Bubble Pop: free bubble shooter with 50 levels
Bubble Pop is a colourful bubble shooter you can play free in your browser, in the spirit of the classic arcade bubble puzzlers of the 1990s. Aim the launcher, shoot bubbles into the cluster and match three or more of the same colour to pop them. Knock out the bubbles that hold a cluster to the ceiling and everything below them falls for a bonus that doubles with every bubble. Bounce trick shots off the walls, earn rainbow and bomb bubbles with big combos, and clear the board before the ceiling presses down and the bubbles cross the line. Play 50 levels in five worlds, from the Candy Garden and the Coral Reef to the Jungle Temple, the Ice Castle and the Star Station, chase 150 stars and 25 badges, or see how long you last in Endless mode. It works with a mouse, a touch screen or a keyboard, on phones in portrait and landscape, with nothing to install.
How to play Bubble Pop
- Aim the launcher at the bottom of the board: move the mouse, slide your finger on the screen, or use the left and right arrow keys.
- Shoot: click, lift your finger, or press Space. The bubble flies in a straight line and bounces off the side walls.
- Make a group of three or more bubbles of the same colour and the whole group pops.
- Bubbles that are no longer connected to the ceiling fall off the board for a big bonus that doubles with every extra bubble.
- Swap the loaded bubble with the next one by tapping the next bubble or pressing the down arrow when the other colour fits better.
- Every shot that pops nothing uses up a dot on the ceiling. When the dots run out, the ceiling drops one row.
- Clear every coloured bubble before any bubble crosses the dashed line. Use as few shots as you can for three stars.
The board is a honeycomb: every bubble touches up to six neighbours, and a shot sticks to the first bubble it touches (or to the ceiling). A group of three or more bubbles of one colour pops at once, and then every bubble that has lost its connection to the ceiling falls. That is where the real points are: one well-placed shot that cuts a big cluster loose can be worth more than the rest of the level together. The dotted aim guide shows where your bubble will go, including bounces off the walls, and a ring marks the spot where it will stick.
Controls
- Mouse: move to aim and click to shoot. Click the next bubble, or right-click anywhere, to swap it.
- Touch: put your finger on the board and slide it to aim, then lift it to shoot. Lift it below the launcher to cancel. Tap the next bubble to swap.
- Keyboard: ← → (or A D) aim, hold Shift for fine aiming, Space or ↑ shoots, ↓ or X swaps, R restarts and Esc or P pauses.
- Phone held sideways: the buttons and counters move to the left so the board can use the full height of the screen.
Worlds and levels
The 50 levels are spread over five worlds of ten levels each. Every level has its own layout, from simple rows to hearts, diamonds, rings, pillars and hanging chains, and the difficulty rises a little with every level: more colours, more bubbles and a ceiling that drops sooner. Levels unlock one by one, and you can replay any level to improve your stars. If you would rather explore, Settings has an option to unlock every level.
| World | Levels | Colours | Shots before the ceiling drops | What is new |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🍭 Candy Garden | 1–10 | 3–4 | 7–8 | Learn to aim, pop and drop; the first hanging shapes; rainbow and bomb bubbles from level 4 |
| 🐠 Coral Reef | 11–20 | 4–5 | 6–7 | Five colours, deeper layouts, hearts and rings |
| 🌴 Jungle Temple | 21–30 | 5–6 | 6–7 | Grey stone bubbles that cannot be popped, only dropped or blown up |
| ❄️ Ice Castle | 31–40 | 6 | 5–6 | All six colours, more stones and taller clusters |
| 🚀 Star Station | 41–50 | 6 | 4–5 | The hardest layouts and a ceiling that presses down fast |
Special bubbles
| Bubble | How you get it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 🌈 Rainbow | Pop or drop 8 bubbles with one shot (from level 4) | Matches every colour it touches: each neighbouring group of two or more pops together with it |
| 💣 Bomb | Pop or drop 14 bubbles with one shot, or drop 8 | Explodes where it lands and destroys every bubble nearby, stones included |
| 🪨 Stone | Part of the layout from the Jungle Temple on | Cannot be matched; falls when nothing holds it up. A level is clear when all coloured bubbles are gone |
Scoring and stars
Every popped bubble is worth 10 points. Falling bubbles earn a bonus that doubles with every bubble: 20 points for one, 80 for three, 320 for five and 10,240 for ten. A shot that pops bubbles after bouncing off a wall adds 50 points per bounce. Clearing a level adds 1,000 points plus 100 for every shot you had left under the three-star target.
