Bubble Breaker

Bubble Breaker is a SameGame port for pocket PC packed with the Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 OS for personal digital assistants or PDAs. The game was officially launched, along with the operating system, on 7th April 2003. Oopdreams software, Inc developed the Bubble Breaker. Bubble Breaker features on the official list of the Windows Mobile software "Core Applications". This game is also known by various alternate names including Jawbreaker and Bubblet. It is known as the Bubble Breaker in the Windows Mobile 0.5 and 0.6. Its original non-bundled version is available as Bubblets from the Oopdreams software, Inc.

How to Play Bubble Breaker

At the beginning of the game, the screen of the gameboard contains balls of different colors that are set in a matrix. The balls can be of five different colors – red, green, blue, purple and yellow. In order to earn points, the player has to eliminate two or more connected same-colored balls from the matrix by clicking on them. The player should try to eliminate as many balls as possible on a single click to win the maximum number of points.

The player’s score is determined by following the mathematical formula "Y=X(X-1)" where “X” stands for the number of balls eliminated at a time and “Y” stands for the resulting score.

In its “Standard” mode, the game finishes when there are no moves left. This happens when no more similar colored balls are arranged side by side in the matrix. Once a game ends, the screen displays the scoring screen, where one can see the game statistics like “Average Score”, “Total Score” and “Games Played”. There is also a button which can be used for starting a new game.

Game Modes and Options

Breaker Set: The player can use this option for choosing from the “Colorful Breakers” and “Greyscale Breakers” which determines the color of the balls on the gameboard. The first option, which is also the default, sets the balls to the five standard colors. If the second option is selected, various greyscale patterns adorn the balls. Players having monochromatic Pocket PCs can also play the Bubble Breaker using the “Greyscale Breakers” option. People who have difficulties in differentiating between various colors may also play the game using this option. Some patterns may include dark grey balls, lightly colored balls and white balls having dark dots in the center.

Game Styles: There are four different game styles of the Bubble Breaker. The “Standard” style is described above. The other three game styles are “Continuous”, “Shifter” and “MegaShift”.

The “Continuous” mode is quite similar to the “Standard” mode. There is only one major difference between them. In the “Continuous” mode, a fresh column of balls arrive from the gameboard’s left side every time the player clears an entire column.

In the “MegaShift” mode, a fresh column of balls is added to the gameboard as the player eliminates an entire column from the matrix. The balls move to the screen’s right side if there is enough space. One can preview the new column at the lower part of the screen, before they appear on the board.

The “Shifter” mode is similar to the “MegaShift” mode. But, no fresh columns arrive in this mode to replace the cleared balls. The player has to play with a finite number of balls in the “Shifter” mode.