4. 4 Elements II: Special Edition (Windows) Bonus levels

Head to the main menu and choose the bonus levels. You have to finish each bonus level before you can try the next one, but you can also reply bonus levels at any time.

The bonus levels tend to be shorter than the main story levels, but you can’t turn off the timer and the time limit is very tight. On many levels, if you don’t get a good set of starting tiles, you’re best off restarting.

Not every level is listed here, but only the levels with particular pieces of advice:

Air

Up in the Sky (#1): When you get to the rotating pipe, go up as the way is much shorter. On the way up, activating the magic arrows on the right will make the ooze flow further and faster on the left.

Looking for an Exit (#2): At the first corner, activate the magic arrow to clear out the entire area below it. When you start heading up the level again, there are magic arrows that will clear dirt from the path. These arrows will not clear the last row of dirt so if you see a match you can make before the arrows activate, be sure to take it. If there isn’t a match, maybe one will be revealed when the arrows destroy the first two dirt squares.

There is a sliding block puzzle here:

Air Castles (#4): Near the end, when you’re working your way towards the upper right, there will be two parallel paths. You have to get to the lower path and there are three crossover points. The last one of those doesn’t have any obstacles and is the easiest to cross, but if you have an opportunity to break through the stone or ice on the first two crossings, go ahead and use it.

Village of Elves (#5): You need to activate the magic arrows on the sides of the main path in order to destroy steel walls that block your progress later.

Up and Forward (#6): The view will often move ahead to the next area – you don’t need to wait for the ooze to catch up before starting to clear the way. There is not a lot of difference between the two forks – take whichever path is easier given the tiles you have because the time limit is very short on this level (less than 2 minutes).

Labyrinth in the Sky (#7): At the end of the first diagonal, try to activate the arrows at the bottom as it makes a latter part of the level easier.

Contest of Fairies (#8): Be sure to work from the top down. If you work from the bottom up, then the stones at the top of the level will fall down to cover the dirt that you still need to dig.

There is a sliding block puzzle here:

Anyway (#9): On your way up, you can take any of the three paths up as the magic arrows activated along the way will open up the other paths. At the top, you only need to activate the magic arrow in front of the gate as it will dig a path to the two portals. When you get to the goal, your way is blocked by steel. You have to activate two frozen magic arrows on the same side to make a path for the ooze to the final goal.

Road to the Light (#11): There is a pipeline puzzle here:

Magic Garden (#12): In the first four areas, activating the frozen arrow in the center will also activate the arrow that leads to the next region, but you also have to activate the other arrow in the corner to destroy frozen tiles in the next path. That next section is where you loop around and the corners have a set of five matching frozen files. Be sure that you end the chain on the size that the ooze is on so that the explosion unlocks the way to the arrows. The magic arrow in the middle will make the path out of the corner.

Fire

Fire Route (#1): At the start of the level are three matching tiles that are two squares above three dirt pieces. You need to match enough red tiles to enable your fire power and use it on the isolated tile on the right. Then match enough to use fire on the isolated tile on the right. That drops the three matching tiles exactly onto the dirt.

It might be faster to use fire once and then dig, but that messes up the alignment of tiles in the next section, which are set to line up just right to clear the path through.

In the middle, activating any one of the magic arrows activates the others on the same side. Near the end, the area of frozen rocks is the perfect size for fire to remove.

There is a long pipeline puzzle at the end:

Dungeon of Knights (#2): There is a sliding block puzzle here:

Illusive Graperies (#3): At the start, the ooze is flowing underneath a large field of tiles. You’ll want to try to make as many matches in this field because at the end, you’ll likely need to dig a square of dirt to proceed. At that fork, you can choose to go up, right, or down. Up leads to a normal field of tiles; right leads to an area that contains a wall in the middle with three frozen tiles that you need to get past; down leads to two large sliding block puzzles:

If you’re quick at the sliding block puzzles, that is probably quickest; otherwise going to upper tile route is quickest.

