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Honestly, I'd say just experiment, and try and look for the patterns in how the monsters show up - many of the monsters have specific behaviors and spawn  in certain ways. It's not 100% guaranteed, but it means that if you see a certain pattern on the board, you can guess if there's a decent chance a certain monster will be nearby. I've figured out patterns for the following monsters:

egg, gargoyle, beholder, minotaur, purple slime, slime wizard, romeo & juliet, mine king, gnome

All of the above monsters show up in specific ways, if you can discover how. Once you learn their patterns, you can make educated decisions about what the monsters do and what squares they're likely to be in!

(if anyone else figures out any patterns for rats, bats, skeletons, green slimes, or gladiator ,let me know - these ones still seem random to me)

1. Speedrun the dragon as quickly as possible (helloyyy has done it in a blisteringly fast 1 minute 44 seconds)

2. Speedrun a perfect game/full board clear (i.e. only level up or grab a heart when you completely run out of hearts, so that you get as high a score as possible) (My best time in version 1.0 was 3:20, haven't tried in new version).

3. Beat the game with any of the 4 achievement stamps (click "next page" on the instruction booklet for an achievement breakdown).

4. Beat the game with 3 of the 4 stamps in a single run.

5. High score or speedrun with 3 of the 4 stamps.

6. Beat the all time high score with 3 of the 4 stamps (judging from the comments, it's _319(!!!!)_ points, without ever touching a rat, egg, or the lovers. But apparently 325 would be the all-time high score for the whole community).

it's just luck of the draw - sometimes the enemies spawn with enough to clear the whole board, sometimes you run out of hearts to finish all the walls. I think anything with nothing but walls is good enough, but that's just me. Would be interested in knowing your best time at 358+ points (that's the highest score without breaking any walls)

325 for all three is insane, i hate that freaking egg now

ah, well, i guess everyone else figured out the max score is attainable in the new versions 'cause of egg. Oh well. 

what---why is my version different? I'm playing on dragonsweeper.com. is this not accurate?????

What's your best with a full board clear? (minus whatever wall segments are left, naturally)

JUST FYI- for the version on dragonsweeper.com: (version 1.0)
the highest score you can achieve on new mode is 357 points, as of this post. 

I'm just now realizing other people are playing a different version from me, so I'm not sure about that version. BUT, for the dragonsweeper.com version - 

The game spawns with a max of 362 points (that is, experience points), which includes 6 wall units (1 point each - they drop a golden ring) and 356 points worth of monsters. This value includes the dragon. There are only enough hearts and experience point level-ups to destroy more than all the monsters, plus one box, for 357 points. Thus, if you play a perfect game, only leveling up when you have completely depleted your heart meter and wasting no hearts, and if you kill the dragon when you have 13 hearts and then finish up killing the remaining monsters plus 1 wall unit, you will have exactly 357 points.

The number of monsters spawned is random so you often will not be able to score this high even if you play a perfect game -- there will often be some rats leftover. But the highest possible score seems to be all monsters, plus 1 wall. It might--MIGHT--be possible to score 1 point higher and destroy TWO wall segments, but I haven't seen this happen after much MUCH play time. 

Current best time- perfect play, new version, only healing or leveling when at exactly 0 hearts, clearing all possible enemies save for any rats or walls leftover after clearing everything else. 

Does anyone know the upper score limit on New Version? My highest score on a perfect game is 357, _Maybe_ 358. (That max score in the screengrab is classic mode).

I just tried the web build. Promising start! I was confused about the description of the ice spell, it wasn't clear that an ice attack hit every square. Wasn't sure if ice did something else, like create walls around you, or increase your defense, or something. On that note, would be nice to see spells differentiated more. I assume that's in the works. different tilesets for different areas is a must. I never encountered the curse spell in my playthrough.

After basic mechanics worked out, looking forward to more complex gameplay that will allow for more strategy, i.e. more choice over how to level up the character to differentiate different runs. (i.e. something like the Shape That Waits stat allocation, or Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup with species and class).

DRL, as a fast-based roguelike, comes readily to mind when thinking about the playdate's style of game. Looking forward to seeing that influence here, maybe?

would it be possible to add a "best time" tracker for clearing the dragon, in addition to top score? I've gotten to the point where my goal is consistently playing a perfect game (maximizing points, only grabbing hearts when at 0 health) but also fastest game. (My current top score is 357, but my current top time, 9:38, is recorded in my noggin and nowhere else.)

Thanks for listening- it's a great game, I really enjoyed it!

oh my god i've been grinding end-game state for days and just now saw that "Quartz does not naturally spawn in the magma layer." Can that hint be incorporated into the clue prompt for that turtle?!?!

Is there a repo of community maps, or a specific discord server??

Is it possible, or will it be possible, to download other people's level designs, or upload level designs for, idk, if you ever do some sort of game update?

The Kaizo maps are indeed super challenging (I gave up on the Hardcore-er accomplishment, sadly) but I'd love to see what other players come up with. I could see the playdate community coming up with some really interesting map designs that create some interesting environmental storytelling.

Any chance ports like this will make it to catalog?

Delighted this is still in development, and not just that, but that careful consideration is given to all the details. The playdate catalog team better be watching this like a hawk, because this seems like it should absolutely be a flagship (pun intended) catalog release when completed.

Wow, amazing game. Finished classic mode - with TONS of deaths - now going for the ironman achievement on hard maps!

