Play Puzzle Bobble online

On UsuArcade, Puzzle Bobble goes head-to-head online against a friend: each of you on your own phone or PC, in the same game and in real time. Puzzle Bobble, known to most of America as Bust-A-Move, was the cabinet that pulled in people who never played anything else. Bub and Bob from Bubble Bobble traded platforms for a bubble launcher, and in 90s arcades it turned into nonstop head-to-head grudge matches.

History

Taito released it in 1994, bringing back the stars of Bubble Bobble, its 1986 hit. In North America it was renamed Bust-A-Move.

The idea was so simple and so addictive that it spawned sequels and versions for just about every console and computer, becoming one of the best-loved puzzle games of the decade.

How to play

You fire colored bubbles up toward the ceiling. Match three or more of the same color and they pop, and anything left hanging with nothing to hold it drops off all at once.

Bank shots off the side walls to reach tricky gaps. Every so often the ceiling pushes down, and if the bubbles reach the bottom line you lose. In two-player mode, whatever you drop on your side gets sent over to junk up your opponent.

Fun facts

• In the U.S. the game was called Bust-A-Move.
• Bub and Bob are the same dragons from Bubble Bobble.
• Dropping a big cluster scores way more than popping bubbles one group at a time.

In the arcade

Just like the arcade, only from your own couch: sit down at the Puzzle Bobble cabinet, invite your friend once they're in the lobby and dump bubbles on each other's side. Nothing to install: it runs in your browser on phone or PC, gamepad supported, and every game starts with INSERT COIN, free.

Your friend can even jump in after you've already started. Anyone else in the lobby can drop in as a spectator and watch live while chatting, and your scores go up on the arcade's high score board.

FAQ