Bugaboo (The Flea) was created by Paco Suárez and Paco Portalo, known as Paco & Paco, and produced by the Spanish company Indescomp. It is considered the first original video game developed in Spain. Indescomp struck a deal with Quicksilva, so the ZX Spectrum game came out in the UK first, in October 1983, and reached Spain in December 1983 as La Pulga.
The player guides a flea that has fallen into a cave back up to the surface using just two keys: holding a key charges a jump, and releasing it jumps in that direction. Falls are never fatal; the only danger is a large yellow dragon. Portalo's introductory cutscene made it one of the first games with a cutscene.
Its release is seen as the start of the Golden Era of Spanish Software, and in 2021 both authors received the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts, the first time the award went to game developers. A sequel, Poogaboo (La Pulga 2), followed from Opera Soft in 1991.123
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | BugabooTimex TC2048/TS2068. | Other | 1984 | Quicksilva Inc. | 4 |
| EU | Bugaboo the FleaUK original, ZX Spectrum 48K, £6.95. | ZX Spectrum | October 1983 | Quicksilva | 2 |
| ES | La PulgaSpanish release, 2050 pesetas. | ZX Spectrum | December 1983 | Investrónica | 2 |
| EU | Roland in the CavesPorted by Paco Suárez. | Amstrad CPC | June 1984 | Amsoft | 1 |
| EU | Booga-BooSpanish Wikipedia dates the port to early 1984; it was also released in the US by Quicksilva. | Commodore 64 | 1984 | Quicksilva | 1 |
| EU | BugabooPort by Steve Haigh and Ann Haigh; publisher not confirmed. | MSX | 1986 | — | 1 |
Also known as: La Pulga ES2Bugaboo the Flea EU2Bugaboo NA4Booga-Boo the Flea EU1Roland in the Caves EU3
Version differences
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TitleZX Spectrum (Spain)
Quicksilva first released the game in the UK as Bugaboo the Flea in October 1983; it reached Spain in December 1983 as La Pulga, released by Investrónica.2
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TitleAmstrad CPC
Amsoft published the Amstrad CPC version as Roland in the Caves, starring its Roland character.3
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TitleCommodore 64
On the Commodore 64 the game was called Booga-Boo.2
Translations
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Spanish Official
Investrónica1983ZX Spectrum · originalReleased
Spectrum Computing lists Investrónica's La Pulga as the Spanish-language edition.2
Where to play legally today
-
Steam Purchase
The Flea Evolution: Bugaboo
2021 remake by Ikigai Play (Windows, Mac, Linux), not the 1983 original
Checked: 2026-10-135store.steampowered.com
Reception
CRASH gave it 92% and a Smash award, Computer and Video Games scored it 8/10 and made it Game of the Month, and Personal Computer Games gave it 7/10. It reached No. 3 in the WH Smith Spectrum Top 10 and appeared in Your Computer's top 20 in January 1984, while the Commodore 64 version climbed to No. 2 in the Boots chart in 1984.3
In lists
Sources
- 1es.wikipedia.org
- 2spectrumcomputing.co.uk
- 3en.wikipedia.org
- 4internal.zxinfo.dk
- 5store.steampowered.com
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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