It would be better with more space for the moves, so those of us who don't see the solution to eleven right away could come up with a less elegant solution (but still be able to move on).
I see. It's much easier when you're higher level and get better starting gems, as well as single- and dual-gem mastery. I'm having no problem glowy-rimming now, including epic and hidden levels. Thanks, all!
Thanks, IceWave and Kevlar. I've been using mana pool, but I'll use it more. And I've been sending all waves early. I've managed to get the glowy score for about ten levels so far, but some still elude me, like (sigh) level one.
How does scoring work in this game? I can beat the levels, advancing the waves, but I score well below the glowing frame score. Do I need to make more gems? Less? Throw gems? Not do that? Have full mana at the end? Not? I have no idea.
The end of this game is stupid because instead of using the mechanic the game's accustomed us to, it's different. So 3 instead of 4. It was fun up until the final battle.
Be a fighter. Get as high strength, dexterity, and constitution as possible. (I got the hard badge with 21, 19, 23.) Don't do the non-exploratory dungeons (that is, don't do the repeatable ones without special items). Only work jobs that increase the three stats. (I started as a rogue and begged until 15, then night watch.) Only train combat, strategy, and theology. (I did all of those to level 4 for the item rewards.) Try to only rest in the woods (highest chance of random free stats). Try to get lucky with lots of constitution. Good luck.
The criticals are overwhelming and unbalanced. I wish the numbers and units were clearer in the most zoomed-out mode. Otherwise, a solid enough game. (But not fun enough to finish the campaign, even for the badge.)