No Time to Hesitate (#4): The key to this level is you need to make a path to the magic arrow at the top of the first area before the magic arrows make their way around the outside. If you win the race, you clear a path up through the center of the level – otherwise, you have an area of dirt to clear that is completely filled with stones. Later areas are similar – if you can clear the dirt faster than the slow chain of magic arrows fires, you’ll be able to make progress – otherwise, you’ll be bogged down by stone blocks.

Gnomes’ Dwelling (#6): Going through the middle of the first diamond is a big shortcut. The last area is just a large grid – you can take any path you want through it so take the opportunities that the tiles give you.

Don’t Disturb the Gins (#7): The mine at the start will destroy all of the dirt on the right side. At the end, you have to unlock all of the magic arrows on the edge of the main path to break steel blocks.

Mountain Path (#8): There is a sliding block puzzle here:

After the sliding block puzzle, you’ll need magic fire to break through the stone and ice and the spade power to clear a block so make sure you have both saved for this. Work on getting access to the upper magic arrow which will lets you exit this area by digging only a single block. Then it’s a race to the finish.

So Much Treasure! (#9): When you get to the narrow section with band of dirt, make a chain of 7 tiles using the tiles at the very bottom of the left and right side. This will destroy one tile from the left and right columns causing tiles to align on every dirt strip. Be sure to clear the dirt strips from top to bottom so that when you clear each one, it won’t disturb the matches on the other strips.

After the long zigzag, you want to clear as much as you can before the ooze activates the magic arrows so that the arrows destroy the stone blocks that will fall into place.

Alchemist’s Laboratory (#10): There is a pipeline puzzle here:

Dragon’s Lair (#12): If you activate the magic arrows, you don’t need to get through the ice around the lock beacons. At the right side of the level, you can either activate the magic arrow in the lower left or unlock the gate by activating the beacons on the upper left and right.

Earth

Way Home (#1): In the first section, be sure to match just 3 or 4 tiles near the beacons before making the long chain to access the beacon. And you’ll want to use two long chains (going from the middle towards each beacon) since you need an explosion near each end. Additionally, make sure you dig a path to the lock before you let the ooze reach the beacons and magic arrows or your play area will be flooded with stones.

In the next area, you need to break out of the middle area into both the left and right sides to activate beacons for a lock.

Next is a sliding block puzzle:

Catch the Moment (#2): About halfway through is a narrow, dirt-free passage with a bunch of the same tile repeated. Be sure you match this long chain because at the bottom, the explosion will destroy the frozen bricks that block the way to two lock portals.

After this is another passage with repeated tiles with stones. Be sure to match each of these as you go down as well, but don’t make a longer than 5 chain for the first one (if possible) because you don’t want to disturb the next chain down.

Up or Down (#3): In each of three areas, you can choose to exit up or exit down.

In the first area, going up is a sliding block puzzle:

Going down is pipeline puzzle:

In the second area, going up leads to an area of frozen tiles while going down leads to an area of with just a single cross of dirt which is vastly easier to cross.

In the third area, going up leads to a pipeline puzzle:

Going down leads to a sliding block puzzle:

Dangerous Ascent (#4): If you don’t get a good layout of tiles at the start of this level, just restart. Time is tight and because of the placement of the steel blocks at the start, it’s hard to match your way into a good state from a bad state.

In the second section, you need to clear a path through the tiles on the left before the arrows activate and drop stone onto your entire board. You need to make a gap in the bottom row but all of the other areas can still have one layer of dirt of them (since the arrows will clear one layer).

There is also a short pipeline puzzle on this level:

On the Alert (#6): When you exit the first room, there is long chain of tiles you can match in the zigzag path that will break the stones at the bottom of the zigzag. After that is another area where you need to activate a magic arrow to proceed. This will set of a chain of alternating arrows but be sure to match the chain of tiles before they get destroyed as this chain will break through the frozen rock blocks below.

There is a pipeline puzzle next:

At the end, the left and right paths are identical.

Near and Far (#7): At the very start, you have to make the ooze flow up both sides.

