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With drawing games being all the rage lately—evidence Line Rider, Paintball, Paths, and Draw Play, to name a few of the more recent entries—we really have to acknowledge the raw creativity that Nintendo inspires with its innovative consoles. As the world prepares for the coming of the Wii—no, Nintendo, I still haven't received my Wii yet and it looks like I'm going to have to stand in line with the rest of the masses—those of us left standing out in the cold can at least warm-up with the fun packed inside these innovative new browser-based games that are coming from some of the best Flash game designers around the world.
Nitrome does it again with its latest entry, Scribble. This drawing-based arcade action game is a little bit platformer and a whole lot of Lemmings. Use the mouse to draw paths to get your little "blots" from start to finish flag with the fewest of casualties. Each level's finish flag indicates how many blots must escape to unlock and move on to the next level.
And just like Lemmings, blots don't really care about where they're headed, they just keep walking forward until something blocks their path and forces them to do an about-face. Knowing this, use your limited ink to draw ramps, bridges, and other mechanisms to help your blots arrive safely at the finish line.
Analysis: There are many excellent ideas crammed into this fantastic new Flash game from Nitrome, as well as a few minor annoyances, too. It's a highly ambitious title, as is per usual from Mat, Heather and company, and the game succeeds on many levels, not the least of which is the fact that it is nicely polished and a lot of fun to play.
The game starts you off with the basic mechanic and gives you the chance to become comfortable with it before moving you on to the next. Each new level introduces you to a brand new concept that forces you to think differently about what has come before. This helps keep the game feeling fresh and exciting. Some levels may seem rather difficult at first, and will likely cause you to retry several times before you get it right.
I did notice a couple of minor issues that will cause a bit of frustration in some players. First off, if you draw a line over top of another one, when the first disappears it will take part of the second one with it. Also, there is no way to erase lines you've drawn by mistake or improperly. Therefore, while getting used to drawing lines efficiently, you will be playing the "waiting game" a lot while the lines go through their normal life cycle. Likewise, the blots movement is slow and therefore the overall pace of the game may be a bit too slow for those looking for a fast-paced action game, which this is not.
Still, minor issues aside, Scribble offers a lot of fun for anyone that enjoys drawing games, Lemmings, or both. Great new stuff from the Nitrome crew! Click.
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Comments (may contain spoilers)
Let's try this again. I've reset the comments because the problem has been found and corrected. If you had trouble with the game a few moments ago, empty your cache, reload the page and there should be no trouble playing directly from the developer's website. =)
Posted by: jay
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November 14, 2006 4:29 PM
Great game! I've always loved lemmings, but it's gotten pretty old over the years. This makes the same concept nice and fresh.
Posted by: Keith
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November 14, 2006 5:42 PM
Well sir, I don't like it. After one of my lines evaporated while blots were walking it and wiped out 4 of my guys on the enemy below, I was pretty much done.
Posted by: Brandon | November 14, 2006 5:47 PM
Well, Brandon, the objective is to not let that happen. That's part of the gameplay. =p
Posted by: jay
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November 14, 2006 5:52 PM
It's just that the lack of control of when lines go away is maddening. It's too slow when you make a mistake, and too fast for some of the longer gaps. If your blots are not in a perfect group (if, for example you screwed up earlier in the level) you'll need to wall them up to get them there before you can do anything, which involves yet more time waiting on lines to disappear.
Posted by: Brandon | November 14, 2006 5:57 PM
Agreed. The pacing is indeed a bit slow. A little patience is required with the game, as I noted.
Posted by: jay
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November 14, 2006 6:00 PM
Great fun!
Why did I have to check your site tonight lol. I was going to bed an hour ago......
Similar in some ways to Sandman - and I liked that as well.
Posted by: Joolz | November 14, 2006 6:50 PM
A nice twist of Lemmings, nice find jay...
Another nice nitrome product :)
Posted by: remister | November 14, 2006 6:51 PM
I'm with Brandon. It was too slow paced. The waitng for a line to disappear, after the first one disappeared and screwed you was unbearable. It made the game very frustrating instead of enjoyable. I do love alot of games that come from NITROME but this one needs some more work done to it. The concept is a very kool spinoff of lemmings though. I by no means intend on saying something bad about the NITROME site. They do a wonderful job of making my job go by smoother and quicker. Thanks for all the countless hours you, Jay, and all the other game developers out there put into me having a FREE game to play.
