Bubble Pop: how it plays, odds and payouts

Bubble Pop is a chain-reaction game on a sheet of 25 bubbles. You press one, and it sets off a random number of its neighbours, which set off more, and so on. The longer the chain, the more it pays, and a chain that fizzles after one or two bubbles pays nothing. Most rounds are short and a few cover the whole sheet.

How a round works

1. Set your bet and tap Start. Press one bubble to begin; it pops.
2. Each popped bubble sets off 0, 1, 2 or 3 of its neighbours. The chances are 55%, 27%, 13% and 5%.
3. Each step lets one waiting bubble go off. Between steps the game shows a Cash out value, the exact average pay of the chain still going.
4. The round ends when the chain dies out or the sheet is full, and pays by the length of the chain.

The chain is decided by our servers when the round starts. Where you press is only a gesture.

Chain length and pay

The pay rises with every band: 3 bubbles or more pays 0.13x, 5 or more 0.34x, 8 or more 0.93x, 12 or more 2.7x, 18 or more 10.7x and all 25 pays 67x. Because each bubble sets off 0.68 neighbours on average, a chain tends to die out, so 69.85% of rounds end with fewer than 3 bubbles and pay nothing. The return is 96.857%.

Worked example

Your first bubble pops. The Cash out value at that moment equals the game's average return, 0.9686x. Then the first step plays out and the offer moves:

Check the average: 0.27 x 1.11 + 0.13 x 2.97 + 0.05 x 5.65 = 0.97, so every step is a fair bet. On a 100-coin bet, the offer after a three-neighbour start is about 565 coins.

If you decline and the chain grows to 5 bubbles popped with 4 still waiting, the offer is 9.30x. Keep playing on a fizzling chain and that falls quickly: 3 popped with 1 waiting is only 1.33x.

Max win and limits

The top is a full sheet, 67x the bet, in 1.02% of rounds. The game-wide limits (50,000x the bet and 250,000,000 coins per round) are not reachable. Volatility is medium: most rounds pay nothing, and the pay climbs steeply for the longest chains (10.7x for 18 or more, 67x for 25).

What matters and what does not

• Which bubble you press: nothing. The chain pattern is drawn in advance.
• Cashing out mid-chain: a pure volatility choice. At every step the offer equals the average of playing on.
• Past sheets: each sheet is new. A long chain last time is not a sign that the next one will be shorter.

The ladder idea behind the Cash out value is the same as in other games: see how ladder and tower games work.

How it differs from other cash-out games

Balloon Pop is a pick-a-balloon game where dud balloons end the round; there you choose what to pop. In Bubble Pop you choose only when to stop, and a chain that dies on its own pays little. Compare also Ladder Dash, which is another game whose Cash out button pays the exact average of what is left.

Play with limits

Coins are virtual, have no cash value and cannot be withdrawn or exchanged for prizes. For adults (18+), for entertainment. Set a time limit before you play; see playing safely in Cashout Arcade.