Fizzball
Platform: Mac, Windows, Linux
A downloadable game for Mac, PC, and Linux, Fizzball is the latest game from Matt Parry and Ryan Clark of Grubby Games—who gave us the perfectly adorable Professor Fizzwizzle. It was described to me as "a combination between Breakout, Arkanoid, and Katamari Damacy," which pretty much makes it compulsory playing.
All the features of great brick-breaking games are there—power-ups, unbreakable objects, tricks to manipulate the ball without hitting it—with an added requirement of needing to rescue all the animals on each level. Yes, animals. As you hit the ball over objects such as apples and coins, the ball will collect the objects and get bigger. When it gets big enough you can collect animals ranging from bluebirds right up to elephants!
As the game advances, the stakes are upped by including targets that you should not hit, like drums of toxic waste, and the need to fight off an alien infestation. On the way, you can pick up trophies such as Chicken or the Egg (by picking up a chicken before picking up one of its eggs), play bonus levels with all sorts of various requirements and, on the kid's level, answer mini-quizzes about animals, some of which are surprisingly hard. (Which animal do you think is called a "zeal" in a group?)
Analysis: This game is gorgeously animated and illustrated, with a fun storyline and great gameplay. The one problem I had with it, and it's a big one, is that the Regular mode takes a long time to ramp up in difficulty. Unlike BreakQuest, where each level is very distinct, all of the levels looked and felt pretty similar—I never got that feeling of "ooh! I love this level!" Having said that, you can pick up your saved game whenever you feel like it, so if it all gets a bit boring you can go and do some real work and come back to it later. The demo lasts for 60 minutes, after which you have to buy the full version to keep playing.
Jay adds: Fizzball is a joy to play for people of all ages, and yet it is very apparent the care and attention to detail that went into creating an especially delightful experience for younger game players. That being said, I had a ball playing this game! Perhaps because I am a kid at heart, or even that I'm a casual gamer to the core, the simple, light-hearted gameplay won me over immediately. The Katamari influence is especially nice since it becomes quite satisfying when the ball reaches critical mass and the animals begin to get sucked up into the bubble all at once. I also enjoyed trying to earn all the trophies in the game, and I still have a few more to go.
Windows:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Mac OS X:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Fizzball is available to download from these affiliates:
- The name and description of one of the trophies, or
- The question and answer from one of the kids' quiz screens.
Only the first comment posted for each trophy and for each quiz question will be eligible for the drawings, so be sure to download the demo and play straight away. And please, only one entry per person, and per email address. Click.
Update: The contest is over. Congratulations to Manders, Pladin, Slgalt, HopefulNebula, and Gamzu for all winning full versions of Fizzball courtesy of Ryan and Matt of Grubby Games. Thanks to everyone for participating!! =)
I decided to do a quiz one :)
Q
A group of these animals can be called a "creep"
A
Tortoise
I did a quiz one also :D
Q: A group of these can be called a "murder"
A: Crow
Also did the quiz incase I couldn't get a trophy in the time limit
Q: A group of these can be called an "aurora"
A: Polar Bear
Here's a trophy:
Simply Smashing!
For breaking everything on a level.
Heh.
Trophy Name : Ducks in a Row!
Description : For rescuing all ducklings after their mama duck.
Flawless Few!
For completing 3 levels in a row without losing a bubble.
What a lovely game for kids! It is hard to find games fo 6 to 9 years old which are not too easy nor too hard, and have no violence without being dumb.
Completist Trophy
I got 3 trophies so far, so I'll describe the first one I got:
- Ducks in a Row! For getting all the ducklings _after_ their mama duck
Actually, wait, I don't have the description. Anyways
"This animal can be in a cackle or a clan"
Hyena
Just letting you know, jay, you can tell a trophy on one of the screen shots:
Simply Smashing!- For breaking everything on a level
Ugh! It takes forever to download!
Got a quiz!
A group of these can be called an ambush: Tiger
Really great game!
Actually, you can figure out the names and descriptions of all the trophies from the in-game help system.
I guess that maybe Jay wants us to describe the trophy graphic (though his screenshot does spoil quite a lot of them) - Ducks in a Row! features the mama duck with a small duckling behind her. The duckling's neck is turned so that his face is looking away from the mama duck.
I have a trophy!
Junior Fizzballer! For successfully completing 5 levels.
Right. Anyway, I am doing a quiz question for my actual entry, now that I downloaded it:
Q)A group of these can be called a "bevy".