Posted by: Gwedo | November 14, 2006 6:53 PM
It needs an eraser and things would be better. Still fun though.
Posted by: sgtsuperman | November 14, 2006 6:55 PM
I like this game, it's quite hard though because of the disappearing lines. But otherwise it might have been too easy.
Posted by: Tsuken | November 14, 2006 7:05 PM
Sometimes slow is good.....not all of us can keep up with some of the faster-paced games :)
Posted by: Joolz | November 14, 2006 7:14 PM
This reminds me of that 'Flea Circus' game...
Posted by: Matt | November 14, 2006 7:24 PM
Heheh .. nice lemmingy game. I can't count how many hours I've wasted on lemmings... Once you get the hang of how the lines disappear, it's not too hard to keep everything going even on long stretches. The only nitpick I have is the older lines destroying new ones, like you mentioned.. still not such a big problem. Got 161895 final score...
Posted by: Valarauka | November 14, 2006 7:25 PM
Ah, finally a game that actually uses the line drawing technique for more than just walking on. :) It's good to see how this game doesn't solely rely on the drawing 'novelty' but provides a solid gameplay on top of it, and that all packed in a fitting visual style.
I agree the pace is somewhat slow: a fast forward button would be very welcome. An eraser... yeah, could come in handy now and then. :)
I don't agree about the lines fading too fast or slow: this may take some timing, but the trick for long gaps is to draw short parts, and wait untill your blogs are almost at the end of the last line, and then draw another part. In the first few levels I had some trouble with this, but it's not too hard to get the hang of.
Posted by: Pieter
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November 14, 2006 8:10 PM
Yay! Excellent game... I agree with Jay. It would be good to have an eraser tool, or maybe something to kill your blobs if you don't need them (On level 4, I had enough to finish but a blob got stuck between the wall and a cactus on the left side of the screen =P)
Also, it is annoying because if you try to plan ahead, then your lines erase.
Otherwise, superb! :)
Posted by: likephilshead
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November 14, 2006 8:31 PM
Not a huge fan... Wish there was a fast foward tool, so you could speed things up... those little guys walk to slow. They also like to walk thry walls that I make to try to stop them from droppin off a cliff... I do like the idea, just needs a little work.
Posted by: BrakX | November 14, 2006 9:12 PM
About killing extra blots - if you've got all the flags down to zero, you can just press the "end level" button and it'll let you progress to the next one.
Posted by: Valarauka | November 14, 2006 9:38 PM
I'm not really a big fan of Lemmings-type games, but the drawing aspect drew me in and kept me playing for a bit.
Something interesting to note: the amount of ink used up depends more on how long you take to draw the line than how long the line is. Also, just holding down the mouse button (and not moving) will slowly drain ink...something I didn't realize at first because I was too busy watching the blots. :D
Posted by: ZK | November 14, 2006 11:16 PM
Wii! Woot!
I swear, this has been the single longes week of my life.
Posted by: Aioua | November 15, 2006 1:50 AM
I have a different problem, which is that it's not very responsive to mouse movement. I was frantically trying to move the mouse to make the window scroll to where the blobs would be walking, so I could plan my next lines. The cursor would lose window focus and I'd be furiously wondering why the window isn't going anywhere as my blobs drop to their death. Grrrr.
Posted by: Ms .45 | November 15, 2006 6:07 AM
jay
i am pretty sure you and many others have noticed the recent rise of drawing platform games of late .. it just shows how one game can be made and riped off so many times in slightly differnt forms .. i must say i have wrote this msg with out acturly playing the game so i dont know about this one in particluar but i have the idea that people have just seen a good idea and then taken it to far them selves making it too hard to find the real one that had the brilliance of such a good yet simple idea
Posted by: motzo | November 15, 2006 6:33 AM
Motzo - As I implied in the review above, I believe the proliferation of drawing games to be a direct result of the popularity of Nintendo's DS handheld console, which uses a touch-screen for input as one of the two screens of the device.
