Pop The Ball

The pitch

Pop balloons into smaller ones and guide them through the matching holes. Make sure every balloon fits through and lands in the basket below. Think ahead and choose which balloons to pop to solve each level. Fill the basket to complete the puzzle!

Controls & how it runs

Pop balloons by clicking on them. Fill the basket with balloons to complete the level. Roll balls through the multiplier windows to increase their amount!

Getting a run going takes exactly one press: Press start, up top, and the game boots inside this page — nothing downloads in the background and no form wants your details before the first jump. The cabinet is drawn for a flexible screen and listens to mouse, keyboard or touch, whichever the game prefers. It reshapes itself for tall and wide screens alike, so phone, tablet and desktop all get the full picture. Given a fullscreen button, use it — scores look better at full size, that's just science.

Pro tips for puzzle cabinets

• Count what's missing, not what's there. In matching and logic boards the empty spaces and absent pieces usually draw the shape of the solution for you.
• Solve the corner first. Constrained edges and locked pieces have the fewest options, which makes them the honest starting point of almost every board here.
• If you're stuck, change the order, not the plan. Many boards on this row are the same moves played in a different sequence — the lock was the order all along.

Pop The Ball — quick-fire questions

Does Pop The Ball cost anything to play?

Not a token. The cabinet is free from the first run to the five-hundredth — no wallet, no sign-up, no toll booth hiding three levels in. The adverts around the page are what keep the floor's lights on.

What sort of game is Pop The Ball?

It stands on our Puzzle row — that's the family it plays most like. The pitch above is the publisher's own rundown of what it throws at you and what it hands back.

Can I play Pop The Ball on my phone?

Happily, yes. It runs inside the browser on phones and tablets the same way it does on a computer. It reshapes itself for tall and wide screens alike, so phone, tablet and desktop all get the full picture.

Do I need to install anything first?

Nothing whatsoever. Pop The Ball is an HTML5 game: hit the start button and it boots on this page, and shutting the tab sweeps the cabinet clean behind you.

Before you wander off

Personal best banked, or still chasing it? Either way the full Puzzle row is powered on and waiting — Boards, bubbles and blocked exits: 139 puzzle cabinets for players who like their pressure quiet and their solutions sudden. Think first, tap second, gloat third.