A)Swan
Trophy:
Name: Ducks in a Row!
Description: For rescuing all ducklings after their mama duck
Cool game!
TROPHY: "Ducks in a Row" for rescuing all ducklings after the mama duck.
KIDS SCREEN: Pop Quiz "Which animal makes this sound" (duck)
Don't know if what I put as "Kid's Screen" is what's being requested. Don't see anything yet specifically called "Kid's Screen" but did play the kid's difficulty level.
Found myself smiling while playing this game. The artwork, the Fizzle graphic style I first enjoyed with the professor game, the music and those squawking monkeys all add up to a fun and joyful experience.
Ack! at the time I posted my trophy comment there was no other one; I guess Stepanov's comment was delayed by the moderation since it appeared (before my comment) only about an hour or so after I made mine.
The other two trophies I got (Junior fizzballer and Simply Smashing) have also already been mentioned, and now I'm at work and can't play this game here, so I guess I'm out of the running...
Q: What animal makes this sound: (*hiss*)
A: Snake
Excellent little game.
No worries, Eytan. I was thinking the moderation system might be an issue as I was waking up this morning.
I'll make an exception in your case, especially since you have a typekey account, which helps me. Consider yourself entered in the drawings. =)
trophy: bronze medal for reaching 25,000 points
Another trophy!
Name: Penny Pincher
Description: For collecting all the money on 1 level
Nice game - interesting new take on an only favourite formula
okay, I'll bite. penny pincher, for getting all coins on 1 level, looks like a money pouch.
The best trophy I got before my trial expired: Wrecking Crew for breaking everything on 5 levels in a row! It's green with bowling pins and a bowling ball and the number 5 on it.
I can only see one problem with introducing this game to my younger cousins--it'll raise the bar so high that few other Breakout-style games will be able to compete. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. :)
Fizzball's excellent, if somewhat easy. Budding gamers will be satisfied without being overly frustrated, while seasoned veterans like me can greatly amuse themselves by crafting huge combos (with the aid of the brilliant Super Fans) and by fully completing bonus levels (which is no small feat!). And there's a lot of game to be had here. Definitely worth a download.
Flawless Five! -- For completing five levels in a row without losing a bubble.
A Kids Quiz:
What animal makes this sound? *rawr*
Answer: Lion
Trivia here.
What animal makes this sound? *rattlerattle*
Rattlesnake!
The "which came first" award - for rescuing a chicken before her eggs. It's got a chicken in the top left bit and an egg in the bottom right bit with a diagonal line and question mark separating them.
Quiz-> a group of these is called a gaggle...answer goose.
Love the site Jay.
Manders
Trophy
Eco Accuracy - For not releasing any pollution on a level without using the fan.
Quiz Question: What makes the "Caw" sound?
Answer: Crow
Fun game :)
Yeah, all the trophies are listed in the trophies screen so you know what you can try and get, but I did achieve:
Silver Medal for 100,000 points
Flawless 15 for 15 levels in a row without losing a bubble
I don't see either of those in the comments right now.
Trophy:
Budding Environmentalist: For releasing no pollution on one level. Shows a rainbow, sun, and clouds over water.
Garrr. I didn't see the "snake" one before mine, but I also don't remember my trivia question hissing at me (it was definitely a rattle.) Am I disqualified, or can I submit something else?
Went for a trophy:
Super Shephard - for rescuing 50 sheep
Yay! Got a trophy:
Big Bonus! - For achieving a perfect score on one bonus level. It's a big yellow star with a '1' in the bottom right corner.
quiz: a group of which animal can be calle a 'clutch'?
chickens
this game is so much fun!
Did a quiz and checked CTRL-F to make sure it wasn't mentioned yet. =) It's a cute game.
Q. A group of these can be called a "warren".
A. Rabbit
Budding environmentalist trophy.
I got an Eco-Accuracy trophy for releasing no pollution on a level without using a fan.
So there!
Bother - should have read the spoilers first!
Barrel of Monkeys trophy.
I've got a trophy:
The "Which Came First?" Award! It's for rescuing a chicken before scooping up her eggs.
This game is so much fun!
Here's a trophy -- Tree Hugger: For Completing a Level without ever hitting a tree
Barrel of monkeys
I know someone posted this earlier but they didn't say how to get it so, here you go:
42 monkeys
sorry forgot description of trophy - pic of a monkey, awarded for saving 42 monkeys
No worries, everyone. You've all been entered into the drawings, and I've just finished creating a little spreadsheet with all your names (and will add more as new people post comments).
