How to play well
The first skill is rhythm, not speed. Your shots are strongest when they are deliberate, so avoid panic-spamming and instead fire when you have a clean lane. Watch the lowest invaders, not the top rows. If an invader is hanging lower than the rest, that is your real clock, because once the pack drops close enough, everything collapses fast.
The second skill is bunker discipline. Bunkers are not walls, they are temporary insurance. Early on, keep them mostly intact and use them as cover for timing, not as permanent shelter. Duck in, take a shot, step out, and keep moving. If you hide under one bunker too long you will carve a perfect hole for alien bullets to funnel straight down onto you.
The third skill is lane control. Try to clear one or two columns so you can shoot deeper into the formation and reduce random bullet pressure. When the saucer appears, only take the shot if it does not pull you out of position. A missed saucer shot can put you in the wrong place just as the swarm steps and a bullet drops, and that is usually how lives vanish.
