Oh wow. The "powermods" can suck me. They're 90% negative. Even the 'extra ball' thing means that you indeed get punished for even losing the EXTRA ball. 1/5, make better games.
Yeah, your strategies are awful regarding the speed of the mobs because you run out of rows to fire int he later levels. Way too simplistic of a game, just a pray and spray logic behind it.
Some minigames will make you lose no matter what, like depending on "save the smilies" and where they spawn. And I have NO clue what to do on 'take your position'. Got the badge though, so I'm done.
Easiest way to get x5 is to let the other games all 'die' and focus on the one with the bouncing green ball. It was so easy at 5.6x that I just voluntarily let myself lose.