Bubble pop
For grown-ups
A bubble popping game without the game
Bubbles to chase and pop, and nothing else: no points, no levels, no lives, no "game over". It keeps going as long as a child wants to play and stops the moment they don't.
Settings for grown-ups
About this toy
Soap bubbles in six soft colours float slowly up from the bottom of the screen. A child taps one, or sweeps a finger through several, and each bursts into a ring of droplets with a little "bloop". Big bubbles bloop lower, small ones higher. New bubbles keep coming, so there is never a last one. It is one of the gentlest toys in the box and works well for three-year-olds: a finger simply held on the screen pops the bubbles that drift into it. Older children chase the small, quick ones. Nothing counts points and nothing ends.
How to play
Tap a bubble to pop it. Keep the finger down and sweep it across the screen to pop every bubble it passes through. Several fingers can pop at once, so two children can share one tablet.
A good first go
Wait for a big bubble near the bottom, follow it with a finger as it rises, then tap. Or hold a finger still and let the bubbles drift into it.
Good to know
The bubbles move slowly on purpose, and every bubble counts a little beyond its edge, so near misses still pop. With "Less motion" on (in the settings above, or on the device) they rise even more slowly and don't wobble. Sound starts after the first tap.
How the sounds are made, with the numbers: how the sounds work.
Last updated
What makes it different from bubble wrap
The bubble wrap sheet sits still and waits; these bubbles move. A child has to watch where a bubble is going and meet it there, which makes this one more of a chase. Younger children often prefer to hold a finger still and let bubbles float into it; older ones go for sweeping runs across the screen. Both work.
Ways to play together
- Colour hunt: name a colour and pop only bubbles of that colour.
- Big or small: pop only the big ones, then only the small ones, and listen to how the sound changes.
- Count out loud: count each bubble as it pops. The toy doesn't keep count, so there's nothing to beat.
- Gentle fingers: pop a bubble with the lightest touch you can. Any touch works.
Made for small hands
The smallest bubble is about a hundred pixels across, bigger than a grown-up's fingertip, and each one counts as hit a little beyond its outline. Bubbles rise at a walking pace for the eyes, so there is time to aim. The page doesn't scroll or zoom while a finger is on the bubbles; the narrow strip under the toy scrolls down to this part.
When a bubble pops, a ring of droplets spreads out and fades within a third of a second. Nothing flashes, and the colours are soft pastels rather than bright neon. iPads and iPhones can't vibrate for web pages, so the droplets are the "feel" of each pop; Android phones also give a short buzz.
Setting it up
Bubbles rise from the bottom, so a tablet held upright gives them the longest trip and a small child the most time to catch them. On a phone, both orientations work; on its side, the bubbles cross the screen faster. If a younger child finds the chase frustrating, switch on "Less motion" in the settings: the bubbles slow down and stop wobbling, which makes them easy targets.
Sound
Each pop is a short rising tone made on the device at the moment of the tap, a little different every time, so a stream of pops sounds lively rather than repetitive. Bubbles on the left sound a touch more from the left speaker. The round speaker button at the top turns all sound off; the bubbles still pop.
Questions people ask
Is there a score or a timer?
No. Nothing is counted, and bubbles keep floating up for as long as the page is open.
What does the round arrow do?
It clears the screen and starts a fresh batch of bubbles spread over the whole screen.
Can two children play at once?
Yes. Every finger pops on its own, so two or three children can share one tablet.
My child keeps missing. Can it be easier?
Turn on "Less motion" in the settings above: the bubbles rise more slowly and stop wobbling. Holding a finger still and letting bubbles drift into it also works.
Does it work without sound?
Yes. The bubbles pop with the same ring of droplets when the sound is off.
Is anything recorded or sent anywhere?
No. The bubbles, the pops and the sounds are all made on the device, and nothing a child does is stored or sent.