Bubble Cash Game Review [2024]: Addictingly Fun Even If I Didn't Win Much

Key takeaways

• Bubble Cash is available on iOS and Samsung devices, and you can play either free games or cash tournaments with real-money prizes.
• To play the game, you aim and shoot colored bubbles and pop them by forming groups of at least three.
• I’ve played Bubble Cash for dozens of hours, and while I haven’t made too much money, I think the game is fun enough that it’s still worth downloading. This is one of my favorite mobile games to play.
• If you win enough money to cash out, you can withdraw your funds via PayPal. Just know that you’ll forfeit all of your remaining bonus cash (which is an in-game currency that you can’t withdraw).

Is Bubble Cash legit?

Yes, Bubble Cash is a legitimate bubble shooter game available on the App Store and Galaxy Store for iPhone, iPad, and Samsung devices, with over 123,000 reviews and an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars in the App Store.

You really can win tournaments and withdraw money from this game app (if you meet the $5 withdrawal limit).

What is Bubble Cash?

Game	4.8 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.
Developer	Papaya Gaming
Compatible systems	iOS, Samsung
Minimum entry fee (for cash tournaments)	$1
Minimum cash deposit	$5
Minimum withdrawal amount	$5
Withdrawal fee	$1
Withdrawal methods	PayPal (or as a refund to your original payment method)
States that prohibit cash tournaments	Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina
Game modes	Cash tournaments Gem tournaments Clubs
	Download Bubble Cash

Bubble Cash is a legit game — it’s one of the most popular classic bubble shooter games available for iOS and Samsung devices. The game has colorful graphics and simple gameplay, where you shoot and pop bubbles on a screen. Combine three bubbles of the same color to pop them.

It’s kind of like Bejeweled, but with an aim-and-shoot element.

Bubble Cash starts you off with four "shots." That's the number of shots you have to clear bubbles before the game will add an additional row of bubbles to your screen. If you shoot a bubble and your shot doesn’t pop any other bubbles, you lose one shot. You get four fresh shots every time the game adds a new row of bubbles.

As you shoot and pop bubbles, you earn points. The goal is to get the highest possible number of points to beat other players in timed matches. If you win one of the top spots in a tournament, you can win actual money or in-game currency, like gems and bonus cash.

Personally, I like Bubble Cash more than similar bubble shooter games, like Bubble Cube 2 and Bubble Buzz. It's easier to aim, and it has fewer bells and whistles that complicate the gameplay.

My gameplay experience with Bubble Cash

Bubble Cash is one of my favorite mobile games and I’ve played it for dozens of hours. When I first started out, I played a lot of free gems tournaments to get used to the gameplay and try to up my score. But while Bubble Cash is simple to play, it’s not always easy to win. I’ve actually found this to be a more difficult game to win tournaments in compared to other Papaya games, like Solitaire Cash and Bingo Cash.

Despite how difficult it can be to win tournaments, I still find myself playing this game all the time. It’s a great way to relax in my free time or wind down after work, so the entertainment value still seems worth it to me.

I didn’t experience any app glitches or slowness with Bubble Cash. As with other Papaya games, the most annoying part of the gameplay experience is the endless pop-up promos. While the app doesn’t make me watch ads, I have to exit out of at least five colorful pop-up promotions trying to persuade me to deposit money every time I open the game.

Tips for scoring points

There are four ways to score points in Bubble Cash:

1. Pop bubbles by lining up rows of at least three of the same color.
2. Drop bubbles by popping bubbles that are holding up lower bubbles.
3. Finish the game early before the timer runs out and you get a time bonus.
4. Clear the board for an extra 1,500 points.

There are some strategic ways you can pop bubbles to score the maximum number of points. The most obvious is by lining up as many bubbles of the same color as you can. While a line of only three popped bubbles scores 10 points each (for a total of 30), every additional bubble in the line scores an increasing number of points.

For example, if you pop five bubbles in a row, you’ll score 30 points total for the first three, plus 20 points for the fourth bubble and 30 points for the fifth.

Bubble points go up by 10 for each additional bubble popped until you reach 50 points per bubble. After that, each bubble popped is worth 100 points. That’s worth 10x as much as a single bubble popped in a simple line-up of three.

If you want to score the maximum number of points per bubble, then you should try to drop as many bubbles as possible.

Dropping bubbles happens when you eliminate a line of bubbles holding up lower bubbles on the board. All bubbles that are dropped (rather than popped) are worth 100 points each.

My tips for winning Bubble Cash tournaments

Prioritize quick moves

If there’s not an obvious place to shoot a bubble, don’t waste a ton of time looking for one. Just shoot it off to the side to get it out of the way so you can keep going and find other color matches.

You can also rotate the two bubbles in your line-up so that you can use the second one if it’s a more useful color. But I found that I lost more games when I spent too long scouting for the best options and rotating through my bubbles. Faster moves preserve more time.

Finish early

I’ve never scored #1 in a tournament without both clearing the board and finishing early. You get a time bonus for finishing early and a points bonus for clearing the board. You need both to remain competitive with other players in the running.

