Crusoe's Squeaky Ball Pop

Crusoe's Squeaky Ball Pop is a bubble shooter-type mobile game featuring Crusoe, Oakley, and Daphne. The game is story-based. The main voice actors from The Crusoe Show reprise their roles in the game. It is available on iOS and Android.

## Plot

Introduction: While Daphne is painting her nails and Oakley is about to eat a donut, Crusoe gets too greedy with the squeaky balls as he is watching them being made in a factory operated by squirrels. This, in turn, causes the factory to explode and Crusoe, Oakley, and Daphne to end up in exotic worlds, thus separating them; Crusoe finds himself crash-landing onto a tropical island.

Cutscene 1: While Crusoe is out at sea on his ship, he gets shipwrecked, forcing him to continue travelling underwater.

Cutscene 2: Crusoe decides to swim through a geyser, and ends up on a wooden raft, where he then reunites with Oakley.

Cutscene 3: After floating on the raft for some time, Crusoe and Oakley spot a cruise ship, and are subsequently rescued.

Cutscene 4: Crusoe and Oakley finally see land as they ride the cruise ship. They soon realize that the cruise ship is stopping in Africa.

Cutscene 5: After journeying through Africa, Crusoe and Oakley find a hot air balloon. Once they board the balloon, Oakley tells Crusoe that he does not do well with heights.

Cutscene 6: Daphne is revealed to have landed in a jungle in Madagascar.

Cutscene 7: Crusoe and Oakley land the hot air balloon in Madagascar. Daphne aims a slingshot at the hot air balloon, causing it to pop and Crusoe and Oakley end up falling. Upon landing, they reunite with Daphne.

[MORE TO BE ADDED SOON]

## Gameplay

Clear bubbles by matching at least 3 bubbles of the same color. The goal of every level is to save all the squirrels within a certain number of moves. The number of available moves differs depending on the level. The player is awarded 1-3 buttons, depending on how many stars they earned when passing the level (e.g. if the player earns two stars, they get two buttons). Players start with five lives, which is the maximum number of lives in the game. If you exit or fail a level, you lose a life. You can fail a level by not saving all squirrels or hitting a beehive (unless you have Bee Keeper Crusoe). Lives regenerate every 15 minutes.

### Obstacles

Obstacles are embedded in the sky above the player character. Obstacles can have a positive, negative, or neutral effect. Some obstacles have similar effects to each other. Special costumes can affect the way powerups work (click here for more information).

#### List of obstacles

* **Coconuts (unlocked at level 11)** - Have to be hit twice in order for them to be destroyed, but some may already be cracked at the beginning of the level.
* **Rock (unlocked at level 16)** - Indestructible, can only be removed by popping surrounding balls.
* **Crystal Skulls (unlocked at level 21)** - Turn into a random color squeaky ball when hit.
* **Spike Fruit (unlocked at level 31)** - Pops any balls that hit it.
* Clouds (unlocked at level 44) - Mimic the ball color popped right next to it.
* Puffer Fish (unlocked at level 53) - Puff up on the first hit, then destroyed on the second hit, changing the ball color in the process.
* Pesky Seagulls (unlocked at level 58) - Pops balls that hit them.
* Ghosts (unlocked at level 66) - Invisible, will reveal themselves when hit. Represented by sparkles before being revealed.
* Cannonball (unlocked at level 71)- Indestructible, must pop surrounding balls in order to remove them.
* Octopus (unlocked at level 82)- Randomly change color after two shots.
* Anchored Balls (unlocked at level 92) - Pop three or more balls of the same color next to anchored balls in order to free the lock.
* Underwater Mine (unlocked at level 102) - Explodes large chunks of balls.
* Air Bubbles (unlocked at level 112) - Grants two extra moves when hit; four if playing as Free Spirit Daphne.
* Jellyfish (unlocked at level 122) - If hit, you will lose two moves.
* Oysters - The first shot will shuck the oyster if unopened, and the second shot destroys the oyster altogether.
* Flare Gun - Unleashes a fireball, causing balls to be destroyed in a vertical line.
* Shuffleboard - When hit, it slides across the screen, destroying any balls in its path.
* Happy Hour - Gives two extra moves when hit; if playing as Free Spirit Daphne, you will be given four moves instead.
* Dog Poo - When hit, the player loses two balls.
* Disco Ball - If hit, turns into a random color.
* Bee Hives - If hit, the player is stung and they lose the level (unless playing as Beekeeper Crusoe).
* Birdie - When hit, bursts into feathers, causing a section of balls to be destroyed.
* Tribal Mask - Changes to a random color after two shots.
* Magic Nut - When hit, it randomly changes the color of the next ball. Takes two hits to crack, but some may already be cracked at the beginning of the level.
* Rhino
* Lemurs
* Watermelon
* Water Geyser
* Cactus
* Water Drop
* Rattlesnakes
* Mythical Phoenix
* Tumbleweed
* **Pea shooter (unlocked at level 467)** - Rotates after each shot. Only works with Cowboy Crusoe; if used by other characters, it will misfire instead.

