The estimated reading time for this post is 5 minutes
Move over, Angry Birds, there’s a new game in town. That’s right, Ball Smash!, a new game that also involves launching brightly colored objects to smash other brightly colored objects, is destined to make Angry Birds look positively boring.
Ball Smash! is a game that launched last month in the iTunes App Store, the Android Market, and the Amazon App Store. The app is universal and works equally well on the iPad and smartphones. As with Angry Birds, the purpose of the game is to smash objects, but the objects of Ball Smash! are brightly colored balls, not agitated birds and snickering pigs.
Ball Smash! is easy to learn, the concept is simple. The game begins with a grid of either 9×9, low resolution recommended for smaller screens, or 11×11, high resolution recommended for larger screens. Different colored balls line the sides of the grid with target balls resting in the middle the grid. To smash a ball, you launch a ball from the side of the grid towards the middle. If the launched ball is the same color as the target ball, both balls will smash. If the balls are different colors, both balls remain on the board. You earn points by smashing balls.
You can only launch a ball from the sides if there is a ball in the center to hit. For example, in the screen below, you can’t launch any green balls because they are in columns and rows that are empty.
The object of the game is to clear the board of all the balls in the center. Once you have achieved that goal, you move up a level. At Levels 3, 6, 9 and 12, new ball colors are added with higher points.
The sound effects of the balls smashing is really cool. It’s easy to turn the sound off, but leave it on if you can to enjoy the full Ball Smash! experience.
While this game is simple to learn, the strategy involved in playing this game can be fascinating and challenging. The game is easy when you launch a ball directly into another ball of the same color. But when there are no apparent moves, as with the board above, you need to plan how you are going to arrange the balls to smash them. For example, if you launch the purple ball on the right side of the grid, it will stop in the center at the upper blue ball. You can then launch the purple ball at the bottom to smash the purple ball in the center.
What’s really fun is to plan ahead and devise strategies several moves out. As the grid gets more full with balls, which happens at the higher levels, you can devise clever ways to clear out the balls.
The game continues until you have a grid full of balls with no moves left to make.
As carefully as you strategize, your plans can change abruptly based upon which colored ball appears next. After you launch a ball, you have no idea which colored ball will take its place. You can have the most complex strategy devised, but then a new ball appears that changes everything.
You can get into a Zen mode with this game. The game encourages you to take risks. When you make the moves the game seems to want, the game flows beautifully. The colors you wish for appear and then you’re clearing the board with ease. But then you make a move that seems to stop the game in its tracks. One move and then nothing seems to work. You don’t even see a move in the distant future. That’s when you study the board closely to see what moves you may have missed.
Strategy
The center is the best place on the grid, giving you the most options for smashing. The edges of rows and columns are risky because balls placed there block a lot of moves. But Balls Away! seems to want you to take risks and often will give you the colors you want if you play the edge moves.
Having one ball left on the grid can be the easiest or the most difficult board to have. If the colors line up, one shot will win the level. If the colors don’t line up, you can have a struggle getting rid of the one ball. I’ve lost the game after having only one ball left on the board.
I don’t want to give you too many hints about how to play the game as it’s fun to discover the strategies yourself!
Background
Since this game was just launched in October, you may be wondering how I can call this my favorite game ever. That’s not a lot of time to develop enough affection for a game to make such a bold claim.
In truth, I have been playing this game for nearly eight years, since early 2004. This game was available for PC’s and Palm Pilots under the title Balls Away! When I transferred from my Palm Pilot to my iPhone, I asked the developer to bring the game to the iPhone. My peskiness paid off because last month the developer granted my wish and launched the game as Ball Smash! Imagine my delight as I read the email from the developer with the news (though my husband was a bit disappointed that we hadn’t won the lottery as my screams of joy would indicate).
Give It a Go!
If my passion for this game hasn’t convinced you to cough up 99¢ to purchase Ball Smash!, no worries. You can check out the game for free. A Lite version of the game that lets you play the game up to Level 4 is available in the iTunes App Store, Android Market and the Amazon App Store.
Here are the links for Ball Smash!
iTunes App Store: Full and Lite
Amazon Appstore: Full and Lite
Your Thoughts
Do you enjoy puzzle and strategy games? Have you ever had a favorite game that you quit playing because the device you played on became obsolete? Let us know in the Comments section below!
Hi Carolyn,
Ball Smash sounds awesome. I am currently playing a lot on my iPad, and so is my son. So, it’s perfect timing, and this means I probably should buy an iPad for my wife (and children) for Christmas… because they are using it all the time 🙂
I have been playing Angry Birds on my iPhone, but just before reading your post I bought Angry Birds for iPad. My son, who is five years old, told me that he loves the game, and that I was the best dad in the world if I downloaded it… now he’s playing Angry Birds on my iPad and I ended up using my MacBook 🙂
Hi Jens, I thought of you when I wrote this because you said you like strategy games! I wanted to wait until the free versions were available to write about it though so everyone could give this awesome game a try.