An input mechanic (such as drawing with the mouse or stylus) can inspire countless variety in games different enough from one another to be considered unique. It's the innovation itself, a new form of collecting input from the player, that becomes the source of the inspiration, and I do not view the appearance of all these games as being a bad thing at all. On the contrary, it shows that game design is alive and well and living among the masses.
That being said, the drawing mechanic in browser-based games (that I am aware of) can be traced back to gameLab's Loop (Shockwave), which appeared in 2001. Ferry Halim also created a similar game in Flash with a drawing mechanic, called Floats, in April, 2004.
Posted by: jay
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November 15, 2006 8:37 AM
the blots need to move faster. I got fed up playing the game because I was just waiting for them to cross the next barrier.
Posted by: susan | November 15, 2006 9:12 AM
"patience is a virtue" =)
Posted by: jay
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November 15, 2006 9:27 AM
I see there is another Brandon here, so I'll cal myself Brandinat0r from now on. x]
It kinda reminds we of the other Nitrome game, sandman or something. And I love the soundtrack. <3
Posted by: Brandinat0r | November 15, 2006 11:36 AM
motzo - I wouldn't knock any game for being 'ripped off' of something that existed previously - look at the hundreds of different clones of Asteroids or Breakout or any other classic game, or any top-down shmup, or countless others - they're all just minor variations on the same theme, but usually each brings something unique to the table, and I think they should all be judged on their own merits.
Creating a game based on a great new idea is awesome, of course, but creating an excellent implementation of a great OLD idea is also a good thing. (Or TWO great old ideas, like this one: Lemmings + drawing).
Posted by: Valarauka | November 15, 2006 12:18 PM
The graphics take me back to Yoshi's Island, but as you note the pacing needs some tuning. If there was a tactical redesign to make it a bit more forgiving and well paced this might be something worth 20 bucks.
I've noticed the mouse isn't ideal for these drawing games as your precision can be somewhat taxing on the inner hand muscles. I think casual development for Wii, possibly using Flash 9 with a Wii-mote API, could be HUGE.
Posted by: Patrick | November 15, 2006 1:29 PM
I get my Wii on Sunday and can not wait, I have it preordered, along with Red Steel, Trama Room, and of course LoZ TP!!!! :p
Posted by: CC | November 15, 2006 1:52 PM
4 days (November 19, 2006) till the Wii (Revolution) comes out can't wait. This game is okay, but the blots are slow like people said.
On a semi-unrelated note theres a glitch that will kill a blot the ressurect it, and do it again. I'm not sure how to do it but I think that it involves having the line that a blot is on intersect the collision detector of lethal objects...
Posted by: Revenge02 | November 15, 2006 5:24 PM
Well.. The music sort of get to me after a while. Does anyone know just how many levels there are total? I know it has a % unlocked, but after a while that went away because a new level gets unlocked every time, now it says level 0undefined 0%.
I know there a couple different zones, like the jungle, and the junkyard... I only made it to level 25 before I had to stop.
Fun game.
Posted by: Re_Jex | November 15, 2006 5:49 PM
This game is fun, but i wish, oh do i wish, those stpid blots would run. Or at least speedwalk. And the enemies too.
Posted by: mrguy753
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November 15, 2006 8:21 PM
This game's scrolling issues remind me of Lemmings' scrolling issues: Sure you can scroll, and sure it's paused while you scroll, but if you stop scrolling for even a second it will start moving again and if something bad happens, there's nothing you can do about it. I say a far better solution is make it possible to see the screen and move around while paused, rather than relying on moving during the game. In other words, instead of (or besides) pausing the game automatically while moving, make it so that when 'pause' is selected the game window is viewable and movable as well so that you don't have to worry about missing that blot about ready to walk over that spike pit because you didn't click and drag as soon as the screen scrolled right far enough. The game is good, but this is a rather painful flaw that I think could have been avoided.
As for the speed, I think it's fine, but I can see how some would want things to move faster, especially if they'd got everything set up just right and were waiting for the end. And strangely enough, I also only managed to hit level 25 (though it was a bug that crashed IE rather than any lack of interest).
Posted by: Ben | November 15, 2006 10:10 PM
I thought it was the first game whare you draw the platforms that actually had some good gameplay to it.
