Why Bouncelings exists (and why knocked-out jellies stick around)

Back in 2007 there was a little Flash game called Jelly Battle. Four jellies on a grid shaped like a keyboard, everyone jumping at the same moment, and the last one still bouncing won. It was simple, chaotic and weirdly tactical, and then one day it was just gone. The servers went dark and nothing quite like it ever came back.

Bouncelings is my attempt to bring that feeling back. Not a remake: new characters, new art, new code, rebuilt from scratch for phones and browsers. Pogo, Blip, Ollie and Glitch are four collectible vinyl jellies, and they all play exactly the same, so you just pick the one you like.

The twist that makes it work

Every turn, all players choose a tile at the same time. While you're in the air, the whole board drops one row. So you don't aim where you want to land, you aim one tile lower. It sounds like a small thing, but it's what turns "jump on the heal" into a real read of where everyone else is going.

New this week: ghosts on the sidelines

One thing I always remembered from the original: getting knocked out didn't mean leaving. Your jelly stayed next to the arena, a bit see-through, still watching and still able to react.

So that's back now. When you're eliminated, your splat stays on the board for a moment. Once it's cleared you hear a little warp sound, and your jelly reappears as a ghost on the right side of the arena, looking in at the match. Ghosts line up in the order they were knocked out, and your emotes and quick phrases pop up above your head, so you can still cheer, taunt or say "so close!" while the others finish it.

It's a small feature, but it keeps everyone in the match until the very last bounce. The ghosts are live in the browser version today and are coming to the iOS app in the next update.

Play it

Bouncelings is free on iOS and fully playable in your browser at https://bouncelings.com, online against real players, solo against bots, or in a private lobby with friends.

Thanks for reading, and see you on the grid!