If you've been participating in the IGF Audience Award over at GameSpot, you might have spotted this already, but Best Web Game finalist Bubble Islands is now available for free play, and JayIsGames has a neat review of the title, too.

One of the reasons I like Bubble Islands is that it's one of those faux-Japanese European games (g'day, Apidya!), heh, but as JayIsGames notes, it's incredibly slick and very addictive, too: "Flash-based and completely free, Bubble Islands is fun, cute and loaded with enough content to rival similar commercial games."

[And while we're here, one of my personal favorite Student Showcase winners from the IGF this year is web-playable game Rooms, and JayIsGames also reveals: "Kim JongHwa has just uploaded an update (v1.25) to his captivating puzzle game, Rooms. This latest update fixes the "bus bug" in level 13 once and for all, and it also includes a new password feature that allows you to start the game from any previously completed level." Go check it, if you haven't.]