Guides

How to earn three stars in Tube Dude

How Tube Dude's star rating works, what counts as a QUICK sale or a combo, and a practical plan for three-starring tough shifts.

Passing a shift in Tube Dude only takes the boss's minimum. Three stars takes a bit more planning. The rules behind the rating are simple once you see them laid out, and knowing them changes how you play, especially on busy later levels where you can't serve everyone.

How the stars are worked out

Each customer has a value. Most are worth one, a tour bus is worth three, and a VIP (the gold ring with a crown) is worth double. The goal card shows the total available, as in "Get 6 of 11".

• One star: reach the boss's number.
• Two stars: reach the goal plus at least half of what was left over. On a "6 of 11" shift, that's 6 plus half of the remaining 5, rounded up, so 9.
• Three stars: the two-star number, plus a streak of sales in a row and a number of QUICK sales.

The level intro card spells out the third star for that shift, for example "Third star: 5 in a row + 2 QUICK sales". If you finish with two stars, the result card tells you what you needed and what you managed, so you know exactly which part to fix on a retry.

The streak and QUICK targets grow with difficulty, so later shifts ask for longer streaks. Note that the streak counts sales in a row. One missed customer resets it to zero, even if you sell everyone else.

QUICK sales

A sale is QUICK when you close it soon after the customer appears, roughly two and a half seconds on easy shifts and a little less on harder ones. You'll see a small QUICK! pop over the customer when it happens. Besides counting toward the third star, a QUICK sale adds 50 points to your score and a small tip to your Commission.

The trick to QUICK sales is anticipation. The speech bubble and ring appear as the customer enters, so read the word (SKY, WAVE, LEAN or BOW) and start moving the fan straight away. Because the fan swings at its own pace, a second of hesitation is often the whole difference.

Combos

Sell to two customers in a row and a combo starts. The multiplier begins at x1.5 and climbs by a half with each further sale in a row, topping out at x3. It multiplies the points for each sale and adds part of that bonus to your Commission too. A miss ends the combo, which is one more reason streaks matter.

Choosing who to serve

From level 17 two customers can arrive together, and from level 122 sometimes three. You'll miss some. The question is which.

• Serve whoever is leaving first. The countdown arc around each ring shows patience. A red arc means seconds left.
• Remember the streak. On a three-star attempt, a sure sale now beats a risky one that might break the run.
• Chase high value. A bus counts as three and has a bigger, easier ring. A VIP counts as two. Losing a one-point customer to land either is usually a good trade for the two-star count, though it still costs you the streak.
• People on foot are impatient. Pedestrians, joggers and dog walkers give up faster than cars as levels get harder.

When the rival tube guy sets up across the street, he can steal some customers if you're slow. Treat every customer as more urgent on those shifts.

A plan for a tough shift

1. Read the intro card: the goal, the extras (wind, rain, night and so on) and the third-star targets.
2. On the first attempt, aim for a clean pass. Learn where the rings tend to land.
3. On the retry, focus on the streak first. Skipping a customer on purpose is fine for two stars, but it breaks the run.
4. Use the third-star line on the result card to see whether streak or QUICK sales held you back.
5. If it's still stubborn, come back later with a boost. Giant Head and Ring Magnet in particular make streaks far easier.

Why three stars is worth the effort

The paycheck at the end of a shift grows with your stars, so a three-star clear pays the most. Replays of shifts you've already cleared pay half the paycheck, but sales Commission is earned in full, so replaying old levels for stars is a steady way to fund the Store.

Three stars also feeds the bonus meter. Every time you earn three stars on a level for the first time, one of three bonus stars lights up. Fill all three and the carnival comes to town: a 40-second bonus round where every ticket pays triple and you can't fail. The guide to businesses, hazards and bonus rounds explains it in full.

Easier shifts arrive regularly too. Every fifth level is a "slow day" with fewer customers and gentler pacing, and those are great chances to pick up three stars and bonus progress. The shift just before a slow day is a little spicier, so don't be surprised if it feels hard.

For the control side of all this, see controls and the art of the flop. Then pick a shift you've two-starred and go back for the third.