Bubble Shooter

Bubble Shooter is a colourful aiming puzzle. A ceiling full of glossy bubbles hangs over you, and you have a launcher at the bottom of the screen. Fire bubbles up into the pile: whenever three or more of the same colour touch, they pop. Any bubbles that were hanging from the ones you popped lose their grip and fall, and falling bubbles are worth far more than popped ones.

How to play

• Drag your finger to aim and let go to shoot. With a mouse, point and click. On a keyboard, aim with the left and right arrows and shoot with Space.
• The dotted line shows where the bubble will go, and a ring marks the spot where it will stick.
• The small bubble beside the launcher is your next one. Tap it (or press the down arrow) to swap the two.
• Every bubble also carries a symbol, a heart, square, star, leaf, drop or moon, so you can match by shape as well as colour.
• You are only ever handed colours that are still on the board.

Banking off the walls

The side walls are your best friend. A bubble that hits a wall bounces off at the same angle, so you can reach gaps that are hidden behind other bubbles. The guide line follows your shot through one bounce. If you need to see further, the long aim helper previews several bounces for the rest of the level.

Pressure

Shots that pop nothing count as misses. The pips next to the launcher show how many misses you have left before the board moves down a row. If a bubble ever crosses the red line near the bottom, the game is over. The line flashes as a warning when the pile gets close.

Levels and Endless

There are 30 hand-made levels, from blocks and stripes to crowns, castles and spider webs. Your first visit drops you straight into Level 1, and after that the big Play button always starts the next level you haven't cleared. Clear every bubble to finish a level, and earn up to three stars by using fewer shots. Some levels give you a limited number of shots. Endless mode keeps pushing fresh rows down and adds more colours as your score climbs. Press Esc or P, or the pause button, to take a break.

Tips

• Aim for the bubbles that hold others up. Popping three near the top can drop a dozen below them.
• Chain successful shots for a streak. Each shot in a row raises your score multiplier.
• If the current colour has no good spot, swap it or park it where a group is already forming.
• Save the bomb and rainbow specials for tight spots near the line.