Posted by: newbie
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November 15, 2006 11:18 PM
Is this the new evolution of games?
Posted by: Walt | November 16, 2006 1:29 AM
Wow. At first the game was a bit boring, then it got interesting, then it got really tedious. In addition to the extremely slow pace (you really do spend most of the game waiting), I thought there were some bugs in the way the lines were handled that made the game frustrating. For example, if you draw two lines that intersect, when the first line disappears it takes the ink from the second line with it. So if you happen to touch or draw over an old line by mistake, that line will disappear along with the old line. It made working in tight spaces quite difficult.
Great idea, I think, just not the best execution.
Posted by: Suho1004
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November 16, 2006 2:24 AM
no i do not think that this relitivly new genre (if you can call it that) is such a bad thing eithr and i have noticed you havent rely posted any games of this type that are not original in themselves. Paint ball ,Draw play(not sure if that ones on this site think it is) and scribble are definatly very differnt from each other and have differnt pros and cons but i do try to play most of these games as they seem to bring great creativty and orignality into the game OH and i have to mention line rider i rely like that one and so did every one i showed it to.
oh by the way im posting all the way from australia so that might explain why my posts are abit outwack with the rest =)
Posted by: motzo | November 16, 2006 3:02 AM
OH i never noticed all the stuff you had to say at the top of the page was all that there the other day when i posted
well i hope you didnt think i was having ago at you or anything =S
Posted by: motzo | November 16, 2006 3:04 AM
I noticed a few bugs: For one, if any of the flags hit zero, you can advance to the next level, when it's fairly clear, from some levels, that the intention is to make it so you need to have all the flags hit zero to advance.
Also, it's fairly irksome how, if you unpause, the game will start up again (things moving, blots dying) the second the box starts being erased, but you can't actually draw anything until the box is finished being erased. As well as the fact that the game is going on with a giant box taking up the screen as it's being erased very slowly.
Posted by: Benhimself | November 16, 2006 10:36 AM
This is totally unrelated but I can't log into chat at work (which is a good thing xD). I found (off of 4colorrebellion) this interesting article about the Wii and the thinking & time that went behind it's creation:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2006/tc20061116_750580.htm
/me just realizes he could of emailed you >.>
Posted by: Harukio | November 16, 2006 11:17 AM
The problem I usually have is trying to draw slopes, often times mine end up being more "wallish" than "slopish" to the blots. I do like some of the fun elements like
Though as lemmings-ish games go I think I prefer Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 xD, but with a little more work this game could be more fun.
Also, I didn't really like sandman just because of how the way the gameplay worked made it run really slow on my comp (Holy sand particles batman!)
Posted by: Harukio
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November 16, 2006 11:22 AM
@ Harukio, as lemmingsish games go you usually have to pay for the game or as in the case of Mario vs donkey kong pay for the cart, this is a FREE webgame. I think a lot of thought and effort has been put into the title and it has a lot of fun ideas. Sure its not perfect, but show me a original free game that is.
Posted by: jon | November 16, 2006 11:54 AM
hey..
how do you blow up the bombs?
Posted by: francis | November 16, 2006 9:28 PM
i loved it. perfect game for lying cuddled in bed with just one hand poking out to handle the mouse. the disappearing lines are part of the whole thing! i liked the fact that it wasn't too fast. some levels were frustrating but with a little timing it wasn't to hard to complete. i was just chillin and listening to stern and passing the time. that's what these games are about right? casual play. great game and i loved it!
Posted by: gershon | November 17, 2006 1:20 PM
I love the game, I used to tease my dad when I was a kid so he would play lemmings and I would watch them go up and down. Drawing lines is a cool idea, though it is frustrating to wait for them to move, they're waaaay too slow. I'm not sure about the eraser, in some levels the trick is just drawing a precise line so you won't mess around. The graphics are cute, and the music nice if a bit repetitive. I wish I could play it for longer, but I have work to do, so I can only do 4-5 levels every day. I'm up to level 14 now.
Posted by: Irene | November 17, 2006 4:39 PM
francis - you blow up the bombs by
Posted by: Torquil Colbo | November 18, 2006 11:20 PM
love the game so far but am i just thick?? i finish the first level and it tells me it has unlocked the next but i cant get there!! am i missing something or has Miniclip restricted it??