A few questions:

1. What the hell does the Mage Hand do, actually? I haven't tried anything with it outside of attempting to fail to trigger some of the late game workshops.

2. Can any paintings be found in any water source, or by the second boss? Or are certain paintings tied to specific levels, and to specific bosses? Trying to grind the 100% logbook achievement and it is... rough.

3. Any point to dusk blocks outside of aesthetics?

Thanks!

Thank you!!! Good to know about the respawn solution, though that does call into question regal legitimacy xD

I didn't think to cross reference my logbook after harvesting the item, but I am 95% sure I figured out what it was. Granted, I haven't figured out what it DOES, but I am sure I will, with enough experimentation.

Are there any non-secret items that can't be duplicated if destroyed?

In the third world, at the front gate to a massive structure, I tried to collect a floating device when my inventory was already full, and unfortunately I destroyed it without harvesting it.

Am I softlocked out of collecting that item for my logbook, or can I build it later?

Trying to be vague on purpose to avoid spoilers. I know there is at least one other secret item in the game that needs high level gear to harvest, I worry that someone grabbing that rare, non-reproducible item could destroy it like I did with the floating thing. Haven't tested that, though.

this game has hours and hours of replay value. Keep coming back to it. Amazing game.

Just a heads up, I'm eagerly looking forward to the balancing changes, and I just reinstalled the game on my play date to make sure I wasn't missing anything, but I tested it and it looks like they haven't been pushed to the catalog version yet. Melee damage, for example, hasn't been modified. Not sure what the turnaround time is for catalog updates, but wanted to let you know. 

Just finished regular mode, now playing challenge - what an amazing game! The game play is terrific and fully incorporates the crank into both combat and puzzles seamlessly; the dungeons are delightful, and everything else screams polish. Easily the best RPG/adventure since Ratcheteer, hands down, without a doubt. Amazing that so much was able to be accomplished with the Pulp engine.

I hear what you're saying, i just feel like the zelda-esque map suggests the world have its own Kakoriko, lost woods, etcetera. But that's just my preference. I really appreciated the flavor text of resonant tale, but I get that this is a totally different, more old-school inspiration then that, and I respect that.

Can't wait to see what you do next!

I just fought the first boss, and I had to sign on to itch to make sure you actually made this using pulp. I am shocked you managed to do so much with the pulp engine! Its so polished and smooth , with such detail and embellishment, it feels like a completely different engine. I cannot wait to play every single aspect of this game. Well done.

Lolife is a fantastic addition to the playdate catalog and a worth spiritual sequel to Resonant Tale. Orange Thief is able to pack a ton of game into a tiny package, and the addition of plenty of secrets, cheat codes, easter eggs, and accomplishments give the game huge replay value. A completionist will find themselves investing as much time into this as Ratcheteer or any of the best playdate titles. The relatively simplistic pulp engine graphics conceal a game as polished and enjoyable as the best games  that the playdate has to offer.

Orange Thief has, once again, demonstrated a mastery of the Pulp engine. A must buy for RPG, adventure, or zelda fans.

I would love to see the world map updated to give names to the villages, castle, graveyard, forest, etcetera - adding some canon flavor text would be a great little added touch that wouldn't require any code but would make the world feel more fleshed out.

spoiler alert, NOWHERE NEAR the top 9, yikes!

You can now see your high score and where it stacks up against the top 9 players!

I've been waiting for playdate catalog to let me update the game to see the changes, but my download tab in my playdate still says there are no updates to install, unfortunately.

I did, I've made it to main deck 8 but died before I could escape 😢

Sidenote, I noticed the credit payout for taking out high level void enemies far surpasses the bonus points you get for items or for killing basic enemies, but i wasnt sure if many players get that deep so I wasn't sure if that is actually a problem, or if it is just a feature. 

Oh man, i hope my suggestions are good 😬

Ok!

Removing the 1 hit kill damage threshold may require lowering hp of main deck enemies.

Bug issue: mine layer causing crashes. It seems like when i use the mine layer to score kills, it corrupts something in my game file  causing the level to crash either after killing 6ish enemies with mines. 

Also maybe the time crystal thing that adds a turn seems to be linked to crashes.

A few balance suggestions:

1.  Get rid of the 1 hit kill feature for guns. The flamethrower, explosive launcher, and bullets that pierce through and hit the enemy behind the first target all insta kill any enemy. This is hugely imbalancing for the leveling system. There is no point in putting points into accuracy if late game weapons do infinite damage. There is also no point in leveling strength if firearms do infinite damage. With 1 KO guns the only viable build is perception.

2. Strength should increase max AND min damage. My end game melee weapons are dealing an avg 21 per hit with a melee build. End game guns leveled deal ROUGHLY avg 70/ shot, assuming they arent 1 hit KO.  That outclasses melee so much it makes strength builds pointless. Yes, melee benefits from not running out of ammo, but it is so weak that the extra time spent fighting an enemy drains your O2 and Mind stats.

3.  MAYBE --- Reduce the gun drop rate and increase ammo capacity for guns by a proportional amount. Right now, because end game guns are so powerful, there is no point in boosting accuracy, when you can just find a top tier gun instead. Dumping everything into perception ensures a steady supply of top firepower and renders accuracy pointless. Making it harder to find guns, but also increasing ammo to ensure guns are still viable, might make Accuracy a more valuable skill relative to perception.