There's a smaller scale version for X, called xbubble, which is also quite addictive, although has low replay value as the early levels are the same each time, and there's no way to jump ahead when starting a new game.

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there's also sdl-based Frozen-Bubble, which has a level editor, and Popcap has an online clone called Dynomite.

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I never should have clicked on that link. Not too long ago I painfully quit my snood addiction. I think I'm about to jump back on the wagon with this one though.

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You mean "fall off the wagon".

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=%20on%20the%20wagon

Idioms:
off the wagon Slang

No longer abstaining from alcoholic beverages.

on the wagon Slang

Abstaining from alcoholic beverages.

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here's my latest fix

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Not that anyone cares, but it is a "remake" of Puzzle Bobble, also known as Bust'a'Move in the US.

People seem more familiar with Snood... but Snood is an ugly and clunky shareware rip-off of it which is mysteriously popular.

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That really pisses me off. Seems there's a buncha of fan sites I found on Google, and the asses even have the audacity to pump out a version for the Gameboy Advance, apparently.

Ugh.

Come on, guys, get with it.

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Slashdot story on the game, with discussion... what makes simple games like this fun?

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I suck at this game.

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Ah, the tyranny of Puzzle Bobble!

When I was in school, several people I lived with flunked classes and nearly dropped out because of Puzzle Bobble 2. The two-player competitive version is even more addictive than single player.

And I STILL GET THE MUSIC STUCK IN MY HEAD. THANKS.

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these. games. rule. from. orbit.

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Yoiks. Bust-a-Move/Puzzle Bobble/Bubble Bobble.

Part of Taito´s evil plot to attack the fundaments of civilization by dramatically reducing worker productivity...

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Awww man, the PalmOS implementation of this game is the only piece of paid Palm software I run, and it was well worth it!

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Ever see that Star Trek TNG episode "The Game" where the whole ship gets addicted to a video game where you psychically move some disk into a funnel thing...?



...and NO I'M NOT A TREKY (or treker or whatever)!

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If you have a Windoze machine, you should totally try Zuma.
It's kinda similar, but it's way more fun--there's a little more subtlety to the game design that makes it interesting. (Much better graphics, too.)

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oh dear, this game's going to own my soul.

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It is so horrible that you posted that, for I am a recovering Bust-a-Move addict. DAMN YOU.

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my productivity hates you..

also, i dunno if you saw this..

http://www.prisonplanet.com/022904rfidtagsexplode.html

Taken from: http://www.livejournal.com/users/dmaster/251841.html

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Yeah, I saw that, but my hoax-detector is redlining.

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Dammit. I've specifically refused to unzip my SNES emulator on this machine because of Bubble Bobble.

...

Dammit.

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I had work to today!
65770.

The random number generator hates me.

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There goes the weekend. And everything until the weekend.

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I kill you. I kill you TWO TIMES for directing me to that link.

8 hours of my life, gone, and I only made it to 126,000.

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Having played frozen-bubble before, the major difference of this implementation seems to be the way it chooses when to add a layer. With this system it adds a layer after a certain number of shots in which no bubbles are popped, and the chances of you shooting and not popping any bubbles generally increases as you approach the top, which makes the game un-winnable, and similarly, the odds of you popping bubbles increases (but not linearly) as you increase the number of lines on the screen. This means that without changing the game by forcing a time limit or increasing the number of lines added (which this game does) you will generally get the number of bubbles on the screen to oscillate around some equilibrium point, making the game also nearly unloseable.

The way that the game changes the number of non-popping shots between adding lines causes the amount of bubbles on the screen to oscillate more than they naturally would, causing the illusion of progress in the game. In fact, if the type of bubble fired is selected by the game to increase odds of popping with fuller screens and decrease the odds of popping with less lines on the screen, the game would extend for even longer periods than it naturally would.

The possibilities of using a variant game to incapacitate enemy forces or at least to receive a DARPA grant should not be overlooked.

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Yup I'm addicted but I can't score over 5000 or so. What does the bar in the top right hand corner do other that have four green balls that get a cross and then go blank. The insructions are in everyones favorite moon language and I can't be bothered to googlefish them.

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When you shoot but fail to pop, you get an X; when the X reaches the right, a row is added, and you lose a ball (meaning you have less Xes next time around.) Then it resets (but maybe it adds more levels next time, I can't remember.) After a while (specific number of rounds?) you get a "speed round" where the score goes up dramatically. After that, it seems to kick you out of the game (unless there's some extra trick you have to do that I haven't discovered yet.)

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As most everyone I've met who has played it agrees, the best game like this is Battle Balls. But I can't find it for love or money. Yet another piece of beautiful lost media.

(Tetris Attack is also ok.)

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Apparently the arcade version has been dumped, but is not yet emulated. But presumably it will find itself into MAME someday and then no longer be lost to the world.

(Wow, it's bad when you can't even find the PlayStation version for sale somewhere!)

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You owe me for lost hours of my life.

If my time were actually worth anything, that would mean something.

Also, I utterly suck at this.

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You may have your club, your skillz, and your millions of dollars, but I have the high score! ahahaha &c.

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I want to hit you with a big stick.

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Has anybody figured out what triggers the difficulty increases yet? At some point new rows start to appear two and then three at a time, and you also 'lose' one ball (it rolls over to four instead of the full file), but I haven't figured out what causes them yet.

It's not points, as I've seen it happen as early as 15kish and as late as 50k. It doesn't seem to be the number of times you've rolled over the number of 'lives' either.

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Whoops, never mind, finally figured out the connection myself, and as others have noted it's tied to the number of colours eliminated. You have as many balls as there are colours left, and it advances by an additional row for each one eliminated.

The four-left stage seems to be the hardest and was almost always where I would lose. With three left it's a lot easier to get into the oscillation between a nearly-full-but-easy-to-pop screen and a nearly-empty-but-about-to-fill screen, and most of the points were made there.

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