Use your final moves strategically

If you’ve almost cleared the board and you have only one color of bubble left, intentionally waste your shots to bring down another line of bubbles. The game will generate a line of same-colored bubbles that you can pop in one go to score a bunch of extra points.

Stick to small player pools

Bubble Cash tournaments allow various numbers of players, but the smaller the pool, the fewer people you have to compete against to win. And, generally speaking, you need to score in either first or second place to win more money than what you spent on the entry fee.

For example, in a pool of 6 players, 33% of them will score in the top two spots. In a pool of 12, it’s only 16% of players who will score in the top two spots. So the odds are more in your favor in a smaller pool.

I specifically recommend avoiding tournaments with unlimited players. These tournaments always have high prize pools that look enticing, but your chances of winning go way down the more players you have to compete against. Smaller tournaments also have more reasonable entry fees.

How much money can you make?

Over the course of many hours playing Bubble Cash, I’ve never maintained a balance higher than $5 or $6. And since I started with a $5 deposit in order to play cash tournaments, I’ve essentially broken even on this game.

I supplement cash tournaments with free gems tournaments so that I can play the game regardless of whether or not I’m on a winning streak. But the takeaway is that, unless you’re a bubble-popping master who’s consistently good enough at the game to win competitions, you shouldn’t plan to make much (if any) cash off of this game. If you need extra funds, then you might want to look into other ways to make money. 

Cash withdrawal methods

If you manage to win money playing Bubble Cash, then you can withdraw it via PayPal. There’s a $5 withdrawal minimum, plus a $1 withdrawal fee charged on each deposit.

If you’re withdrawing the same amount or less than what you originally deposited, the game will refund your money to the original form of payment. For example, if you originally paid a credit card, then your withdrawal will go back on that card.

How cash tournaments work

Cash tournaments in Bubble Cash charge an entry fee of either money or gems, the in-game currency. You can also use bonus cash to play tournaments, which is another form of in-game currency. There are multiple ways you can get bonus cash, including as a reward for logging in every day or as a bonus for depositing real money.

You can use bonus cash to pay entry fees on real-money tournaments, but you can’t withdraw it. And the Bubble Cash app forfeits all of the bonus cash in your account anytime you withdraw your real-money balance. This is a common drawback for gaming apps like this, so I can’t criticize Bubble Cash too harshly for it. But it is designed to encourage players to keep their money in the game rather than cashing out.

When I play Bubble Cash tournaments, I usually opt for Rookie tournaments with a low entry fee ($1) and a low prize pool ($5 total, split among the top-three winners). I’ve seen Bubble Cash tournaments offering prize pools of $30 or more, but these games also charge higher entry fees that can seriously deplete your funds. Unless you’re really good at this game, I think the risk is not worth the potential reward.

What other users have to say

I had a good experience with the Bubble Cash app and gameplay. There were no apparent glitches, and the gameplay went smoothly. The app gets generally positive reviews on app stores, so other users seem to be having positive experiences as well. But there are some complaints about earning money.

App Store user MikeLhevan said, “I never made any money from it, only play for fun.”

There have also been complaints about not being able to withdraw money from the game. These complaints sometimes come from users who say they’ve won high amounts of money and hit snags when they try to withdraw the funds.

This likely won’t be an issue for most players because it’s not easy to win large amounts of money from the game. People who say they’ve won $1,000 or more from playing Bubble Cash are the exception, not the rule.

Alternatives to Bubble Cash

If Bubble Cash doesn’t seem like your thing, then there are lots of other ways you can make money online (or just have fun).

Solitaire Cash: If you prefer card games, then Solitaire Cash is a good choice. Also from Papaya Games, Solitaire Cash takes the classic solitaire game and spins it to offer competitive, timed tournaments you can play for fun or to try and win money (if cash prizes are allowed in your state).

Download Solitaire Cash or read our Solitaire Cash review for more information.

Bingo Cash: If you want a faster-paced and more strategy-based game than Bubble Cash, Bingo Cash fits the bill. This is another Papaya Gaming app, and it uses the same rules as traditional bingo, plus specific booster buttons that you can use to influence the game and try to score more points.

Bingo Cash or read our Bingo Cash review for more information.

Kashkick: If you want a more reliable way to make money on the side that doesn’t rely on winning games, then Kashkick has more to offer. This app lets you take surveys, complete tasks, or play multiple games to earn rewards.

Visit Kashkick or read our Kashkick review for more information.

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Bubble Cash FAQ

Bottom line

Bubble Cash is a fun gaming app to download and play, even though you likely won’t make much money from it. I had a blast playing Bubble Cash and still play it regularly. I like that it’s easy to learn and makes for a relaxing game to play in my downtime.

This game is definitely not a guaranteed or substantial source of income, so you should use it primarily as entertainment.

For ways to earn money in your spare time, including more reliable ways than cash gaming apps, check out our list of the best side hustles.

Learn More

4.8

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.

Easy-to-learn gameplay, and skills-based competition

Legit game that offers real money prizes (if you win cash tournaments)

In the top 10 in its App Store category