I’m a little afraid to tell you that kids love this game! My girls were so excited when they saw me playing this game on my Android phone. They said, “I love this game!” and wanted to play it right away. Luckily, they have their own Android phones so they didn’t have to steal my phone.
I think the only solution for you, Jens is to get your family a second iPad for Christmas. It’s best that way. 🙂
An iPad for Christmas is a win-win situation, but I’m not sure if one more is enough 🙂
I have started playing Ball Smash! It’s awesome, even my 5-year old son is playing it.
Thanks a lot for sharing.
it surely sounds good. And now i look forward to get it for my phone.
Hi Faran, I certainly hope that you enjoy Ball Smash! 🙂
My all-time favorite game was a tile-matching game called Mombasa that was developed for the Mac a LONG time ago. I really craved that game, but it didn’t keep up with the advancing Mac technology, so eventually it no longer worked. One of the first things I looked for was a mah-jongg type game for the iPad, and I found one I liked, TaiPei. It’s great for when there’s no wifi, like on the train, or just to relax before sleeping.
This sounds like a fun game too, just simple enough and low-tech for me. Thanks for the recommendation!
Hi Kathy, I can understand your frustration. When a game becomes obsolete because the platform it works on becomes obsolete, it’s very disappointing. I found a link for Mombasa with a download here: http://www.tucows.com/preview/205969. I’m not sure whether it’s the same game, but the download costs $7.
I’m a big fan of Mahjong and first played it on my Palm Pilot. I haven’t tried Tai Pei, but I use Shanghai Mahjong on my iPad and love it!
This game sounds like lots of fun! My whole family has played Angry Birds so much, and we need a new challenge. This will be perfect for an upcoming train ride my son and I are taking: a little Ball Smash challenge! Off to download it and get “smashing”!
Hi Carol, Ball Smash has kept me entertained during many a train ride, so I hope it works well for you and your son too. My kids love this game, it’s easy for kids to learn and enjoy, but it can get very challenging at higher levels. It’s a fun way to get the brain working!
Happy smashing! 🙂
Much more vegetarian-friendly than Angry Birds! Downloading now….
Yes, I thought that too! I don’t like hurting pigs or birds or anything with a face. Random balls are much more like it!
Good point, Ruth! No animals were harmed in the making of this game. 😉
Enjoy!
Don’t you know how serious and important I am? I don’t have time for games; in fact, I almost didn’t have time to respond…….
Jens will be at my place tomorrow if you can stop by.
Yes, Bill, I do understand how very important you are, though I never knew about the serious part. Thanks for letting me know about that one.
Let me know your high score on Ball Smash, okay? 😉
I will definitely stop by to check out Jens tomorrow. Thanks for telling me!
I remember when Angry Birds was launched, i’ve spent more than a week just playing the damn game. Now i’m afraid to start any new & catchy games because i will not stop playing:))
Hi Radu, I feel your pain. You should have seen me when I first discovered Tetris. That was my most addictive game.
I haven’t found Ball Smash! to be addictive like that. Otherwise I would have burned out on the game years ago. But after eight years, I’m still enjoying the game which is certainly a record for me!
You know what’s best, but you might want to give this game a try if you think you can play without becoming addicted.
Let us know if you give it a go! 🙂
I will definitely try this game.
I wish that I have an i-Pad or i-Phone. It is because I could be able to try ball smash or angry birds if I have these gadgets. Ball smash seems interesting game. Thanks for the nice review, which helps me to understand what the game is all about.
You know me Carolyn, not a huge game player. I prefer my little old game of solitaire. I know, I’m boring in that respect. But this does sound like something I could really enjoy. Hey, I like smashing things and I would much prefer checking out balls then birds.
Thanks for sharing, always good to know when there is a new kid in town.
~Adrienne
Hey Carolyn,
I am huge game player. I absolutely love my android based Galaxy tab. I have so many games downloaded on it. Now this will be one more addition.
A few suggestions from me :
Tank hero -> shooting game ( if you like them) ,moron test ( its fun), air hockey
Hi Ashvini, I hope you enjoy Ball Smash! Thank you for the suggestions of game apps for the Android. My girls have the Moron Test and really enjoy playing that. I’ll have to check out the others! 🙂
Angry Birds was so addictive and fun as you get to use your slingshot skills to make through the level but this ball smash suggests me to try this so much talked about game and experience its described features.
Hi Zihaan, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, Angry Birds is addictive and fun. Given the two games, I would play Ball Smash! I like how I can calculate the moves. I’ve been playing it for nearly eight years and haven’t been bored yet. A record for me! I hope you enjoy it too! 🙂
This one looks good, used to play games on computer but never play any now except for Farmville! Someone with an Android phone asked me to try a basketball game. I don’t think he liked it when I went through the levels on my second attempt! My oven is on and I’m cooking, guests later! It’s warm in here!
Hi Mike, I think you would really like Ball Smash! This puzzle game would definitely appeal to the analytic part of your brain.
I hope you enjoy your company and that your place cools down a bit. Have fun! 🙂