First impressions
Well, who wouldn’t be taken in by the sight of three witches around a cauldron? Any fan of Macbeth should be drawn to this game like a moth to the flame. Our sister is certainly a Shakespeare buff and she’s the one that got us hooked on this. It didn’t hurt either that we’ve got more cats in our home than a coven, and it’s a moggie on the screen that hands out helpful instructions in the early stages. We were greeted with the very colourful vision of the three ladies in bad need of some Compound W stirring their potion, which released multiple bubbles into the air. We then had to start the process of knocking said bubbles down with other bubbles rising from the cauldron. Gaining points ensued and then the spiders started dropping …
How it works
In the beginning it’s all very simple (isn’t that always the way?) and the bubbles are nicely assembled above the witches. You are shown how to direct your shooting bubble from the cauldron so it hits at least two of its same colour (which it must to remove them). The more of the same colour that are grouped together, the more that disappear when you score a hit on one of them. If you don’t get a colour you like, you can tap on the cauldron for another choice. That’s how they suck you in at the start. You think it’s going to be a piece of cake … or eye of newt. As you gain points and pop the bubbles, so spiders drop down that, believe it or not, are a good thing. When bubbles drop and bounce on them you get extra points. The spiders act like bumpers on a pinball machine. If you can’t hit at least two bubbles of your same colour, your bubble gets stuck above and you lose spiders. Of course as the levels go along the bubbles above aren’t so nicely grouped, and then you have to start bouncing things on walls to get results etc. Those witches are certainly crafty creatures.
When we played
We confess that what with our love of cartoons and mathematics this quickly became a new favourite of ours. The instructions made it a very easy game to pick up and we liked that it let us find our feet before it started throwing curve bubbles at us. We became pretty adept at bouncing the bubbles at angles to hit awkward groups, which was surprising considering how rotten we were at pool. As the levels progressed our friendly neighbourhood cat kept appearing with new scraps of information vital to improving our skills and making us aware of potential pitfalls. We brought up the map of the fairy-tale land from time to time to remind ourselves of what progress we had made, and each location showed how many stars we had attained on each level. One star meant we’d managed but could have done better. Two stars indicated a pretty good effort, and three stars applauded us for our skills. In a way it took us right back to school.
Things really started getting interesting when poison started dropping if we made the wrong move, and every time we left the game for a while we’d be given a lot more info when we got back. One of the tidbits was a promise that new levels get added each week. The only thing we DID avoid was paying for extra lives and bubbles. The app was free but it certainly made it abundantly clear that to make our experience easier we could purchase things. We decided to take the high road and avoid such temptations and calls upon our purses.
Final thoughts
This could become rapidly addictive for all ages, which you wouldn’t think in the beginning, yet it’s shocking how quickly you find yourself wanting to get to each new level. The sound effects are also extremely satisfying every time you pop a bunch o’ bubbles or they bounce off those spiders and the map looks like the kind of thing you hold in your hand as you navigate Disney World – it’s always exciting to see where you’re heading next. It was interesting to see that the game promises to add new levels each week. Maybe that’s the magic of it…or why it’s called a “saga.” You’ll definitely find yourself under its spell.
Pros: Very easy to learn. Will appeal to a wide range of ages. Good sound effects. Lots of game for no money upfront. No need to be connected to the Internet.
Cons: None, apart from the pesky offers to buy bubbles, lives and other things from time to time. Suppose with it being free the seller has to make its money somehow, and these extras ARE optional.
Bubble witch saga
Rating: E for Everyone
Seller: King.com Limited
Cost: Free (with in-App purchase options)
Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad (Android expected later this year)
Four stars
We were greeted with the very colourful vision of the three ladies in bad need of some Compound W stirring their potion, which released multiple bubbles into the air.
Related Videos
