Bubble Island: This Facebook Title Makes a Classic Arcade Game More Social
About mid-year, last year, German developer wooga (world of gaming) created an entertaining quiz-like game by the name of Brain Buddies. Since then, the game has done fairly well, currently earning around 3.2 million monthly active users. However, the European company has also been hard at work on a new Facebook game, Bubble Island.
The game is a remake of a classic arcade type of game where the player shoots multicolored bubbles toward a collection of other bubbles hanging from a ceiling. The object is to match three or more of the same color to remove them. However, every couple of shots, the ceiling lowers, and should any of these soapy orbs cross the red line located near the bottom of the screen, the game is over. Of course, if you remove them all, you win.
Like the arcade rendition – and the myriad of casual Flash versions – of this game, bubbles can be bounced off of walls, and in the case of Bubble Island, the ceiling. Furthermore, all bubbles hanging from the ceiling must be connected to the ones above them to avoid falling, so the player is capable of shooting connecting ones to remove all those below.
Like with wooga’s last title, the presentation value for Bubble Island is fantastic. Players play as a backpacking raccoon and move about a tropical island setting. Each section of the island is a new level that has three to four stages that must be cleared in order to move forward. Furthermore, each one has a very nice visual display and music that, for the most part (there are a few stages where the music skips), fits perfectly.
Beyond aesthetics, each level changes the board slightly too. Some boards seem to be taller, others wider, thus adding a nice change in game play pace. Frankly, even more dynamic and oddly shaped levels might be prudent in adding a little new flavor to such an old game concept.
Nevertheless, what Bubble Island does bring to the table — that is very new — is its social elements. Yes, it has the basics of inviting friends and competing for high scores on each level, via leaderboards. But there’s more. Players have lives in Bubble Island. Should they fail to remove all the bubbles before they reach the bottom, they lose one. However, the more they play, and the more their Facebook friends play, the more lives they earn.
Beyond the above, this app also has other social standards such using the social graph through feed postings and earnable trophies (achievements). To the untrained eye, it may not seem like terribly much, but for many players the earning of achievements is narcotic, and adds a great deal of longevity to even the simplest of games.
The only real complaints to be had are minor, at best. It feels like the bubbles shoot a bit too fast. They literally are in place in less than half a second, and there was always something gratifying about watching them bounce into place. Ironically, the second issue is the reverse. When one completes a level, it often takes a exorbitant amount of time to load the scoring screen, leading one to the assumption that the game might have crashed.
It is also worth mentioning that, yes, a more original game concept would be much better, but, this type of game is still very entertaining, and new iteratoins on old ideas are loved by many social game players.
Currently, wooga’s Bubble Island is still in beta, and it doesn’t have a tremendous amount of users yet. Our AppData is tracking around 19,300 monthly active users. However, unlike most Facebook games that say “beta” (Pet Society still has a beta tag, and that came out ages ago) wooga’s seems more like a real one. It prompts users to input an email and wait a bit for access. That in mind, this app isn’t exactly doing too bad. We look forward to seeing how it does when fully released.
HELP! I’m on the final stage of the last level and cannot beat it. Someone said they did it in one shot! How! Desperately want to put this obsession behind me…
so many people asking for help and no-one helping.
kind of feel pointless posting as i am stuck on Level 9 Stage 9 and am at the point now of not bothering any more.
if you are at a higher level than other people, why not be a decent person and help them out?
if you’re stuck on the spider one, you just have to keep clicking furiously until you get the other side. it is a bitch this one.
^ there. i helped some people out. if you are at a higher level than me, do me a favour, eh?
Look on U Tube – most of the levels are on there for you to watch and get tips!
Can anyone tell me how to start from the beginning again – I have completed all levels and keep replaying level 10 to better my score but now want to do it all over again. I have deleted the application and then re- added it but it still starts on level 10 – any ideas how to get back to start?
fa eee
I was enjoying this game and I was just frustrated by the fact that the occasional bubble didn’t land where I fired it until just now. A bubble not only reversed but swerved round others to land on the other side of the screen!!! my winning or losing has very little to do with how good I’m playing and a heck of a lot to do with how its programmed. THIS GAME IS SO RIGGED IT’S RIDICULOUS !!!!!!!!!!!!
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For all those stuck on stage 9 level 9
Get rid of the bottom section first to give you more room to drop. Forget the ones that are holding it to the top of the screen, you can’t get at these until the big block has gone.
Concentrate on the bubbles that hold the big block. I started with the right had side, bouncing bubbles off the top to drop in place. Once the right hand side is clear then concentrate as many balls as you can to the one left on the left hand side. Try not to bounce any balls of a colour that don’t match the one you are trying to pop. Happy popping.
my game wll not load any more so love this game but can not play.. i do not have a clue why…pleaseee some one help me….
help! I can’t pass Stage 10 level 3! no clue what i am doing :(
I am stucked on stage 10 level 12 :-(
How does my bubble go through the blocks? This has happened twice.
how do you play this game not on facebook im not allowed facebook and this game is really cool!
My Sister and I are stuck on bubble island beta and cant get to next level whats up????
i like
Preciso de dicas para passar stage 10 nivel 3 urgente!!!! …por favor quem já passou me ajude ok? Também quero saber porque a roleta não aparece mais já faz vários dias.
Mesmo entrando no Youtub não estou conseguindo passar este nível. Preciso de dicas mais eficientes.
Obrigada.
How do you help another player? Also in the volcano I am at level 10 and it won’t let me go on. It says give 2500 coins or invite others. I invited others but it says to invite 9 more and will not let me do this. How do I get past this as I can no longer play the game?
Thank you
Sharon, I too am wondering how to get past this 2,500 coins. I now everyday I only get one roll of the daily coin roll
yall need grow up and try to do it on your own use your brain for once geezzz
please help my game loads to 99 and stops.
i cannot get past stage 10 level8 is there a secret
i have been trying for 2 days now to load bubble island and it gives me a blank screen help i am in the cave level and wanna play where else can i go to play it
Can someone tell me how 2 pass leve 1 stage 6, thenk you.
since a week now i’m unable to log in to buble island it stays stuck to loading…. and then nothing, I’m frustrated… i want to play but….i’m at level 9. Please help me do something or let me know what to do to be able to play again, Claudia
Pleaseplease bring out a new level as I have finished the Volcano. last bit took ages though to get the bubble to go up through to the right top.!!
flags in the stage 9 are not getting activated though i completed that level…help mee out..plzzzzzz…
I LOVE Bubble Island.. I am addicted to it.. I made it to stage 10 and was about to give up many times because its so hard. But I kept trying and btw… you can look each level up on you tube and get an idea of how to work it.I have finished Stage 10, level 9 and NOW it wont let me go further unless i invite 9 friends !!! Guess now I will have to give up. btw… You not only have to invite more friends.. but they have to actualy PLAY the game, just inviting them wont work.
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My daughter has this game also but when hers loads it offers the option of “weekly play” Mine does not. Why??????
sometimes the game will load immediately and then too many times i wait and wait and wait or it will not load at all. what is the problem? i love this game when it works well. also, when i hit a group of bubbles stars explode and block my view of the rest of the bubbles so it makes my playing much slower.
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