### Playable Characters

* **Crusoe** - playable from start of game
* **Oakley** - unlocked at level 140
* **Daphne** - unlocked at level 313

#### Special costumes

* **Bee Keeper Crusoe** - Immune to bee stings
* **Free Spirit Daphne** - Awards 4 extra balls instead of 2 for Water Drops, Air Bubbles, Happy Hour, and Watermelon boosters
* **Cowboy Crusoe** - Activates pea shooters, immune to Rattlesnakes, Jellyfish, and Dog Poo

### Powerups

If you pop enough bubbles of a certain color, you may use a powerup. Each powerup is associated with a supporting character. Powerups are only available on certain levels, and the number of powerups available varies by individual level (levels can have anywhere from 0 to 4 powerups). Each powerup is powered by a different color of squeaky ball. Multiple powerups can be combined.

#### List of Powerups/Supporting Characters

**Paisley (chocolate and tan dachshund; unlocked at level 5)** - power unlocked by popping a certain number of red squeaky balls. Powerup causes a love explosion, resulting in balls being destroyed in the explosion.

**Dillon (golden retriever; unlocked at level 9)** - power unlocked by popping a certain number of yellow squeaky balls. Powerup causes a three-way tennis ball shot, resulting in three mini-explosions. Not very useful on its own, but effective when combined with other powerups.

**Fish (unlocked at level 25)** - power unlocked by popping a certain number of blue squeaky balls. Powerup destroys balls in a vertical line. Can go through any obstacles.

**Sandy (Jack Russell terrier mix; unlocked at level 33)** - power unlocked by popping a certain number of green squeaky balls. Powerup cuts back and forth across the screen with a boomerang. Can go through any obstacles, and also drops everything below the affected row.

## Behind the scenes information

Crusoe's Squeaky Ball Pop took two years to develop. Given this information, the game most likely entered development sometime in late 2019 or early 2020, when Daphne was a puppy.

## Trivia

* The in-game currency being buttons was inspired by the running gag of Oakley paying with buttons.
* The idea of the game's objective to save all the squirrels was probably inspired by the "SQUIRREL!" running gag in some of Crusoe's videos.
* Sandy had previously made live action appearances in Sherlock Bones & Watley and Oakley Goes to School.
* Paisley had previously made recurring live action appearances throughout seasons 1-2 and in Game of Bones (as Daenarys Tarwienergan). She was also mentioned in Dachshund Mischief on the Night Before Christmas.
* Dillon had previously made live action apearances in Oakley Goes to School, Hamsterbox, and Ghostwienerbusters (misspelled as "Dylan" in the latter episode).
* The fish is the only non-canine powerup character, and the only powerup character who did not originate from The Crusoe Show.
* Daphne is the only female playable character in the game, and is also the only long haired wiener dog to appear in the game. Crusoe and Oakley are short haired wiener dogs, as was Paisley (who passed away in 2023).
* Oakley is the only playable character in the game who wears clothing by default (Crusoe and Daphne also have outfits in the game, but they are not worn in their respective debuts as playable characters).
	+ The shirt that Oakley wears in the game looks similar to a shirt that he owns in real life.
* In the summer of 2022, 100 levels inspired by Crusoe's trip to Arizona were added.
* In the fall of 2022, the game received holiday-themed levels for the first time (in this case, for Halloween). This would later be done again for Christmas.
* The orange and pink squeaky balls have no associated powerups.
* Crusoe and Oakley finding Daphne in Madagascar is a reference to Crusoe Gets a Sister. In said episode, Crusoe tried to mail Daphne to Madagascar.
* The order that the powerups are unlocked is as follows:
	+ Paisley (red balls)
	+ Dillon (yellow balls)
	+ Fish (blue balls)
	+ Sandy (green balls)
* Even though Delilah joined the Celebrity Dachshund family in January 2023, she has yet to be added to the game.
* The idea of using squeaky balls in the game was most likely inspired by Crusoe's real life penchant for squeaky toys.
* The squeaky balls in the game are modelled after squeaky balls that Crusoe owns in real life.
* Crusoe has promoted the game in several of his videos.
* Paisley continues to appear in the game to this day, even though her real-life counterpart died on March 16, 2023.

## Gallery

The basics of the gameMap screenBoosters, power-ups, and example obstacle (clouds)Gameplay demoIn-game storeIf the player has run out of livesIf the player runs out of ballsApp icon
## Sources

1. ↑ https://apps.apple.com/us/app/crusoe-squeaky-ball-bubble-pop/id1590501741
2. ↑ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.doggymojis.Crusoe&hl=en\_US&gl=US
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://celebritydachshund.com/blogs/crusoe/how-to-play-crusoes-squeaky-ball-pop
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0593/5408/7620/files/Game-Pieces\_SqueakyPOP.pdf?v=1656939962
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g75IlBRe7k