Bank shots in Pond Pop

Half of the board is easier to reach off a wall than straight on. Here is how to use the bounce.

A bounce is a mirror

When a bubble hits a side wall it leaves at the same angle it came in, like light off a mirror. If you imagine the board copied on the other side of the wall, a bank shot is simply a straight shot into that copy. This is why aiming close to the edge sends the bubble high up the opposite side: a shallow angle travels a long way before the bounce.

When to bank instead of shooting straight

A straight shot hits the first bubble in its path. A bank shot arrives from the side and can slip past the bottom of a cluster to reach a cell higher up, often the very cell that holds the cluster to the ceiling. Look for gaps along the walls: they are entrances that straight shots cannot use.

Cut from above

Popped bubbles score once, fallen bubbles score double. The best target is therefore a small group near the top that is the only link between the ceiling and a big hanging mass. Three bubbles popped there can drop twenty more. Before each shot, trace the link upwards: what is this cluster hanging from?

Use the swap and the miss dots

The swap lets you keep a colour for the shot that needs it. When the miss dots run low, stop aiming for spectacular drops and take the sure pop instead; a lowered ceiling on a crowded board is the usual way a stage is lost. Finishing a colour completely is also worth a shot or two, because the launcher stops loading colours that are no longer on the board.