I had it generate a random number between 1 and 36, and the winning number is.... 23!
Q. What animal makes this sound? *Moo* A. A cow
The Completist!
For getting all the trophies
Ducks in a row!
Smashing game!
Money Maker: For collecting all the money on five levels
Having wasted so many hours of my life playing both Araknoid and Katamari, I can't help but wonder if a game like this would have cut the number in half.
Alright, so it doesn't work that way, but it's still a fun concept. And the graphics are adorable.
Here's a quiz:
Q: A group of these animals can be called a "raft".
A: Duck
I think I have a trophy nobody else has gotten yet... Or at least, that nobody has posted yet.
Quick Draw Trophy: For completing a level in under 30 seconds. It looks like a stopwatch with a starburst behind it.
Trophe:
"SIMPLY SMASHING! For Breaking Everything on a Level"
It looks like a bowling ball smashing into pins.
"Speed Demon," for completing 2 levels in a row in under 30 seconds!
What a great game!
I have a trivia question:
A group of these animals can be called a "creep"
Answer: Tortoise
I have a trophy:
What came first?
For rescuing a chicken before her eggs.
The picture is a purple circle with a slash through the middle from the upper-right to the lower-left. On the left side of the trophy is a chicken and and the right side is an egg. There is a question mark in the center of the trophy.
Trophy:
Fuel Economy
For completing a level without using the big engines.
Here's a trophy
Flawless Five!
Trivia:
Which animal goes "miaow?"
A cat!
Jay,
so many people have expressed interest is there any way to get more free keys?
Thanks,
hano
Budding Environmentalist: For releasing no pollution on 1 level
The picture is a sun covered by a cloud with another cloud and a rainbow on the right. There is also a 1 at the bottom-right.
Bronze Medal: For reaching 25,000 thousand points.
the picture is a medal with the stylish F in the center. The number 25,000 is shown below it.
The next random number generated, this time between 1 and 49, is.... 15!
This is fun! =D
My son and I played this game last night. He is 5 and I am 39 I don't know who had more fun.
We got all kinds of trophies like the one with the bowling pins snd other ones I can't remember. I especially liked the duck one for getting all of the ducks and their mother in the right order.
We also got budding environmentalist for leaving the contaminated 55 gallon drums intact.
Thanks For turning us on to this game. Sure would love the full version.
doesnt look like anyone has posted this one yet...
i got a question:
Question: A group of these animals can be called a "parliament"
Answer: Owl
Wow, fun game. The contest is a Nice way to get people to download the demo too!
I'll
"Flawless Few: For completing 3 levels in a row without losing a bubble!" with a picture of 3 overlapping bubbles and the number 3 on the bottom right with a swirly orange background
something oddly fun about catching cows and monkeys is a giant indestructible bubble of fury O_O
Gabriel (age 7), is here by my side, urging me to tell all people that the 6th entry, Flawless Few trophy, actually belongs to him! He couldn't post his own comment because he can write only in portuguese. He's also telling you all that he's got 6 other trophies before his trial expired but his aunt (me) is too lazy to write them all down!
jay i like your site please put more games for kids. my aunt teaches me english. i think random number is more fair. good luck.
Great game, Jay!!! How could we not love anything even remotely resembling Katamari Damacy!!
Oh, and the answer to "Whose baby is called a Cygnet?" is the
Swan!
Hey!
This looks like fun :)
Budding environmentalist: for releasing no pollution on level 1. It's a perdy rainbow!
Arc...
Trophy: Flawless Few
Description: For completing 3 levels in a row without losing a bubble.
Quiz: Which animal makes this sound?
Answer: Eagle
to answer your question in the review, jay...
a group of these animals can be called a 'zeal'
answer: zebra
A trivia question:
A group of these animals can be called a "mob". The options were: kangaroo, roadrunner, goat, chipmunk. The answer:
kangaroo
Okay, I tried to post once and ran into some kind of error, so my appologies in advance if both comments go through and I have double posted. I would like to express my disappointment that the demo game ran out around the end of the secret panda path (I don't know if this is a level limit or a time limit). I would like to keep playing, so, hopefully I can win a full version.
One of the trivia questions I came across that doesn't seem to have been posted yet is:
A group of these animals can be called a "mob".
A kangaroo
The other options were a roadrunner, a goat and a chipmunk.
The one I posted later was already posted, so Ill post a new one:
Budding Environmentalist: For releasing no pollution in 1 level.
