B. A. L. L. Z. is a small C++ / Allegro / GTK two-dimensional platformer with puzzle elements. B. A. L. L. Z. written in 72 hours for the competition TINS (TINS Is Not Speedhack), in the future, the game was revised and updated (until steady state).
In the game B. A. L. L. Z. have to control the ball, which was genetically modified in the laboratories of the British secret service. The ball was sent with a mission to rescue British soldiers from an Iranian prison.
Feature of the gameplay of B. A. L. L. Z. is that the player controls the direction of the ball, and can only control his jumps. As you progress through the levels (available 19 levels) increases the complexity of the game and the ball have new abilities.
B. A. L. L. Z. has low system requirements, can run in window and full screen mode, the levels become available for the passage of the previous one, completed levels can be replayed again in any order (if you want to improve the result of the passage), to control using a keyboard.
License: BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution license).
Running B.A.L.L.Z. on Modern Linux (2026 Update)
Although B.A.L.L.Z. was created years ago, it remains fully compatible with modern distributions like Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and the upcoming 26.04.
Technical Tip for Wayland Users: If you encounter issues with full-screen mode on Wayland, try running the game in windowed mode first or use Xwayland for better compatibility. The game’s lightweight nature makes it a perfect choice for low-spec VPS environments or running via X11 forwarding if you’re feeling adventurous.
Installation in 2026: Still as simple as ever:
sudo apt update; sudo apt install ballz
I was looking for something lightweight to play during short breaks that doesn’t require a 2GB download or Steam account. This is perfect. It’s small, fast, and actually challenging. Glad I found this article — most “top Linux games” lists only mention AAA titles nowadays, ignoring these gems from the repos.
Man, I remember playing this years ago! It’s crazy that it’s still sitting in the official Ubuntu repositories in 2026. Just installed it on my fresh Noble Numbat setup, and it works like a charm. It’s a great example of how simple, well-coded Linux games can stay relevant for decades. Thanks for keeping this guide updated!