Bubbles is an action game with puzzle elements where the player controls the protagonist, a soap bubble, from a top-down perspective. The object is to clean a kitchen sink by maneuvering the bubble over ants, crumbs, and grease to absorb them. The bubble will grow larger the more objects it absorbs. The player is impeded by enemies—brushes, razor blades, roaches, and sponges—that are deadly to the character. Except for razors, enemies also compete with the player to absorb objects in the sink. Once the bubble reaches a certain size, it will acquire a smiling face and become invulnerable against brushes and sponges; contact with those will reduce the bubble's size to the point it becomes vulnerable again. After all the objects are gone, the player will progress to the next level if the bubble is large enough. If the bubble is not large enough at that point, or if the player enters the drain while the bubble's too small, a life is lost. Once the bubble becomes large enough, the drain in the center of the sink will begin to flash green, signaling the player to enter it to progress to the next level.