How to Play
Bubble Shooter is a classic aim-and-match puzzle game. You control a shooter at the bottom of the screen that fires colored bubbles upward into a hex grid of bubbles. Aim carefully and shoot to attach your bubble to the grid. When 3 or more bubbles of the same color are connected, they pop. Any bubbles no longer connected to the ceiling will fall for bonus points. The game ends when bubbles reach the bottom danger line.
Controls
- Mouse — Move to aim, click to shoot
- Touch — Drag to aim, release to shoot
- Left / Right arrow keys — Rotate the aim direction
- Space or Up arrow — Shoot the current bubble
- P or Escape — Pause or resume the game
Bubble Colors
The game starts with 4 bubble colors and introduces more as you level up:
- Level 1 — Purple, Pink, Teal, Yellow (4 colors)
- Level 3 — Orange is added (5 colors)
- Level 5 — Blue is added (6 colors)
More colors make matching harder, so clear as many bubbles as you can early on.
Scoring
- Popped bubble — 10 points each
- Combo multiplier — Consecutive successful matches increase your multiplier (x1.5 per streak)
- Falling bubbles — 15 points each for disconnected clusters that fall
- Level up — Every 500 points advances you to the next level
Ceiling Descent
After a set number of shots without clearing bubbles, a new row of bubbles is pushed down from the ceiling. This adds pressure and brings the bubbles closer to the danger line. The number of shots before descent decreases as you level up, starting at 8 and going as low as 4. The shot counter is shown in the side panel.
Tips
- Aim for clusters — Target groups of the same color for maximum pops.
- Use wall bounces — Your bubble bounces off the side walls. Use this to reach tricky angles behind other bubbles.
- Disconnect groups — Aim at the base of hanging clusters to disconnect them from the ceiling. All disconnected bubbles fall for bonus points.
- Watch the trajectory — The dotted aiming line shows exactly where your bubble will go, including the first wall bounce.
- Keep it low — Try to clear bubbles from the bottom up. This gives you more space and time before the ceiling pushes down.
- Build combos — Consecutive successful matches multiply your score. Even a 3-bubble pop is worth making to keep your streak alive.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I score points in Bubble Shooter?
Each popped bubble is worth 10 points. Falling disconnected bubbles earn 15 points each. Consecutive successful matches build a combo multiplier (x1.5 per streak). Every 500 points advances you to the next level.
What happens when bubbles reach the danger line?
The game ends when bubbles reach the bottom danger line. After a set number of shots without clearing any bubbles, a new row is pushed down from the ceiling, increasing the pressure.
Can I bounce bubbles off the walls?
Yes. Your bubble bounces off the side walls. Use wall bounces to reach tricky angles and access bubbles hidden behind other colors.
How many bubble colors are there?
The game starts with 4 colors (purple, pink, teal, yellow). Orange is added at level 3 and blue at level 5, making matching progressively harder as you advance.
What is the ceiling descent counter?
The shot counter in the side panel shows how many shots you have left before a new row of bubbles is pushed down. It starts at 8 and decreases as you level up.
About Bubble Shooter
Bubble Shooter is inspired by the arcade classic Puzzle Bobble (known as Bust-a-Move outside Japan), created by Taito in 1994. The simple concept of aiming and matching colored bubbles became one of the most popular casual game formats of all time, spawning countless browser and mobile versions. The genre combines strategic aiming with satisfying chain reactions, making it endlessly replayable.
From the build: the hex grid was harder than the bouncing physics. Even rows are offset by half a bubble, which means neighbour lookups have to branch on row parity — get one wrong and a "disconnected" cluster ends up still attached, or vice versa. The flood-fill that detects floating bubbles after a pop runs from the ceiling downward; anything it doesn't visit is what falls. We snap shot bubbles to the nearest empty hex on contact rather than letting them rest where physics says, because pixel-perfect landings produce gaps that break the matching logic later.