From GotUsed and the New York State University College at Buffalo comes this entry in the Flash casual games category. Poom! is an action arcade game in which the objective is to bounce a ball, for as long as possible, on a randomly generated platform while racking up points in the process.
The tricky part is the platform, as it is randomly generated each time the ball bounces on it. It may even be composed of many missing tiles that the ball will fall through. If the ball falls through or misses the platform completely, the game is over.
Control is entirely with the mouse. Click to start the game, doing so will release the ball from above. Next, move the mouse to position the platform beneath the falling ball. A small shadow will appear upon the tile where the ball will bounce. Make sure the ball bounces on an acceptable tile to stay in the game.
For every bounce of the ball you are awarded 50 points, and there are several different types of tiles to keep the game interesting. Solid tiles will simply cause the ball to bounce. However, as with any ball bouncing against gravity, the ball of Poom! bounces a bit lower with each bounce thus reducing the time you have to position the platform. Bullseye targets will give the ball a small boost. Radiation signs will give the ball a rocket-powered boost. Yellow coins earn a bonus of 250 points—in addition to the 50 points for a bounce—but provide no boost. Treasure chests earn a bonus of 1500 points.
Besides missing tiles, it is best to avoid the black and yellow striped tiles, as the ball does not bounce well on those. Also, be warned of the shiny blue glass tiles. The ball will break those and fall through.
Analysis: The graphical style of Poom! and its pseudo-3D presentation pulled me right into the game. I felt an immediate sense of immersion from the excellent physics implementation of the bouncing ball. There was a bit of a learning curve for positioning the platform just right, but once I learned to keep my eye on the ball's shadow, my scores began to climb.
The gameplay offers just about the right mix between chance and skill, thus creating a compelling experience, though not necessarily a rich one. The power-ups offered are few and sparse, and therefore I feel that the game could be filled out a bit with even more interesting features. Still, it's a fun little game in its present form.
Very very addictive >
Very addictive.
High bounce: 39 High score: 5750
Fantastic game, though I wish there was a bit more variety to it. Reminds me a little bit of Tetris, in that it gets very hectic when the ball is low to the ground, but the right piece (i.e. the rocket boost) can solve all your problems.
My best is 80 bounces, 11750 points so far, but I'm definitely inclined to keep playing.
Wow...got into the zone in one game, ended up at: 276 bounces, 34300 points.
I lost when I tried to snag a nuclear bounce at the last second. As in life, greed is one of the biggest obstacles in this game :)
Great game. Its a little challenging, when the ball starts bouncing faster, but fun.
Glad you enjoyed it. It was a very fun game to make :)
Played the game alot at work my boss threatened to fire me if i kept going so my high score was 86 bounces and 9050 points. (I guess il just play on my break)
very addicting... couldn't stop playing it... my highest number of bounces was 91!
oh yeah....
424 bounces, score of 55,450
I find it helpful to bounce higher so you have more time to move
This game truly is addicting, even though I'm not that great. (High is 80 something and about 11,000 points). It would be very nice if the game had an averaging feature.
New tile Jay,the glass tile,so far I think what it does is it will break if your ball comes down on it from a bullseye-induced height,but(not sure)will stay together and maybe even give you a bonus or boost if landed on from a normal height.Still have to investegate.
Cheers,
-Josh
123000 points 890 somethign bounces
I'm really bad at this game. I was only able to bounce the ball 8 times. Anyway really addictive game I love it.
Anonymous
Quite addictive.
This probably wont help, but. . .
it's way easier to get it to bounce more if you bounce it on the red/target, and aim with the shadow. it bounces higher, so you have more time to adjust the platform. avoid glass at all costs.
You, Jay, win the internet for putting this up.
Let me say now that that was insane, and fun, considering I was playing this and attempting to make biscuits at the same time. Fun experience.
-Xi
Ooops! Looks like the "GotUsed" domain got bought out by a book store.
[Edit: Thanks, Zeke! I've updated the links. -Jay]
Holy Crap...what an addicting game! At first I thought it was lame, but after a few rounds, it sucked me in. Now, I can't stop playing. Pure Genius! I'm not very good right now, but I'll get better! Congratulations!
17 Bounces
1900 Points
Update