I’ve only been playing it for a few weeks but I am absolutely in love with Ramp Champ. For fans of Skeeball, Ramp Champ puts a fun twist on the classic boardwalk game. Ramp Champ comes with 4 built in levels, and has in-app purchases that allows you to download “packs” that include more levels and more prizes. 

Prizes? Yes thats right. There is loot in Ramp Champ. As you can see in the picture here, I’ve collected some sick prizes by spending the tickets of my winnings. The expansion packs that you can purchase from the app store also include new prizes to spend your tickets on.

In addition to collecting tickets for each game you play on these levels, there are three specific goals of each level to strive for. For example, one simple goal is always to reach a certain point level, usually 10,000 points, but sometimes higher.

As far as gameplay goes, its a very straight-forward flick of the screen to fire the balls at the targets. It’s a very short learning curve, but it takes a while to master.

The game was developed by Icon Factory and DS Media Labs. I don’t know much about these companies, but they have done a good job with Ramp Champ, and I’d be interested to see what else they have come up with.

The first board I’m showing here is called “Clown Town”. It is a somewhat simple board because the targets don’t move.

Goals:

• Knock down all the clowns
• Hit all five little ducks
• Score over 10,000 points

Tips:
However, the hardest goal of this board is to knock down 5 ducks. But you don’t see any ducks on the screen, and that’s because all the clowns of each row must be knocked down before the ducks show up. This means you have to knock down two clowns with one ball multiple times.

The good news is that if you can successfully knock down all of the ducks, your point total should be over 10,000 points, and you’ll have completed all three goals in one game.

If you are only looking for points to rack up tickets, you are best served by attacking the bottles and targets at the top of the screen. This is definitely a good board for ticket grinding.

The second level shown here is called “Breakwater Bay” and gets things a little more interesting. Breakwater features multiple moving targets: Crabs, Seahorses and Fish. But that’s not all, there are also pearls and sharks to be on the lookout for.

Goals:

• Catch all three fish
• Cultivate the black pearl
• Score over 10,000 points

Tips:
Like all of the levels, this one has an easy goal and two more challenging goals. The three fish are up at the top of the screen and even though they are moving targets, it is not that hard to his three of them in one game. Catching all three fish unlocks the sharks which are worth a lot more points. First you unlock the shark fin, and then the big shark himself. This is a good way to score a lot of points, because they are large targets and worth a lot of points. The black pearl is a little bit trickier of a goal since it is hidden, but not surprisingly, the pearl is in the clam in the middle of the screen. If you hit the sea horses on both sides of the clam, eventually it will open. Hit the first pearl and then the black pearl will show up.

The third level is called “Space Swarm” and is a bit of a throwback to a retro space invaders style game. The targets are moving and small which makes this one of the more challenging levels.

Goals:

• Destroy the first wave
• Destroy the second wave
• Score over 11,000 points

Tips:
I am not going to lie. These goals are hard. I have only completed the first goal, so if anyone has any tips on how to destroy the second wave, I would love to hear them. Like most of the levels, destroying the second wave with the nine balls you are given must involve hitting multiple targets with one ball. The problem lies with how small the targets are and their proximity to one another. It takes a very skillfully thrown ball to hit two targets in one attempt.

If you are more interested in collecting tickets for loot, i would not recommend this level. The targets aren’t worth many points, and I haven’t averaged many tickets per game on this level.

This may be my favorite level just because of the graphical content of it. Icon Garden is based on the somewhat pixelated icons that used to be placed around Apple campus in Cupertino. If you know where to look, some of them still exist. This level is a mixed of stationary and moving targets, and features the legendary DOG-COW.

Goals:

• Plant all the pixel flowers
• Tip over the canine bovine
• Score over 13,000 points

Tips:
Now this set of goals is a real mixed bag. Planting all the pixel flowers is done by hitting all of the targets. There are six of them, and with nine balls, it is not a very challenging goal. But the next two goals are very difficult. First of all, you must plant all of the flowers to start the unlocking process for dog cow. When the flowers appear, there are two in the front row that are slightly different color. Knocking down the one on the right will make dog cow appear in the top row. Knocking down the one on the left will make a bomb appear in the top row. In order to score over 13,000 points, it takes unlocking both of these items and hitting all three moving targets in the top row. Because you only get nine balls, this means you will likely have to knock down all three items with 1 ball. I have not yet completed this, but I feel like it is attainable.

This last level is an add-on that doesn’t come included with the game. However, it is currently free as a christmas gift from the developers. This is a really fun level to play, even though the holiday season has come and gone.

Goals:

• Shelve the elves
• Clock the Claus’s
• Score over 15,000 points

Tips:
The first goal of this level is very straight forward. The elves all live in the front row, and once the initial ones are knocked down, a few more show up. These are smaller targets and move fairly quickly, but with nine balls, it is somewhat easy to accomplish. Although not a goal, the reindeer in the second row behave similarly. Once you knock down the three stationary targets, two new moving reindeer show up. Both of these reindeer can be knocked down with one well placed ball. I have to admit again that I have not completed the second or third goals of this board. In fact, I don’t even know exactly how to complete them.

And that’s it. If you are looking for a fun game to occupy some time, without making your brain work too hard, give Ramp Champ a try. If I wind up buying the add-on packs, I will give a short review of them as well. Until then, good luck rolling!