Stars depend on the number of shots you need. The target for three stars is shown at the top of the screen; a few shots more still gives two stars, and any clear gives one. The targets come from a computer player that played every level many times, so a careful human can beat them.
Endless mode
In Endless mode the board never runs out. Every few shots that pop nothing, a new row slides in from the top and pushes everything down. The game starts with four colours and adds a fifth and a sixth as you go, and the new rows come faster the longer you survive. Clear the whole board for a 5,000-point bonus. The game ends when a bubble crosses the line; your best score is kept.
Badges
There are 25 badges to earn, for clearing levels and worlds, collecting stars, big drops, trick shots, special bubbles and high scores in Endless mode. Open the trophy button in the game to see your progress towards each one.
| Badge | How to earn it |
|---|---|
| 🫧 First Pop | Clear level 1. |
| 🎈 Bubble Buddy | Clear 10 levels. |
| 🎯 Bubble Pro | Clear 25 levels. |
| 🍭 Candy Champion | Clear all 10 levels of the Candy Garden. |
| 🐠 Reef Ranger | Clear all 10 levels of the Coral Reef. |
| 🌴 Temple Explorer | Clear all 10 levels of the Jungle Temple. |
| ❄️ Ice Breaker | Clear all 10 levels of the Ice Castle. |
| 🚀 Star Pilot | Clear all 10 levels of the Star Station. |
| 👑 Bubble Champion | Clear all 50 levels. |
| 🌟 Rising Star | Collect 50 stars. |
| 💎 Superstar | Collect all 150 stars. |
| 🏹 Sharpshooter | Get 3 stars on 10 levels. |
| 🌊 Avalanche | Make 10 bubbles fall with one shot. |
| 🏔️ Landslide | Make 20 bubbles fall with one shot. |
| 🎱 Bank Shot | Pop bubbles with a shot that bounced off a wall. |
| 🪃 Trick Shot | Pop bubbles with a shot that bounced off both walls. |
| 💥 Pop Star | Pop 1,000 bubbles. |
| 🎆 Pop Legend | Pop 10,000 bubbles. |
| 💣 Kaboom! | Use a bomb bubble. |
| 🌈 Over the Rainbow | Use a rainbow bubble. |
| 🔥 Hot Streak | Pop bubbles with 10 shots in a row. |
| 🧱 Steady Ceiling | Clear a level from level 6 on before the ceiling drops even once. |
| ♾️ Endless Fun | Score 10,000 points in Endless mode. |
| 🏆 Bubble Marathon | Score 50,000 points in Endless mode. |
| 📅 Daily Popper | Play on 5 different days. |
Tips for better scores
- Cut, don't chip. Look for the few bubbles that connect a big cluster to the ceiling and pop those. Everything underneath falls, and falling bubbles score far more than popped ones.
- Use the walls. A bank shot reaches gaps you cannot hit directly, and the aim guide shows exactly where it lands.
- Look at the next bubble. If the loaded colour has nowhere good to go, swap it. Plan two shots ahead.
- Park bubbles neatly. When no match is possible, put the bubble next to others of its colour high up, where it will help later instead of hanging low near the line.
- Watch the dots. When only one dot is left, the ceiling shakes. Make the next shot count.
- Save combos for specials. A big drop earns a rainbow or a bomb, which can rescue a level that is getting close to the line.
A short history of bubble shooters
The bubble shooter goes back to the arcades of the 1990s. In 1994 Taito released Puzzle Bobble, known in North America as Bust-a-Move, a spin-off of its 1986 platform game Bubble Bobble. Players aimed a launcher at a ceiling of coloured bubbles, matched three of a colour to pop them and dropped whole clusters by cutting them loose, while the ceiling slowly pressed down. The idea of shooting at a honeycomb of bubbles, bouncing shots off the walls and watching hanging bubbles fall turned out to be one of the most lasting in puzzle games.
