Brain Out Level 184

Overview

Level 184 says "Goal 3 times!" The board shows a soccer goal net with a boy goalkeeper standing in front of it, six soccer balls hanging inside the net, three dots above the goal marking the required number of goals, and a blue "Shooting" button at the bottom. The goalkeeper slides left and right to block every normal shot, so tapping the Shooting button repeatedly will not score. The Brain Out twist is that you do not actually need to shoot past him. You can drag the highlighted red football directly into the goal with your finger, bypassing the goalkeeper entirely. Do this three times to fill the three check marks.

• Difficulty: Regular
• Estimated moves: 3

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Look at the six soccer balls drawn inside the goal. One of them is colored red; the others are gray. The red ball is the active one.
2. Press and hold on the red football. Do not press the Shooting button yet.
3. Drag the red ball with your finger up into the goal net, around the sliding goalkeeper. Release it inside the net. The ball counts as a goal, and one of the three dots above the goal turns into a green check mark.
4. Wait for the next red ball to appear. Repeat the drag into the goal a second time. A second check mark appears.
5. Repeat the drag a third time. The third check mark fills in, and the level-complete pop-up appears with the line "The best player!" Tap Next to continue.
6. If the goalkeeper blocks your dragged ball, drag around him rather than straight through his body; the goal is wide enough on either side.
7. Drag the red ball directly into the goal. You do not need to kick it or aim; simply pulling it past the line scores.

Strategy & Reasoning

The puzzle abuses the assumption that you have to shoot. The Shooting button is there to bait you into the normal game loop, but the goalkeeper is programmed to stop every shot. The red ball itself is a draggable object, which Brain Out frequently hides in plain sight. Once you grab the ball instead of pressing the button, the goalkeeper becomes irrelevant because you are not shooting at him, you are placing the ball in the net.

Tapping Shooting over and over fails because the boy moves to block each shot. Trying to time the shot when he is far away sometimes works, but it is slower and the game accepts the drag shortcut directly. The three check marks above the goal are the progress tracker; each dragged-in ball fills one check.

This level is a small lesson in looking at the objects rather than the button. Brain Out's sports puzzles often have a "drag the ball into the goal" shortcut that skips the opponent entirely. The congratulatory line "The best player!" is the game laughing at the fact that you won without taking a single shot.

Tips & Common Mistakes

• Tapping the blue Shooting button over and over. The goalkeeper blocks every shot; drag the ball instead.
• Dragging the ball through the goalkeeper's body. Go around him on the left or right side of the net.
• Forgetting that three separate goals are required. Each drag fills one check mark, so repeat until all three are green.