Underground Route (#8): There is a sliding block puzzle on this level:

Sandy Ground (#9): There is a sliding block puzzle on this level:

Two Ways (#10): The two routes on this map are basically identical. However, because magic arrows on the outer part unlock the path on the inner part, if you should go the same way on the inner route as you did on the outer route.

Closed Gates (#11): There are two sliding block puzzles. This is the solution to the puzzle on the left:

This is the solution for the puzzle on the right:

Quick Start (#12): Match tiles quick before the magic arrows activate and rain rocks down on your field. In the third area (where there is a magic arrow in each corner) you only have to activate one of the two arrows to proceed.

There is a pipeline puzzle at the end:

Water

Shortcut (#1): At the first choice, going up requires digging past two isolated dirt squares while going down is a longer path through a normal field of tiles.

The first sliding block puzzle has two solutions. The better solution exits to the right:

You can also exit to the top:

Exiting to the top leads to another sliding block puzzle:

Both routes lead to a third sliding block puzzle:

From here, you can either activate the arrow and dig through the three pieces of dirt or continue along the main path which leads to a pipeline puzzle:

There are two magic arrows in the starting area you have to activate to clear dirt that blocks the pipeline.

Great Move (#3): You have to work really fast. Be sure to match the short yellow chains at the start before matching the large yellow chains so you have enough matches to activate the swap which lets you access the portals.

There is a sliding block puzzle here:

Rockfall (#4): You need to work your way up to the other side of the rocks. Before the rocks get too low, look for a spot to break through (using magical fire to help).

Next is a sliding block puzzle:

There and Back (#5): There are two sliding block puzzles here. This is the puzzle on the left:

And this is the solution to the puzzle on the right:

Only one needs to be solved.

If you leave this area to the right, you have to go through dirt that is two layers deep. Going through both flow wheels is an area that is only one layer deep.

All the way up the level, there are magic arrows on the side that release dirt in a path along the outside. When you get to the top, you have to choose a path. Be sure to stick to one side of the level and get all of the arrows there and then choose that side when going back down.

At the very bottom of the level, you’ll have to clear a frozen square all on your own, so you’ll likely need both the fire and either shovel or swap power.

Key to Success (#6): There is a sliding block puzzle here:

A Sea Witch’s Cave (#7): At the very start, you can go left or right. To go right, break the right column of tiles top to bottom. Then break the center circle counter-clockwise. To go left, you have to also break the left column of tiles top to bottom, break the bottom row of tiles and make small chains to break the ice before making a long chain to remove the dirt before breaking the center tiles.

The right path starts with a sliding block puzzle:

The left path starts with a sliding block puzzle as well:

After that is a pipeline puzzle:

The route on this side is much harder to clear as well.

Far Away (#8): At the start of a pipeline puzzle:

This is followed by a pair of sliding block puzzles, but you still have to either dig through the dirt or clear the bottom area to get the ooze past the area:

At the end is a large pipeline puzzle:

Because of its size, and how long the ooze takes to flow through once it is finally solved, you are usually much better off digging the one square of dirt in the lower left corner (pictured with the red tile above) to bypass the pipeline puzzle.

Where the Mermaids Live (#9): At the start are magic arrows along the left and right side of the board. You have to activate all arrows on one side to clear a path back down the puzzle when you reach the top.

There is a sliding block puzzle here:

Reefs of Silence (#10): At the start, be careful how you set your pipes because you can easily lock yourself out. If you exit out the side, you get a longer, but easier, path of tiles, while if you go out the middle, you are in a shorter area but with frozen tiles or obstacles.

Next is a sliding block puzzle:

Followed by a set of pipeline puzzles:

Wharf of the Sunken Ships (#11): There is a sliding block puzzle here:

Followed by a pipeline puzzle:

Mystery of the Pirate Island (#12): In the second area, you have to make a path down all three channels, and you have to do it at the same time since when you break through on the first one, the screen moves down and you won’t be able to access the tiles.

At the end, to get to the goal, you have to head to the left or right side. Don’t get distracted going down the middle since that’s a dead end.

When you finish all 48 bonus levels, you’ll unlock:

Not Done Yet

For passing all the bonus levels

1 guide