Inside Social Games

Bubble Town is an arcade puzzle game developed by I-Play, the object of which is to launch little “borbs” that look like smiling people into a cluster above you. By matching up three or more similar borbs, you not only clear them from the board, but also gain points. Clearing the board of borbs will advance you to the next board/level. Try saying that five times fast.

The game has several menus to invite friends, a mobile option, and the ability to see scores on a global scale. However, the game’s selling point, and why it continues to thrive, is completely tied to its gameplay.

On the consumer side, the game is plenty addictive and extremely fun, with strong attention paid to graphics and variety. The game gets more difficult with each level, and players are rewarded with powerup “borbs” and combo points for particularly effective matches.

The interface and instruction menu are some of the best I’ve seen. The developers even created an instruction animation sequence to show how to play the game, making it much easier for beginners. Despite the impressive animations, quirky icons, and challenging gameplay, I can’t give the game a perfect score knowing full well that I’ve seen this game before.

There is room for improvement, however. There are no attempts to build a community around the program, something that many competing applications have begun to do.

Like many other Facebook games, Bubble Town owes much of its success to being a Facebook adaptation of a formerly popular game, Snood. The developers should be commended for their brilliant adaptation, and we can only hope their creativity will lead to new and original projects as well.

Gameplay: 9/10

Developers: 6/10

Feelings of Déjà vu: 8/10