Sponge Strike: Clean & Smash

The pitch

Sponge Strike: Clean & Smash is a satisfying physics puzzle game where every launch brings a hidden picture to life. Pull back, aim, and send your sponge sliding across the board to remove the dark coating underneath it. Bounce off walls, smash colorful block towers, spin up moving obstacles, trigger bombs and buttons, and collect coins along the way. Clear every objective, reveal the full picture, and use your rewards to unlock new sponge skins.

Controls & how it runs

Controls Mouse: Hold the left mouse button and drag backward to aim and set the launch power. Release to send the sponge forward. Click again when the sponge slows down to stop it and prepare the next launch. Mobile: Touch and drag backward to aim, then release to launch the sponge. Tap it when it slows down to stop and aim again.

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 arcade cabinets

• Treat your first run as a scouting mission. Arcade cabinets hide their cruelty in the second minute, not the first — learn where the difficulty spikes before you start chasing numbers.
• Small scores compound. Grab the easy pickups on every pass instead of gambling the whole run on one heroic line; heroes respawn, banked points don't evaporate.
• Watch the edges of the screen. In classic arcade design the next problem almost always enters from somewhere you weren't looking — build the habit of scanning the borders.

Sponge Strike: Clean & Smash — quick-fire questions

Does Sponge Strike: Clean & Smash 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 Sponge Strike: Clean & Smash?

It stands on our Arcade 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 Sponge Strike: Clean & Smash 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. Sponge Strike: Clean & Smash 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 Arcade row is powered on and waiting — The main floor: 415 cabinets of pure arcade stock — the quick, the loud and the gloriously unfair. If it beeps, flashes and dares you to beat a number, it lives on this row.