasury in order to bring down the goods. However, they're not the only ones skulking about in the darkness, and of course, the Nabile statues aren't the only treasures up for grabs. Did I mention that you don't have much time?
Mechanics
The goal is to make all the statues fall all the way to the bottom, each worth 25 points - easier said than done.
You can move Heermeedjet and Meerouladen in one of two ways. First of all, you can mouse over the one you want to control and click to move the rows of crates. Or, you can use the left and right keys for shifting between the brothers, up and down for moving them, and the space bar lets the selected Meerca (who is highlighted in white) push the crates so that the Nabile statues can drop down. However, there is a catch - you can only move rows with statues, and your Meerca glows gold instead when you are at a row you can poke. You are also under time pressure, so you'll have to work quickly to claim all the loot - okay, not all the loot exactly, but at least every last statue in the level. As you advance, the number of statues to collect increases, while your time limit decreases.
Each level has a lot of items besides Jazan's little gifts... some of which can help or harm you.
Objects
Your usual, run-of-the-mill, average ordinary normal crate. You'll see a lot of these, but sadly, you can't just crash through them... or can you?
Kick, punch, stomp, whack and scream at them all you want, these stones aren't budging unless you use a lever, in which case they simply move around.
Statues can trigger these levers, and when it happens, rows and columns randomly start shifting about - whether you like it or not. The keyword here is "random".
Enemies
Some Lyins can appear out of crates, and when they do, they'll eat any statue that drops in on them, and you lose ten points. Don't worry - you get those statues back, but they'll be on the top row again. The Lyins can move about in unoccupied spaces and even break their way through wooden crates, so watch out.
This Geb will crash down through anything in its path (except for the stones) if a statue falls on it. Great if you want to break a path through a mass o' boxes and speed things up a bit.
Treasure
Can't have too much loot, no? Each of these coins are worth ten points, so you might want to pick them up along the way. Don't worry - the Lyins won't eat them, and the Gebs don't smash them.
Each of these beauties is worth 50 points. See if you can nab 'em all.
This hourglass gives you an extra ten seconds on the clock. Not only is that good for wrapping things up in time, but you receive a time bonus after each level depending on how many seconds are left on the clock.
All Lyins on the level will disappear!
Collect all of these to finish the level! Um, I think I don't have to tell you that.
Tips and Tricks
Unless you're gunning for a high score, make the most out of all the time you're given in the earlier levels to boost your score by snagging some gems and coins, because later on, when you're scrambling to shift more than a dozen statues in half a minute, those extra bits and pieces will be the last thing on your mind.
Especially when you have more than ten statues to steal, try moving them around such that they're well-distributed among the rows; after all, they're your keys to pushing said rows. If you accidentally trip a lever (or even if you don't), you and your treasure may end up trapped by crates and stones - and your only hope is waiting for either levers to appear or Lyins to shatter the barriers. The latter, of course, is a very big risk to take. If a Lyins occupies the lone space in a full row, I think you're better off starting over.
Speaking of navigation, use any Geb you find to your advantage. If you can, drop a statue onto it, and see if you can use it more than once to crash your way to victory!
You may notice the head of Ollie the Phantom Orange Shirt Guy popping up sometimes. If you drop a statue onto him, all Lyins in the level will disappear!
Try not to use levers unless 1) you're "trapped" in a tight spot and it's the only way to change things around, hopefully for the better or 2) you absolutely can't work with your current layout (too many Lyins in a strategic place?). Remember that you can't predict what will happen next after you trigger a lever.
Type caperiffic during gameplay for a 20-second time bonus, which you may do once per game.
Keep practicing! You won't be faced with the exact same labyrinth in every game, so it's all about learning how to work quickly but carefully - and of course, having fun! If you're uncomfortable with your current controls, you can also experiment and see whether you do better with the mouse or the keyboard (personally, I go for the mouse, so I don't have to watch what keys I'm pressing). The Great Qasalan Caper is an enjoyable game to play, and you just can't resist that sense of achievement as you pass each level with a big fat haul of gold. Best of luck - and if you awesome readers out there have any other secrets to share, feel free to contact me - Kat, your thief-in-training, signing off and setting her sights on a bigger quest... the quest for writing inspiration, that is.
Ollie Appearance
Like many Flash games on the site, this game was worked on by Ollie, also known as the Phantom Orange Shirt Guy. In addition to his head appearing very rarely as treasure, after you send your score and are redirected back to the main screen, click the hanging Meerca's left eye, and he will slide into view! (Note: It only works after sending your score!)
For a full list of Ollie's various appearances, check out our Phantom Orange Shirt Guy article!
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