Aim from the reeds, bank shots off the side walls and pop groups of three or more bubbles of one colour. Anything left hanging without a link to the top drops into the pond for double points.
How Pond Pop works
Bubbles hang from the top of the board in an offset honeycomb. You shoot one bubble at a time from the launcher at the bottom; when it touches the ceiling or another bubble, it settles into the nearest free cell.
If the new bubble completes a group of three or more of its colour, the whole group pops. Every bubble that was hanging only through that group then falls, and fallen bubbles score double, so the best shots cut a cluster loose from above.
A shot that pops nothing counts as a miss. After a few misses the ceiling comes down one row (Stages) or a fresh row pushes in from the top (Endless). The dots beside the launcher show the misses you have left. When a bubble reaches the dashed line, the game is over.
You can swap the bubble in the launcher with the next one at any time, and the launcher only loads colours that are still on the board. Easy uses 4 colours and allows 7 misses, Normal 5 colours and 6 misses, Hard 6 colours and 5 misses.
Controls
- Phone
- Touch to aim, slide to adjust and lift your finger above the launcher to shoot. Tap the small bubble to swap.
- Keyboard
- Left and right arrows aim, Space or the up arrow shoots, C or the down arrow swaps. P or Esc pauses.
- Mouse
- The aim follows the pointer and a click shoots.
Tips from the pond
- Bank shots open the board. A bubble that bounces off a wall reaches cells a straight shot cannot; the aim line shows the path to the first bounce and a little beyond.
- Aim at the stem, not the leaves. Popping a small group that holds up a big hanging cluster is worth far more than popping the largest group in sight.
- Use the swap to plan two shots ahead. If the current colour has no good home, swap it and keep it for later.
- Watch the miss dots. With one miss left, take the safe pop instead of the clever one; a lower ceiling on a crowded board ends games quickly.
- Finish colours off. Once a colour is gone from the board the launcher stops loading it, and the rest of the stage gets easier.
Questions
How far does the aim line go?
It traces the real path up to the first wall bounce and a short way past it. After that, judge the angle yourself: a bounce is a mirror reflection.
Why do I get a colour I cannot use?
The launcher picks from the colours still on the board, not only from those next to an open cell. Swap it and keep it for a later shot.
What changes between Stages and Endless?
In Stages you clear a board to reach the next one and misses lower the ceiling. In Endless the board never empties: misses push in new rows and you play for the longest run.
Are the numbered ponds the same for everyone?
Yes. Each pond page uses a fixed seed, so the starting board is identical on every device, and the same shots bring the same bubbles into the launcher.