Bubble Bash

Bubble Bash was one of the puzzle titles Gameloft used in 2007 to fill out the catalogs of carrier stores for Java and Symbian. The principle is the same as in the classic Bust-a-Move: the player fires colored bubbles from a cannon at the bottom of the screen, trying to form groups of at least three same-colored balls before the wall of bubbles above grows down to reach them. No complicated plot, and it doesn't need one - the rule is legible at first glance and pulls the player into round after round without needing to explain anything, which made titles like this ideal material for carrier catalogs.

The aiming reticle was controlled with the directional keys 4 and 6, firing with button 5, so the game worked even on the cheapest phones without needing a precise joystick or a touchscreen. Short, few-minute rounds made it a typical game for filling a spare moment, very much in the spirit of how mobile games were played back then - on a tram, in a line, or during a break at work. The visual style was colorful and simple, with bubbles large enough to be distinguished even on a small, low-contrast display.

Bubble Bash was sold as a paid download through mobile carriers, and like plenty of other Gameloft titles from that era, it officially no longer works today - app stores for feature phones don't exist anymore, and the game can only be found in J2ME archives or through emulation of phones from that time.

Why play it: Ideal for fans of the bubble shooter genre who want to try how the proven Bust-a-Move rule fit into a simple mobile game from the end of the decade.