Remember pong? If you do, you owe it to yourself to give Bongo a try. Think “pong” with a twist – or two or three – thrown in, to give Bongo a modern flare on your Nokia Symbian device. For starters, Bongo offers game play for up to four players – either you against the computerized opponent(s), or you against friends.

So how do you play Bongo with friends on your mobile device? This is where Bongo, a game that is exclusive for Nokia devices in Ovi Store by UnME2 (or “you and me, too” as they say!), gets really interesting … Happily, you don’t all need to crowd around a single device! You can play Bongo over your Bluetooth connection with others who also have the game installed on their Nokia device.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s talk about the game for a moment or two … Like its pong-based predecessor, you have a “paddle” that you use to defend your side of the field – and there are opening along all four sides of the game area where the ball can go through and score points.

Within the game settings, you have the option to control the size of the paddle,  the speed of the ball, and more – so you can adjust the degree of difficulty as you play. You can also set up how many points ahead of your opponent you must be in order to win a game (such as “must win by 2 points”).

So, while playing Bongo against the computerized opponent is fun – and challenging – the game is much more fun in Bluetooth mode, where you play against up to three other friends at once. As long as you all have the game installed, and have Bluetooth-enabled devices, this will work – and it works great. It was cool to see how the game renders – and reacts – on different devices as you play against a friend. I was recently playing it on my Nokia E72 (the images on this post show the game on my device), and my coworker was playing it on his Nokia N97 mini – and it worked just fine. On my device, you use the cursor/scroll-wheel in the center of the E72 to control the movement of your paddle, and on the N97 mini, you control the action from your touch screen.

The one thing to bear in mind is the set-up process when you want to play against a Bluetooth-based friend or two. Within settings for the game, you need to decide who will be the “Leader” (a “Role” you select) and all others must be set as “Follower”. In this way, the game connects plays to one another. This took a few attempts to work when we first tried it out, but we got it right, and then, you’re rolling. If you need more guidance about any of these elements, there is good online help for the game – as well as instructions within the mobile app.

Another fun option, also within settings, is that you can set up to four different messages that you can send to your opponent via Bluetooth as you are playing. Keep the trash-talking to a minimum, OK?

If you need more tips about the game, UnME2 offers a full page of Hints on their website.

Bongo is available for $1.99 (USD) in Ovi Store. Or, if you want to try before you buy, there is a trial version of the game available for free download, too. As you will see below, the game is compatible with a huge range of Nokia devices, and is available with multiple language support, too.

Take Bongo with you the next time you go out – or during a break at work – and challenge a friend to a quick game!