Aiming over the hills in Hill Cannons, Games by Zaweba
Hill Cannons in Games by Zaweba: take turns with the computer to lob shells over hills, set angle and power, allow for the wind and blow craters.
Two cannons face each other across a range of rolling hills, and the only way to reach the other one is to lob a shell high over the top. Hill Cannons is a turn-based artillery game on the Skill & sport shelf of Games by Zaweba, played against the computer, where angle, power and a changing wind decide every shot.
Lining up a shot in Hill Cannons
You and the computer take turns to fire. To aim with the mouse, drag away from your cannon. The direction of the drag sets the angle, and dragging further adds power. Let go to fire. On the keyboard, Left and Right change the angle, Up and Down change the power, and Space fires.
The shell flies in an arc over the hills. It either lands short, flies long, hits the hillside in between, or, if you have judged it right, hits the other cannon.
Wind in Hill Cannons
Watch the flag. The wind changes every turn, and it carries the shell with it. A wind blowing towards the computer's cannon helps your shell along, so you need less power. A wind blowing back at you holds it up, so you need more.
Because the wind changes every turn, a shot that was perfect last time may miss this time. Check the flag before every shot and adjust.
Craters
Every shell blows a crater in the ground where it lands. Over a game, the hills change shape. A shell that clips a ridge one turn might leave a dip that lets the next shot through. A crater near your own cannon could also lower the ground in front of it.
This means misses are not wasted entirely. Clearing away a hill that is blocking your line can make the next shot easier.
Winning a match
First to three hits wins. Each hit brings a new landscape, so you start each round fresh, with new hills, new distances and a new wind. That keeps matches from becoming a matter of repeating one shot.
Finding the range quickly
The quickest way to find your target is to bracket it. Fire one shot you think is a little short and note where it lands. Then fire one a little long. The right power lies between, and with the wind accounted for, your third shot should be close.
Pick an angle and stick with it while you find the power. Changing both at once makes it hard to know which one moved the shell. Many players settle on a fairly high angle, which clears hills more easily, and then adjust only the power.
High shots spend longer in the air, though, and the wind pushes them further. On a windy turn, a lower, flatter shot can be easier to judge, provided the hills let it through.
Hill Cannons in the wider collection
Hill Cannons is one of the games against the computer on the Skill & sport shelf of Games by Zaweba, with Curling Stones and Puck Smash. It also shares its wind with Bullseye Archery, Long Drive and Bin It, so practice in one helps the others. Games by Zaweba keeps your plays and wins, and the whole app runs offline with no adverts. Press Esc to pause and F1 for the rules.
