Two-Player Bubble Trouble on One Keyboard: Controls, Sides and How to Not Get Each Other Killed

The keys

Player one is on the arrow keys and space; player two is on A and D to move and Q to fire. Both sets are on the same keyboard, so player two sits to the left. If the layout does not suit you, the settings menu behind the pause button lets you change any key, and the change is saved in the browser.

Co-operative, not competitive

The level ends when the room is empty, whoever popped what, so the mode is co-operative even though each player has their own lives and score. A player who loses all three lives is out until the next level; the other keeps going. The score is a friendly argument, not the result.

Split the room

Two harpoons in the same spot pop the same bubble and leave the other side of the room untouched. Give each player a half. Bubbles cross the middle, so the halves are not fixed, but the habit means both lines are usually in useful places and neither player is running through the other's bubbles.

Small bubbles are shared problems

When one player splits a big bubble, the halves belong to both of you. The player closer to the halves takes them; the other holds position and covers the floor. A rule of thumb: whoever fired at the big one is the one who cleans up, unless the halves went the other way.

Items

Items land where a bubble popped. Whoever is nearer takes it, and there is no use fighting over an extra life while a small bubble is heading for both of you. Extra time is shared by the level, so it matters less who picks it up.