Posted by: simon | November 20, 2006 8:47 AM
I'm really stuck on the lasers. Is there an easier way than just clicking??
Posted by: Alice | November 21, 2006 3:43 PM
ok i need a little help on level 2 about the bombs i dont get it what are u supposed to be.
Posted by: lizzy | November 21, 2006 5:43 PM
how do u get past the areas where you cant draw
Posted by: kaitlyn | November 23, 2006 6:07 PM
I cant get passed level 13. Any help??
Posted by: Chirssy | November 26, 2006 5:17 PM
in respose to the previous query - There are 25 levels to complete....
Level 13 help:
fuse amd laser help
fuse - just draw one continuous line from the top of the bomb to a fire or fire enemy.
Laser - what i did was to draw a solid line across the path of laser, then 10 seconds later another below it when the first line disapeared i redrew it - that way you always have a backup....it does help to group your blots when possible too..
Posted by: Bass | November 27, 2006 11:12 AM
it is very annoying and perhaps a flaw in the design that they randomly run up or through a line.
grr
Posted by: jared | November 27, 2006 8:48 PM
Help with level 20 please. I cant blow up the bomb because the lines keep dissolving before it gets to the fuse. HELP!!!
Posted by: crock | November 28, 2006 4:20 AM
please help, i dont even know how to blow up the bombs!!
Posted by: cmc | November 29, 2006 2:56 PM
how do i pass level 6
Posted by: maryammm | December 1, 2006 5:35 AM
how do i do level 25
Posted by: is any body going to answer us? | December 3, 2006 6:46 PM
I am not replaying the levels, so i hope my memeory is correct. I finally finisehd the game, but i agree some levels were very annoying.
level 20-if your line keeps disappearing before reach your fuse
Next, make sure you aren't out of ink. You need to figure out a strategy to avoid using up the ink, since you need to draw very long lines.
Level 6, if you still need clues
Level 25 (it's the last level)
blowing up the bombs
Posted by: bb | December 3, 2006 10:48 PM
level 22
I just can't get past level 22. I do not have enough of those explosive blue things to get to the keys. any help?
thanks!!
Posted by: lisa | December 14, 2006 7:32 AM
Help!!!!! how do you complete level 20?
Posted by: denise | December 15, 2006 9:49 AM
Im stuck on level 22! please help!
Posted by: emma | December 22, 2006 4:18 AM
level 21 is quite funny
Posted by: emmz | December 22, 2006 4:24 AM
how do i get past level three? cause in one part u can't draw anything so u can't get over the caterpiller thing
Posted by: Prentice | December 22, 2006 1:22 PM
I love this game, but I can't beat level 12. Any tips?
Posted by: georgia | December 23, 2006 2:36 PM
how do u complete level 2
Posted by: shox rox | January 31, 2007 7:14 AM
Okay I'm gonna sound silly, but I REALLLY need help w/ lvl 5!
Please?
Posted by: K | March 10, 2007 10:11 AM
no miniclip hasen't restricted level two, but i really need help on it can anybody help me
please?
Posted by: Kate | March 20, 2007 1:59 PM
i need help with level 5 please !
Posted by: mariss | March 24, 2007 3:11 PM
Help on Level 22-
Posted by: Game Master | April 1, 2007 12:24 PM
i found a crazy glitch that im trying to do deliberately but im having no luck. on lv2 i had one blot left and i was in a pit with an enemy and even though the fat dudes can go through lines i drew like crazy to stop him. he kept stepping on mi last blot and i was confused was the game was still going. turns out i got the enemy to turn into a blot. i was moving him and he didnt walk through lines. it was very interesting
Posted by: glitch guy | April 9, 2007 8:15 PM
I just found this game, it is so simple yet quite a find, very addicting.
Posted by: Angela | April 17, 2007 5:50 PM
Help on the last level-
-T
Posted by: Tanyawuzhereaprilvacation | April 17, 2007 7:34 PM
Can someone post spoilers for level 14 I can't get past it
Posted by: AikHui | May 7, 2007 1:50 AM
Um, I meant Level 24.
