Balls and the game
A standard game of pinball is three balls, sometimes five. Your score builds across all of them and the game ends when the last ball drains. The total at the end is what goes on the high score table, which is why pinball players talk about their best game rather than their best ball.
Bubble Pinball swaps the ball count for a clock. Balls are endless: when one drains, the next is served and the table's clock loses 5 seconds. Every table has the same goal, pop all the bubbles before the clock runs out, and every pop gives a little time back. If time does run out, you are offered 15 more seconds to finish. Score keeps counting as you move from table to table, so a good run adds up across several tables.
Extra balls, replays and the match
An extra ball lets you shoot again with the same player once the current ball drains. Machines light it for reaching a goal, such as completing a bank of targets or a set of lanes. A replay (or special) was historically a free credit for passing a score threshold, announced by a loud knocker. The match is pure luck: at game over two digits roll, and if they equal the last digits of your score, you win a free game.
Bubble Pinball keeps all three, but since balls never run out, they pay in time. Clear the drop-target bank twice, or roll through the BONUS lane three times, and the extra ball becomes 10 more seconds on the clock. Reach the table's target score and the knocker sounds for a REPLAY, worth another 10 seconds. And when the clock runs out, the match rolls: one time in ten it lands on your score and lets you carry on for free with 15 extra seconds.
Ball save
A ball save is a short grace period, usually at the start of each ball, during which a drained ball is returned automatically. It exists so that a bad bounce in the first seconds does not end your turn before it starts. Some machines also light a ball save as an award.
In Bubble Pinball each ball starts with a ball saver, 15 seconds in the first world, 12 in the second and 10 after that, and the SHIELD side lane adds another 6 seconds when you roll through it while it is lit (it then needs a while to recharge). A saved ball does not cost you the 5 seconds of a drain, so keep the saver for the moment before a risky shot.
Skill shot
A skill shot rewards a precise launch: a lit lane, target or ramp hit straight from the plunger, before the ball touches anything else. It is the first risk-and-reward choice of every ball.
Bubble Pinball has three rollover lanes at the top, and they double as colour lanes: each shows a colour, the flippers rotate them, and rolling through one paints the ball. On the launch one lane is lit for the skill shot. Landing in it pays 10,000, then 20,000, 30,000 and 40,000 for later skill shots on the same table, and a SUPER SKILL SHOT, taken almost straight from the plunger, doubles that step.
Combos
A combo is two or more shots made in a row without the ball stopping or hitting anything useless in between. Machines reward them because they are the purest test of control: each shot has to feed the next. Many rule sheets count combos and give escalating awards.
In Bubble Pinball the COMBO lane arms a multiplier for the next bubble you pop. Pop another within a few seconds and the chain climbs x2, x3, x4, x6 and x8; every hit renews the window, and the chain drops back to the bottom when you miss it. Fast popping has its own reward too: ten pops in three seconds set off a bubble storm that doubles your points.
Multiball, jackpots and super jackpots
Multiball puts two or more balls in play at once. It is usually started by locking balls (holding them in a saucer or lock until enough are collected) or by completing a mode. During multiball, one or more shots are lit for a jackpot, a large fixed award, and completing a harder condition lights a super jackpot. Multiball usually ends when you are back to one ball.
In Bubble Pinball every ramp shot inflates the Mother Bubble. Fill it and it bursts into a three-ball multiball. While it lasts, every bubble you pop is a JACKPOT and every ramp is a SUPER JACKPOT, and with three balls chasing colours at once, a crowded board empties fast.
End-of-ball bonus and the bonus multiplier
Most machines count up a bonus while you play (for lanes, targets or modes) and pay it when the ball drains. A bonus multiplier, raised by completing a set of lanes or targets, multiplies that count. On a long ball with a high multiplier, the bonus can be worth more than everything else you scored.
Bubble Pinball does the same: lanes and targets build the bonus, and completing all three top rollover lanes raises the multiplier, up to 5x. When the ball drains, the display counts the bonus up and the points roll into your score.
Modes and missions
Modern machines are organised around modes: timed or goal-based challenges, started from a scoop or a set of targets, that change which shots are worth points. Finishing all of them usually opens the wizard mode.
In Bubble Pinball every table has the same clear goal: pop all the bubbles before the clock runs out. What makes it pinball rather than luck is the colour rule: a ball only pops bubbles of its own colour, and any other bounces it away. You pick the colour with the top lanes, the ramps and the coloured rings, or swap it by pressing both flippers at once. Each table adds its own rules, such as fragile bubbles, frost or shells that grow back, and boss tables play in phases.
Wizard mode
A wizard mode is the grand finale of a machine, opened only after the player has completed its main goals. The name comes from 'pinball wizard'. Players often complain that wizard modes are spectacular but pay little, so a good one rewards the effort with real points.
Bubble Pinball's wizard mode is THE GRAND FINALE. It opens once all ten bosses of a machine are beaten: two minutes of three-ball multiball in which bubbles grow back every few seconds, and every bubble you pop climbs a jackpot ladder up to x12 that never drops while the mode lasts. Surviving the two minutes is winning.
Tilt and slam tilt
Nudging the machine is allowed; abusing it is not. A tilt mechanism detects excessive shaking and, after one or more warnings, tilts: the flippers go dead, the ball drains and the bonus for that ball is lost. A slam tilt, triggered by hitting or lifting the cabinet, ends the whole game.
Bubble Pinball follows the same rule. You can nudge with the up arrow or Shift, the machine warns you, and if you keep pushing it tilts and the bonus is gone.
Stars: three challenges per table
Bubble Pinball adds one idea of its own to measure a table: three stars, each a separate challenge. QUICK means finishing with at least a quarter of the clock left, NO BALL LOST means never draining, and WHOLE CLUSTER means dropping a cluster by popping its anchor bubble with the gold ring. Stars are a bonus, not a gate: a table counts as passed even with none. So far there are 100 free tables across five worlds, with more on the way, and you can start the first one right now.
Frequently asked questions
How many balls do you get in pinball?
Usually three, sometimes five. Bubble Pinball has no ball count: balls are endless, and each lost ball costs 5 seconds of the table's clock.
What is a jackpot in pinball?
A large award for a specific shot, normally lit during multiball. A super jackpot is a bigger award for a harder condition.
What does the bonus multiplier do?
It multiplies the bonus counted at the end of each ball. In Bubble Pinball you raise it by completing the three top lanes, up to 5x.
What happens when you tilt?
The flippers stop working, the ball drains and you lose that ball's bonus. A slam tilt ends the entire game.