Quiz: a group of these animals can be called a dropping.
Answer: pigeons.
Kids Quiz: A group of these animals can be called a "bloat" or "huddle"
hippi
A group of bears is called a
sloth
!
Way to go, Manders and Pladin! Only 3 more winners to be announced, and I hope one of them is me! Congratulations again to our 2 winners so far!
I got a trophy:
Simply Smashing!
For breaking everything on a level.
Here is a lovely trophy:
Flawless five!
For completing five levels without losing a bubble.
Indeed, the trophy sports 5 bubble on it.
How appropriate!
Quiz question...
What animal makes this sound (high pitched squeal)?
Answer: Hyena
The next random number generated, this time between 1 and 61, is.... 32!
There are still 2 more free games to go!
Wheeeeeee!
I've had this site bookmarked for as long as I can remember but I never post responses >.< Guess heres my chance now. My name is Eon and I'm A Jayo'Holic. Anyways heres one for the contest ^_^
The "Which Came First" Award
for Resquing a Chaicken before her eggs
Here goes nothing! :0)
Eco-Accuracy
For releasing no pollution on a level without using the fans
Love the eco-friendly theme, save the animals from inhumane, hormone inducing farmers! Go organic! (Ok, don't throw indestructible objects at property, but you know what I mean). ;)
I don't think this one was posted yet:
Penny-pincher!
Collecting all the money in one level.
Those animals must eat hormone-free food!
trophies:
1. Flawless Few. for completing three levels in a row without losing a bubble.
2. Flawless Five - for completing five levels in a row without losing a bubble.
3. Which came first - for rescuing a chicken before her eggs.
4. Ducks in a row - for rescuing all ducklings after their mama.
5. Budding environmentalist - for releasing no pollution on 1 level.
6. Eco accuracy - for releasing no pollution on 1 level without using fans.
7. Penny pincher - for collecting all of the money on 1 level.
8. Junior fizzballer - for completing five levels.
9. Bronze medal - for reaching 25,000 points
10. silver medal - for reaching 100,000 points
11. simply smashing for breaking everything on a level.
The Which Came First Award
For Rescuing A CHicken Before Her Eggs!
Trophy: Flawless Fifteen, for beating fifteen levels without losing a bubble. It's a bunch of (probably fifteen, but I'm not counting) bubbles with a 15 in the corner. It's been mentioned before as "Flawless 15," but the official, in game tietle spells out "fifteen," and since all the other trophies I have have already been mentioned... that's the best I've got.
I got the "Barrel of Monkeys" award for catching 42 monkeys. I hope I win the drawing!
The next random number generated, this time between 1 and 68, is.... 21!
Still one more to go! Check back later this evening for the final drawing. =)
The last random number generated.... 50!
My sincere thanks to everyone for participating and for trying out the demo to this great new game. Ryan and Matt are great guys and they really deserve all the support you can give them. So, if you weren't able to win the full version, please consider picking it up to help them both continue to create fine casual entertainment for the whole family, like Fizzball and Professor Fizzwizzle. Cheers! =D
I'm having so much fun playing the full version of this game. I've been to every level (there are over 100) and I have 31 trophies. I need 7 more. Two of them sound impossible; one is to not break anything on a level, and the other is to not hit any trees! Any tips?
I'm impressed... well if I had a kid... this is the first commercial casual game, I really find the bucks worth!
hye glomer i i also got the trophies u got all 11 trophies exactly same have a same pinch.
wow lots of people loved trying to get the full version :)
I have a problem. This game sounds like a fabulous one, and I loved its predecessors-prof. fizzwizzle, and prof. fizzwizzle molten mystery.
I have downloaded this game and it will not load when I click "play now", the applications all go big (as expected, because it's a full-screen game) but the game is a small box near the top left of the screen, and I can't see it. The cursor gets stuck in that box and I cure it by using task manager.
I've uninstalled the game and shall reinstall it now. If it doesn't work still, i shall look back here to see if anyone told me how to solve it. Thanks.
[Edit: If you continue to experience issues with it, you should contact support at Grubby Games (dot com). They'll be able to help you. :) -Jay]
thanks Jay, I went onto that website - it didn't work when I downloaded it from there either. But I did try it on the family computer (which runs on XP rather than my laptop's Vista) and it worked.
May have to buy the game from there if I'm going to buy it. Would've bought from Big Fish Games, but for some reason it's completely crashed and is determined to not open. Time to bug them and ask why.... :D
Great game though.
Update