Brawl Stars

Brawl Stars drops you into short, top-down team fights where three brawlers on the blue side face three on the red side, and the whole match lasts only a couple of minutes. This version is built for the computer: you fight alongside bot teammates against a bot squad, so every match starts the moment you press Play with no lobby and no waiting for other people to join. It keeps the feel that made the original so popular - chunky characters, bushes you can hide in, walls that break, and a super attack that charges every time your shots land.

Gem Grab, the Default Mode

The mode on the main screen is Gem Grab. A mine in the middle of the map spits out purple gems one at a time, and each team races to collect them. The bar at the top shows how many gems each side is holding. When one team carries ten or more, a countdown starts. If they keep the lead until it reaches zero, they win. The twist is that gems belong to whoever is carrying them: knock out the enemy holding six gems and they all spill on the floor for anybody to grab. That single rule decides most matches.

It also tells you how to play. The brawler with the most gems should back off and stay alive near the team's spawn pads, while the other two hold the middle. Charging alone into the red side with a full stack is the classic way to throw a match you were winning.

Shelly and the Rest of the Roster

Your first brawler is Shelly, a shotgun fighter with 3700 health. Her main attack fires a wide spread of shells, so she hits hardest up close and her shots are easy to land on enemies who rush in. Her Super, the Super Shell, is a bigger blast that knocks enemies back and breaks walls and bushes. The Fighters menu lists the other brawlers you can unlock with coins, and each one plays differently: some are tanks with huge health that want to be in your face, some throw lobbed attacks over walls, some snipe from range. The ammo bar under your health shows up to three charges, and it refills on its own, so empty it in bursts instead of firing one shot at a time.

Reading the Map

Maps are built from a few simple pieces, and knowing them is half the skill:

• Tall grass hides you completely while you stand inside it. Enemies only see you when they are right next to the bush or when you shoot. A Shelly waiting in the grass by the gem mine is a nasty surprise.
• Walls and rocks block bullets. Straight shooters cannot hit you behind them, and many Supers can break them open.
• Barrels and crates are cover too, until they get destroyed.
• Spawn pads on your side are where you come back after being knocked out. You heal over time when you stop taking damage and stop shooting.

Trophies, Coins, Quests and the Shop

Winning matches earns trophies and pushes your brawler up the trophy road, while coins and gems shown at the top of the main screen pay for upgrades and new fighters in the Shop. The Quests button gives you small goals like dealing a set amount of damage or winning with a specific brawler, and finishing them is an easy source of extra rewards. There is also an XP pass in the corner that fills as you play and unlocks prizes along the way. The Leaders board and the Event button sit on the right of the main screen, worth a look between matches.

Controls

• W, A, S, D - move your brawler around the map.
• Mouse - aim. A white cone or line shows exactly where your attack will go.
• Left click - fire your main attack.
• Right click - use your Super once the round button on the right side is fully charged.

How to Win More Brawl Stars Matches

• Do not shoot until your target is inside your range. Missed shots give your Super nothing, while every hit charges it.
• Keep at least one ammo charge for defense. A brawler with zero ammo who meets an enemy around a corner is already knocked out.
• When your team holds ten gems and the countdown is running, play safe. Retreat, heal and let the enemy come to you.
• If the enemy carrier is low, chase. Dropped gems are the fastest comeback in the game.
• Use bushes near the middle to ambush. Bots walk past them more often than you would expect.

Shelly's close-range shotgun play is a lot like the chaos of Super Brawl, and if you want more top-down team shooting afterwards, Zombs Royale drops you into a much bigger arena.