If you haven't already played Crusoe's new game called Crusoe's Squeaky Ball Bubble POP!, which you can download for free from the Apple Store or Google Play Store here, or if you have and are just trying to figure it out, well check out this article which will walk you through the basics of how to play!
Glossary of sections:
- The Basics (Goals, Icons & Controls)
- How to Shoot
- Boosters, Power-Ups, & Obstacles
- Lives, Points, Stars, & Buttons
- The Store
- Characters & Outfits
- Level Walkthrough & Tutorial Videos
- Report a Problem
The Basics (Goals, Icons & Controls)
The game is a classic bubble shooter, match 3-style game. So you will need to match colors of squeaky balls together in groups of 3 or more to "pop them".
You will notice that in each level, there are a certain number of squirrels to save. The squirrels are clinging to squeaky balls up in the air, and they are freed when you pop the squeaky balls with the squirrels. So you beat a level when all the squirrels are saved. (You also need to achieve at least 1 star on a level to beat it).
You begin each level with a certain number of squeaky balls in your toy bin, so you will need to complete the level (save all the squirrels) with only as many throws/balls as you are given, meaning of course, you must think and play strategically to beat a level as efficiently as possible. Hence, why it's a puzzle game!
From the map screen, here are the icons and controls.
How to Shoot
To Shoot: place your finger on the screen just above Crusoe, and hold your finger on the screen to start the aiming line. You can now drag your finger around the screen to move and position your aiming line. When you are happy with your aim, release your finger to have Crusoe shoot the ball. You do not need to flick your finger or tap a second time. Just tap-hold-aim-release.
Popping Squeaky Balls: Connect same colors together in 3 or more to pop them. Everything in the air is attached together from above up to the top of the level. So you can pop the squeaky balls as you move up, but you can also drop a larger chunk of balls by cutting off the group from its connection above.
Example: instead of just aiming for the closest/lowest color balls like the red balls here, aim for "connections" up above that will let you cut loose balls below (the blue balls), which helps you conserve shots and complete the level more efficiently.
This is especially important when you encounter obstacles, such as the rock which cannot be popped or destroyed. So the only way to get around it is to dislodge them from above.
Boosters, Power-ups, & Obstacles
Boosters are represented by the 4 icons in the bottom bar of the gameplay screen. When you have these available, you can tap any of them to use. They each offer a unique benefit. These can be earned/offered for free as you progress through the game, but you can also get more boosters by just tapping the icon and spending buttons, or buying packages from the Store.
The Beach Ball booster will give you a "multi-colored" ball, meaning no matter where you throw your shot, it will connect with any colors and pop all the connecting balls it touches. This is only a one-time shot.
The Telescope booster will give you a longer aiming line for the duration of the level, meaning you'll be able to make very precise shots, even when aiming high up in the level, or long bounce shots off the walls.
The Swap-Three booster will let you swap not just between the next colored ball in your toy bin, but between the next two colored balls in your toy bin, so for the duration of the level you'll always be able to choose between 3 balls/colors when shooting.
The Mud Ball is the most powerful booster in the game. When you throw this ball, a white fluffy dog comes running out and jumps in the mud, which wipes all the balls off the screen. The Mud Ball can also be attained by activating all 4 of the Power-up characters together.
Power-ups are the 4 side-characters to the left and right of the screen who can offer a unique, special powers that you can use. They each have a 'power bar' which gets filled as you pop certain colored balls above. Once the power bar is full, you can activate and use them for special destruction effects.
The Fish power-up is powered when you pop blue balls. Once the power bar is full, tap the "use" button on the Fish to use its power, which is a vertical destroy line. The fish can go through any obstacle, including rocks which can be very useful.
The Paisley power-up is powered when you pop red balls. Once the power bar is full, tap the "use" button, wherein Paisley will blow you a kiss which gives you a heart ball. When thrown, the heart ball makes a 'love explosion' where it lands. The love explosion will destroy some but not all obstacles.
The Dillon power-up is powered when you pop yellow balls. Once the power bar is full, tap the "use" button, wherein Dillon will throw you a tennis ball. This gives you a 3-way shot. Each ball makes a mini explosion, which is not that powerful on its own, but if combined with the other powerups, such as Paisley, it will give you a 3-way triple Paisley explosion.
The Sandy power-up is powered by green balls. Once her power is full, tap the "use" button, wherein she will toss you her boomerang. This is a very strong power, as wherever the boomerang lands, it will cut back and forth horizontally across the screen, through any obstacles like rocks, and will drop everything below it.
You can also use any of the above power-ups at any time even when they do not have a full power bar by just tapping the "+" button next to them. Each power-up will have a certain cost in buttons.
