''Bubble Trouble'' is a

maze game A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that le ...

originally released for

Mac OS 7 System 7, codenamed "Big Bang", and also known as Mac OS 7, is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers and is part of the classic Mac OS series of operating systems. It was introduced on May 13, 1991, by Apple ...

Ambrosia Software Ambrosia Software was a predominantly Macintosh software company founded in 1993 and located in Rochester, New York, U.S. Ambrosia Software was best known for its Macintosh remakes of older arcade games, which began with a 1992 version of Atari ...

in 1996. It is an interpretation of Sega's '' Pengo'' from 1982 with the penguin recast as a

goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have bec ...

and the setting moved underwater.

Gameplay

Bubbles appear all over the playing field and can be used to defeat the balls by launching them in their direction, crushing them. However, the bubbles are just as deadly to the player if they are launched in his or her direction. Only certain tougher enemies can launch bubbles. Certain bubbles contain useful items, pushing them together can rack up points. Bubbles that are blue, purple, yellow, or green will bounce off of surfaces once they have been launched, bouncing a number of times dependent on their color, for example blues bounce once, purples twice etc. Some bubbles also contain dynamite, which will detonate either by igniting or by being pushed towards a target. There are two kinds of dynamite, a red one and a purple one; the latter has a much larger blast radius. Occasionally, a bonus bubble will float up across the screen, which can bestow powers of

invisibility Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light i ...

, or temporarily capture all enemies in static bubbles. Bubbles containing the letters of the word "extra" also appear, which provide a score bonus to the player and the equivalent of the capture bubble when all five are collected. There are four kinds of enemies in the game. #Chombert the Piranha - He is slow, and easy to avoid. He cannot push bubbles around. #Remington Eel - Moves faster than Chombert, and can push bubbles around. #Normal the Shark - Has the capability to launch a special bubble to trap the player. #Haarrfish - The most dangerous enemy in the game. She is extremely fast, and can push bubbles around in quick succession. Haarrfish will appear on any level if the player manages to push two of the gem-containing bubbles together with only a few of the enemies remaining out of the original complement.

Reception

"About This Particular Macintosh" wrote "In summary, the interface and controls are delightfully simple. The graphics and sound are rich. Difficulty is enough to hold adults' interest, yet it's still enjoyable for children. ''Bubble Trouble'' is well worth the purchase price of $15".

Legacy

A new version of the game titled ''Bubble Trouble X'' was released for

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...

in 2002. It includes a

level editor In video games, a level (also referred to as a map, stage, or round in some older games) is any space available to the player during the course of completion of an objective. Video game levels generally have progressively-increasing difficulty t ...

. The editor cannot be used without a license for the OS X version, although owning a prior "Classic" license provides a discount on the cost of a new one.

References

1996 video games Classic Mac OS games MacOS games Ambrosia Software games Maze games Video game clones Video games developed in the United States Single-player video games {{maze-videogame-stub