Classic bubble shooter, free and endless: how to score higher

01

What makes a bubble shooter "classic"

Most people who search for a classic bubble shooter mean the arcade version: a field of coloured bubbles at the top, a launcher at the bottom and a line you must not cross. Three or more bubbles of the same colour pop, and anything left hanging without support falls away.

The pressure comes from above. In the classic game, missed shots make the ceiling creep down or push new rows in, and the round ends when the bubbles reach the bottom. There are no levels to finish, only a score that grows until you slip.

CloudPaws keeps that idea in "Classic clouds", an endless round next to the 240 story puzzles. Bubbles also carry a symbol for each colour, so you can match by shape when two colours look alike on a small screen.

02

How to start Classic clouds

Classic is open from the very first visit; you do not need to finish the adventure first.

1. Open the map

   Tap the CloudPaws logo at the top left or the cloud button next to it. On a phone, the logo is the quickest way.

2. Pick Classic

   Scroll to the card "Classic clouds" and press "Play classic". If a round is still running, the button says "Continue round".

3. Aim and shoot

   Drag on a phone, or use the mouse on a computer, and follow the dotted line. Release or click to shoot. With a keyboard, aim with the left and right arrow keys and shoot with Space.

4. Watch the counter

   Above the board you see how many quiet shots are left "until a new row". Every pop keeps that number where it is.

5. Play again or challenge

   When a bubble reaches the dotted line, the round ends. "Play another round" starts fresh, and "Challenge a friend to beat it" shares a link with your score.

03

The rules of the endless round

The numbers below come straight from the game rules, so you can plan with them.

• A round starts with four rows and a palette of four colours. Your shots are unlimited.
• A shot that pops nothing is a quiet shot. After six quiet shots, two new rows push in from the top and the counter starts again.
• For every six rows pushed in, the counter gets one shot shorter, down to three. The longer you survive, the less room for mistakes.
• New colours join over time: a fifth after sixteen pushed rows and the sixth after thirty-two.
• When fewer than ten bubbles are left, two fresh rows arrive at once, so the board never runs empty.
• Clearing the whole board earns a bonus of 1,000 points and brings four new rows.
• The round ends as soon as any bubble sits on the dotted line.

04

How the score adds up

Points come from several sources. Dropped bubbles are worth twice as much as popped ones, and the little clouds below the board can multiply them again.

05

Tactics for a higher score

The single most important rule is that only quiet shots bring new rows. As long as every shot pops something, the board does not grow. Good classic players therefore play safe first and greedy second.

• Check the next bubble before every shot. Swapping the current and the next bubble is free, so pick the one that touches a group you can complete.
• Drop instead of pop. Look for a thin neck of bubbles that holds a larger cluster. Cutting it drops everything below for 20 points each, and drops near the walls often reach the ×3 bins.
• Protect your streak. Each popping shot in a row adds 15 points per streak step, so a sure three-bubble pop is often worth more than a risky bank shot that might miss.
• Use the walls. A shot that bounces off the side wall reaches groups hidden behind other colours.
• Watch the lowest row, not the top. The round ends at the dotted line, so a single bubble hanging low is more dangerous than a crowded ceiling.
• Time the board clear. With only a few bubbles left, clearing them pays 1,000 points but also brings four rows at once, so make sure your next colours fit.

06

Power bubbles in Classic

Every shot that pops at least one bubble lights one of four lamps on the "Fever" meter. A quiet shot does not switch them off again. When all four glow, tap the meter to load a power bubble for your next shot. They arrive in a fixed order and then repeat, so you always know what comes next.

• Rainbow: joins every neighbouring group of two or more, whatever its colour.
• Bomb: clears every bubble within two cells of where it lands.
• Lightning: clears the whole row it lands in and the row above it. This is your rescue when the lowest row nears the line.
• Paint: turns its neighbours into its own colour before the match is checked, which can set up a large drop.

07

Full screen, phones and saving

On the CloudPaws page, press "Fullscreen" under the player for a bigger board. iPhone browsers cannot show part of a page in full screen; choose "Open game" there instead, which starts CloudPaws in its own tab. The game works in portrait and landscape.

Your best score and an unfinished round are saved in this browser on this device. To keep a copy, open Settings and choose "Export save"; "Import save" brings it to another device. The interface is available in English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and Simplified Chinese under Settings and "Language".

08

Classic, adventure or pinwheels?

CloudPaws has three ways to play. They share the same aiming and matching, but each asks something different of you.