Keep in mind that power-ups can be combined. You can combine any two, three, or all four of the power-ups together for even bigger effects. When you combine all four, it turns into the mud-ball, which is the most powerful and destructive effect in the game.
Obstacles: are embedded in the sky above and can be of either positive, negative, or neutral effect. Here are just a few examples:
The Rock is a neutral obstacle that is indestructible. The only way to remove them is to dislodge them from above, OR, use the Fish or Sandy power-up, or mud ball. 
The Rhino is a positive obstacle that when hit, charges back and forth horizontally across the screen, causing everything below it to fall.
The Bee Hive is a negative obstacle that if hit while not wearing the bee suit, a bee will come down to sting you, causing you to lose the level. So avoid at all costs!
Lives, Points, Stars, & Buttons
Lives: while on the map screen, you can see the number of lives you have in the top-left of the screen. You always start with 5 lives. Every time you fail or exit a level, you lose a life. Lives regenerate every 15 minutes.
If you ever run out of lives, you can wait until enough time has elapsed for a new life, spend a few buttons, or watch an ad to get more lives and continue playing.
If you ever run out of balls (shots) on a level, you still have an option to continue before actually failing the level and losing a life. You will see a popup appear that offers you 10 extra shots to continue the level with. This will require a small amount in buttons, or for you to watch an ad.
However, keep in mind there is a daily threshold of ads you can watch, so the "watch ad" button may not always be there depending on how many you've already watched.
Points: you earn points throughout a level based on the balls you pop, your combinations and booster/power-up uses, etc. You'll notice the little numbers appear every time you pop balls. These are the points.
Stars: Each level can earn a maximum of 3 stars, and stars are awarded based on how many points you get. At least 1 star is required to beat a level. However, sometimes you may find that you beat a level so efficiently that you only finished with 1 or 2 stars, yet still beat the level. To earn the full 3 stars, try using up more of the balls in your toy bin, or using more power-ups/boosters along the way, to earn as many points as possible while still saving the squirrels.
Buttons: Buttons are the currency of the game (like coins), and each star you get will earn you one button. At the end of a level, once you are rewarded your stars and buttons, you can double your buttons by watching an ad (this can sometimes be limited by your max number of ad views per day).
Buttons can be used for many things in the game, including:
- Buying more lives
- Buying more shots to a continue a level once you've run out of balls
- Buying boosters
- Buying/activating the power-up characters
- Some outfits are offered for buttons
The Store
You can visit the Store by tapping the little 'Shop' icon in the bottom right of the map screen.
The Store requires real money/currency to purchase things (charged through your App Store account). The store offers a variety of packages usually consisting of a mix of boosters and buttons, which are things you keep on hand and use as you play the game.
You can also just buy buttons from the store, to be used on in-game boosters, power-ups, extra shots, etc.
For example, the Welcome Pack will get you 1 multicolor booster, 1 telescope booster, 1 swap-three booster, 1 mud ball, and 120 buttons for $4.29 in Canadian dollars (it will always show prices in your local currency).
Characters & Outfits
In the top left of the map screen, when you tap the little character icon, it will bring you to the Character tab. From here, you can switch between characters or outfits that you have unlocked or purchased.
All 3 characters, including Crusoe, Oakley, and Daphne, as well as some costumes, are unlocked for free as you progress through the game.
Some special costumes are only available for sale, which will be offered to you through a pop-up at certain points in the game.
Some costumes also have special benefit/powers within the game. So far, these include:
The Bee Suit is offered for purchase and when worn, makes you invicible to bees, meaning your shots can hit the bee hives directly and you will be unaffected. Without the bee suit, bees will sting you if you hit the hives directly and cause you to lose the level.
The Free Spirit Daphne outfit becomes available for free when you enter the Arizona map, and she gives you +4 shots on Water Drops instead of just +2. Meaning that on especially difficult levels, focus on hitting Water Drops and building up your shots as you move through the level.
The Cowboy Crusoe outfit is offered for purchase and when worn, allows you to activate/utilize the Peashooter obstacles (the little spinning cowboy pistols), and as well, also makes you invincible to the rattlesnakes. Without this outfit, the Peashooters will not function and rattlesnakes will lose you -2 shots.
Walkthroughs & Tutorials
If you're stuck on certain levels or with a certain obstacle, such as the bee hives, check out our new Squeaky Ball POP YouTube Channel which has many specific level walkhroughs and tutorials.
Here are a few example walkthroughs and tutorials:
Level 26 Walkthrough:
How to Defeat the Bees:
View the YouTube channelReport a Problem
If you're experiencing a problem with the game, please email our support team at support@crusoedachshund.freshdesk.com and we'll try to help ya out! We are continuing to work on optimizations and improvements to allow for wider device support.
Any other questions or things you'd like to see in this guide, leave us a comment below!
Check out these featured items from my store!
