Bingo Blaster
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| Bingo Blaster

Bingo Blaster is like the end result of a games mating session.

By that, I don't mean the oft lusted over thought of Mario finally getting it together with Princess Peach, or Sonic giving into Tails's never-ending romantic overtures, but rather the process of merging the traits of one game with elements of another.

In those stark terms, it's very easy to define Bingo Blaster: it's bingo meets Zuma.

Are you my mummy?

Visually, Maturus's puzzler has much in common with chain-style match-threes like Zuma, Stoneloop, and the like.

Balls rolls down a set path towards a mummy head (don't ask) at the end of the run. Clearing them before even one of them hits his chomping jaws is, therefore, the key.

However, unlike in the other aforementioned titles, doing so in Bingo Blaster isn't a question of shooting coloured balls at the chain.

Rather, each ball comes adorned with a number, and it's your job to wipe them from play when they correspond with your own 25-strong bingo card.

Having a ball

This makes Bingo Blaster a case of both sharp observation and quick reaction times.

Though the game attempts to bring a measure of strategy into proceedings – balls cleared in certain parts of the map , for instance, subtract rather than add to your points total – you can make it through most levels simply by keeping on your toes.

By the same token, managing to clear entire lines from your bingo cards unlocks the added bonus of clearing whole groups of balls from the chain in one go, often helping to rescue you should your balls be perilously close to the mummy's mouth.

Nevertheless, any sense of strategy or tactics is solely the domain of the high score chasers. If simply making it through one stage and onto the next is your thing, then marking off each number as soon as the ball rolls onto the screen is usually enough.

Likewise, though Bingo Blaster's marriage was never likely to bear especially revolutionary fruit, its simplicity doesn't make it any less fun.

Bingo Blaster

Part Bingo, part Zuma, Bingo Blaster's simplicity is the key to its success, making it the kind of game anyone can pick up without having to trawl through leagues of instructions
Score
Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.