Core S 2020, the game usually referred to as Core is the game that looks like the steering wheel of an alien space ship.

Core S has a comfortable 3x3 play board. Matching a number gives you 250 points, completing a line 1000, and completing the board 2500.

Sometimes you get a green diamond on the spinner. That adds 5% extra points to your score.

The jokers can be played anywhere on the board. However, the red joker does take away 50% of your score. Thus depending on the situation it could be wise not to play it.

Each time you complete a line the wheel spins. This can give extra points, or an extra round. At the end of the game you get one extra wheel spin.

Lets start with the beginning, play a game of Core S and see what will happen.

I select a game machine and pay it, immediately after my payment the game will start. 

The first round I get a red wild, I can also match 29.

Important is that I play the red wild first. I will play it at the 3, when I choose first 3 and then 29, playing the 3 means using the red wild, so my score (being zero) will be divided by 2, costing me nothing. Then I get 250points for playing the 3 and another 250 for playing the 29.

While if I played 29 and then 3, my 250 points for playing the 29 would be reduced by 50%. So, playing in a smart order does save me 125 points.

Why 3? Because my strategy is to postpone the completion of lines. 3 is not on any of the same line as 29. Postponing it does have the advantage that the costs of any next red devil is lower.

Though 14 would have been a better choice. That is on the middle column, wilds appear always on the middle column. Thus the middle column can be used to help the other two colums while it can't receive help itself.

Anyways, I play 3 and then 29. Afterwards I click the spinner to go to the next round.

This round I get a 5 and a joker.

I was already sorry I did not play the previous joker at 14, so now I play it at 14, I also play 5.

Then I click the spinner to go to the next round.

This round I can match the 6. This will complete the leftmost vertical line, so I get 1000 points for that as well, plus: The wheel will spin!

The wheel spins direct after the 6 is matched. I don't have to do anything else to make it spin.

It gives another 2500 points !

I click the spinner to move to the next round.

This round brings a diamond. That adds 5% to my score. Nice, it is the best I could get on that first column as the line is already completed.

I also can match 27, so I do that and then click the spinner to move to the next round.

Matching the 17 completes a horizontal line and thus it gives a wheel spin. That brings a nice 1500 points extra.

I click the spinner to go to the next round.

Hmmm..a diamond and that is it this round.

I gain again an extra 5% on my score.

Nothing to do besides clicking the spinner to move to the next round.

With rounds like this one I ain't gonna win this game.

Nothing to match. Nada, nope.

So I click the spinner.

Rounds with nothing to match happen most near the end of the game, when a lot of numbers are already matched.

Here is one more of such a useless rounds.

I click the spinner once again.

Considering that the number of rounds left is meanwhile zero, things do look bad for me. I have again no matches.

So I click the spinner and will get one extra bonus spin, even when that spin gives 2X, I will not win this game. I need an extra round, and then in that extra round a match, in order to at least have a chance.

And guess what: I got an extra round.

The match I got is not a nice one though.

However, I better play it as the alternative is having lost this game. I play it on 11, that completes a horizontal, vertical and diagonal line, giving already 3250 points back of the points I will loose due to the red wild.

And three lines mens also three wheel spins.

The first wheel spin does give an extra round.

So, this game is not over yet!

Luck is at my side. For the second time I escaped a game over,  and I do get a match that will complete 3 lines and the entire board.

Thus that is 3000 points for the lines, 250 for the match and 2500 for the board, adding that to the 7543 I already had, sets the score at 13 293

I already won before the wheel start spinning.

Quite surprising!! I will win this.

Since the entire board was completed the game generates a new board for the extra round.

I do not have any matches to make this very last round,

but I don't care.

I won!

As you noticed I did win a game that looked rather lost. Core S can be sometimes surprising, even more than for many other games the advice to not give up before it is over is true for Core S.