High Score Tips for Bubble Island (Game on Facebook)

Introduction

Bubble Island is a puzzle game on Facebook made by Wooga (makers of Monster World), similar to Snood. In it, you shoot colored bubbles out of a cannon at a pattern of other bubbles. Match three or more of the same color, and they explode. Any bubbles dangling off of the exploded bubbles also drop. The goal is to clear all bubbles from the screen.

The game tracks and scores how many bubbles you’ve shot, exploded, and dropped, and how long it takes you to clear the screen. You can play through an Adventure series of ten island areas. As the level of island area goes up, so does the number of bubble colors - including a blank bubble that never shows up in the cannon and can’t be exploded, only dropped. Meanwhile, aiming time goes down, the ceiling descends after fewer shots, and you lose instantly if any bubble hits the bottom.

Or you can do the Level of the Week challenge: 60 seconds to clear as many bubbles as possible while new ones scroll in endlessly from the top. Either way, Adventure or Level of the Week, compare your score with your friends and see who can get the highest.

So how can you get the highest scores? Here are some hints and tips to improve your Bubble Island strategy.

Aim High

Given a choice between matching three bubbles near the bottom, or matching three near the top, go for the ones at the top. Aim for the highest ones you can reach.

When aiming high, don’t just look for matches that you can reach directly. Use the walls and ceiling to bounce bubbles past obstacles. Bubble Island is pretty forgiving about letting bubbles slip past other bubbles into tight spaces.

You can also use clear patches of ceiling to buy time if you’re not sure where to put something. Just let the timer shoot anywhere away from other bubbles, and it will bounce back into your cannon.

Weak Points

Look for weak points - places where many bubbles are supported by only one or two, or with only bubbles of the same color. If you can explode those, all the other ones will drop. As always, aim for high weak points over low weak points.

As you get better, you’ll also learn to spot the best places to make your own weak points from the bottom, using the fewest possible shots to make a hole until you have many dangling from one. This comes in handy at higher levels when you won’t have many ready-made weak points in the pattern.

In the example, the red and yellow bubbles inside the green triangle will drop if you can match a green bubble to the triangle. (Screenshot is from the Adventure: Shipwreck stage of the Bubble Island game.)

Drops

Whenever possible, set up drops. Dangle bubbles that you can’t use elsewhere off of two bubbles of the same color, so that when a third comes along to match, you can get drop points. Again, aim high - avoid adding bubbles to the bottom middle part of the pattern at all costs. Those will get in your way later, especially as the ceiling descends.

Sometimes there are two possible places to set up the same drop (or future match) - but one of them blocks match options for a different color. Always choose the spot that keeps as many options open as possible.

Drops are an excellent way to use all the extra bubbles at the end of the game, when you’re waiting for one specific color to show up.

What if drops aren’t possible either? If you can’t use a bubble to make matches, and you also have nowhere to dangle it for a drop, just put it as far out of the way as possible. Shoot them up the pattern sides, or line them up on the underside of a row of blank bubbles, if you have them (set them up for future drops). Whatever you do, don’t put them at the bottom middle right next to your cannon.

In the example, the purple bubble in the cannon can drop stuff in four different places - but the best spot will drop 11 bubbles on the left. (Screenshot is from Adventure: Waterfall.)

The Raccoon

The raccoon holds the next bubble after the one in your cannon. Pay attention to the colors - you can use them to plan matches and small drops, for example if you’re getting two bubbles of the same color in a row. Whenever possible after you’ve worked out a tricky aim, shoot as many bubbles without moving the cannon as you can (this happens often at the low levels, less so as you advance).

Also watch the colors to make sure that the bubble in the cannon is the color you think it is - and not the color that the raccoon is holding. He likes to wave it around and confuse you.

Endgame Strategy

At the end of the game, most of the screen is clear and you’re just waiting for bubble colors to match the ones hanging directly from the ceiling. In the example, you only need two purple bubbles to finish the game. A couple tips:

• Avoid adding new bubble colors to the ceiling, where you’ll have to get two more to match them. Try to set them up as drops instead.
• Eliminate individual colors as fast as possible. Once there are no more of that color on the screen and they’re clear of the cannon and raccoon, you won’t get more of them later.

If you have only a few colors left in the endgame, try reversing your Bubble Island strategy. Don’t do any more drops or matches. Just dangle as many bubbles as possible, so that you get massive drop points when you do get the right color to finish it off.