In the 2000s the game moved to the web and to phones. Free browser versions, usually just called Bubble Shooter, became some of the most played casual games online, and later mobile games added maps, boosters and hundreds of levels. Bubble Pop keeps the classic rules of the arcade original (matching three, falling clusters and a dropping ceiling) and adds smooth modern graphics, levels designed and tested for steady progress, special bubbles and badges. It is an original game made for Util.Ninja and is not connected with Taito or any other company.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bubble Pop free?
Yes. Bubble Pop on Util.Ninja is completely free, with no sign-up, no download and no in-app purchases. It runs in your browser on phones, tablets and computers, and your stars, scores and badges are saved automatically on your device.
How do I play Bubble Pop?
Aim the launcher at the bottom of the board and shoot coloured bubbles into the cluster at the top. When the bubble you shoot touches two or more bubbles of the same colour, the whole group of three or more pops. Bubbles that are no longer connected to the ceiling fall off the board for bonus points. Clear every coloured bubble to finish the level.
How do I aim and shoot?
On a computer, move the mouse to aim and click to shoot. On a phone or tablet, put your finger on the board, slide it to aim and lift it to shoot; lift your finger below the launcher to cancel the shot. With a keyboard, the left and right arrow keys aim (hold Shift for fine aiming), Space or the up arrow shoots and the down arrow swaps the next bubble.
Can I bounce shots off the walls?
Yes, and it is often the best way to reach a bubble hidden behind others. The bubble bounces off the left and right walls like a ball on a pool table. The dotted aim guide shows the bounce, and popping bubbles with a bank shot earns 50 extra points for each bounce.
Why does the ceiling come down?
The dots on the ceiling count the shots you can fire without popping anything. Every shot that pops nothing uses up a dot, and when the last one is gone the whole ceiling presses down one row, bringing the bubbles closer to the line. A shot that pops or drops bubbles does not use a dot. Later worlds give you fewer dots, so every shot counts.
When do I lose?
If any bubble ends up below the dashed line near the launcher, the level is lost and you can try again straight away. Watch the line: it starts to glow red when the bubbles get close, and the little mascot next to the launcher starts to sweat.
How do falling bubbles score?
Every popped bubble is worth 10 points. Bubbles that fall because nothing holds them up any more are worth much more: the bonus doubles with every extra bubble, so 1 falling bubble gives 20 points, 5 give 320 and 10 give 10,240. Shooting the few bubbles that hold a big cluster to the ceiling is the key to high scores.
What are rainbow and bomb bubbles?
From level 4 on, a big combo earns a special bubble that appears in the next-bubble slot. A rainbow bubble pops every group of two or more bubbles of any colour it touches. A bomb bubble blows up everything near the spot where it lands, even grey stone bubbles. Pop or drop 8 bubbles with one shot for a rainbow, and 14 (or drop 8) for a bomb.
What are the grey stone bubbles?
Stone bubbles appear from the Jungle Temple on. They have no colour, so they can never be popped by matching. They fall when the bubbles holding them up are gone, and a bomb destroys them. You do not need to clear them: a level is finished when every coloured bubble is gone.
Can I change the bubble I am about to shoot?
Yes. The next bubble waits in its cradle on the left of the launcher. Tap or click it, press the down arrow, or right-click to swap it with the loaded one. Swapping is free and does not count as a shot.
How do I get three stars?
Clear the level in the number of shots shown at the top under "★★★ in". Using a few more shots still gives two stars, and finishing at all gives one star. The targets were set by playing every level many times with a computer player, so they are fair but take some planning.
What is Endless mode?
Endless mode never ends until the bubbles reach the line. New rows slide in from the top after a few shots that pop nothing, the number of colours grows as you go, and the rows come faster the longer you last. Clearing the whole board gives 5,000 bonus points and a fresh set of rows. Your best score is saved.
Can colour-blind players play?
Yes. Every colour has its own white symbol inside the bubble: a heart, a triangle, a star, a clover, a drop and a diamond. You can switch the symbols off in Settings if you prefer plain bubbles.
Do I need an account to keep my progress?
No. Stars, scores, badges and your current level are stored in your browser's local storage on this device. Clearing your browser data, or playing in a private window, starts you from scratch.
Is there sound?
Yes: soft pops, wall bounces, falling bubbles and fanfares, plus a bouncy original tune for every world, all made in the browser with the Web Audio API. Sound and music can be switched off separately in Settings, and the game pauses itself when you switch tabs.