Posted by: AikHui | May 7, 2007 3:13 AM
what the heck is going on in level 15? I don't know how to get those stupid blue monsters to the bottom or any kind of strategy to get the fire and monsters at the bottom at the same time.. can someone plz help!
Posted by: TeE | June 13, 2007 2:52 AM
Level 8 - The Hills. Need a little help. I can't seem to figure out how to go down between the levels of dirt. There are no bombs or anything... I go down to where the blue guys are, contain them, then can't progress. Thanks in advance for your help!!!
Posted by: ohjan | June 13, 2007 11:59 AM
i am having a lot of trouble with level 5. I am new at this game, i suck at it. how do i get past the peanut thing walking by the key? thnx
Posted by: hola3 | June 18, 2007 9:01 PM
OMG!!! how do i do level 6???? it is impossible!!
Posted by: hola3 | June 18, 2007 9:11 PM
How do I do level 16 - The Jungle?? It seems impossible!!!
Posted by: hola3 | June 20, 2007 8:58 PM
wow! am the last person to post things on this for a while. I need someone to check this because i CAN NOT do level 22 (i think) the one with the pipes and millions of different flags. Help!!! thanks!
Posted by: hola3 | June 28, 2007 9:08 PM
I really need help on level 8. How do I get through the ground when there aren't any bombs? Help please?
Posted by: Kuhriynuh | July 5, 2007 4:03 PM
Nevermind! I figured it out!
Level 8:
Posted by: Kuhriynuh | July 5, 2007 4:19 PM
I was playing a while ago and I got to the Last level with all the Lasers and stuff...then I had to go somewhere so I saved it. i came back and...Poof an error and I couldn't load it. Grr :(
Posted by: Polaris-1 | July 9, 2007 3:29 PM
I thought this was a fantastic game! Reminded me very much of lemmings. I love the concept! If the blots could climb slightly steeper hills, I believe it would greatly improve the game. That was my only concern. Great job guys! ;D
Posted by: Aaron | July 10, 2007 9:45 PM
i finished the game and it said new level unlocked quota something..... i submitted my score but ididnt see the level
Posted by: Blechy | July 24, 2007 12:59 PM
Help On Level 6 Please
Posted by: Anonymous | August 6, 2007 12:35 PM
I cannot do level 14, the lasers keep killing my blots, anybody have any hints?
I wait till theyre right under the first one till i stop it then i stop them from going back then i get the key but i just cant keep the lasers that go horizontel away from my blots and if i can i cant get them down to the next part, help please.
Posted by: Chrissiexoxo | August 12, 2007 9:57 PM
This game rocks its the best game ever although i only got to level 12, i got stuck can someone help
p.s this game rocks!!!
Posted by: Gustavo | August 14, 2007 10:00 PM
who is playing the soundtrack??
Posted by: kestas | August 15, 2007 5:24 PM
I have to say this has to be one of my favourite Nitrome games.
The soundtrack is catchy and fresh but not at all annoying, as a lot of other game's are.
The drawings are irrisitable,and always makes me smile.
Nitrome has produced yet again another fantastic game full of originality and cuteness.
So cute in fact, I couldn't help but name my blots.
How many games can you name that have that sort of power over you?? :p
Three cheers for the Nitrome gang! Hip, hip, Horay!
Posted by: SahBeh | August 18, 2007 4:50 AM
on the 2nd level how do you explode the bomm its anyoying me so much i've been trying to figure it out for ages
Posted by: kayleigh | December 11, 2007 12:06 PM
NEED HELP ON LEVEL 22!!! Theres not enough blow up things!!!
Posted by: PK | December 16, 2007 4:33 PM
How do you get past level 2?
Posted by: kristen | December 16, 2007 11:40 PM
anyone,
i cannot get passed the bomb on level 2!! Can anyone please tell me how to blow it up?
thanks.
Posted by: Abby | December 27, 2007 7:15 PM
ok i figured it out.
to blow up the bomb you draw a line from the fire to the bomb.
now i just can't get passed level 8. how do you get from one level to another when there aren't enough blowing up monster things?
help.
Posted by: Abby | December 27, 2007 11:22 PM
Level 20 seems impossible!!
HELP please!!??
Posted by: Anonymous | March 25, 2008 1:42 PM