The hit game Block Blast recently became popular and favorable to many students. It released in September of 2022, and as of mid-2024, it boomed in popularity. Block Blast takes on a similar approach to Tetris, a game that uses blocks to eliminate rows and columns to clear a grid, while Block Blast requires players to place blocks to clear an 8 by 8 grid. Sophomore Vivienne Kerley addresses the game’s positive and negative factors.

“I get more addicted each time I play it, but it also allows me to just use my puzzle-solving skills and to use my brain more,” Kerley said. “It kind of lowers my attention span because each time I keep playing, it’s like, what do I do now? After I’m done playing it, I get bored, which is not good.”

Block Blast consists of multiple varieties of blocks, such as a yellow L-shape, that players receive when interacting with the game. Each round, a player gets three blocks that need to be placed on the grid to clear space on the board. The more a player clears the board, the higher the score attained by the player. 

“I really like how it’s colorful. I like the colors that it uses. It’s just fun because I really like puzzles,” Kerley said. “I really do either when it’s like real life or game puzzles. I just love solving stuff, so I just find it fun.”

Players get to choose which game mode they want to play when opening the game: Classic or Adventure mode. Classic mode focuses on clearing a grid to get the highest score possible, while adventure mode focuses on completing levels until every level is done. 

“I like playing classic mode because it’s classic. It’s the one everyone’s used to. And I feel like when I play adventure mode, it’s more hard,” Kerley said. “I just don’t want to look dumb while playing a mobile game.”

Adventure mode contains different and more difficult levels as the player advances, while in classic mode, the game is consistent with giving the player three blocks at a time to place on the board.  

“I definitely play classic mode. I’m very scared of adventure mode. I’ve never touched adventure mode,” Kerley said. “Just something about block blast scares me. I feel like I’ll get more addicted each time I play because I don’t want to give up. I keep striving for perfection. So I just keep going, like, I gotta do it. I gotta do it.” 

When playing the game, Kerley finds herself getting lost in time. Each time a player places a block on the grid, the addiction grows and takes away the time that a player uses to interact with their peers. 

“I could rather be talking to someone or just getting to know someone more, or just talking with my friends, but instead I’m playing block blast on their mobile device,” Kerley said. “I could be asking them questions about school, or I could just be catching up on them, but instead, what I’m doing is playing block blast on my phone.”

(Photo by Juno Clark)

Sophomore Emma Reed plays the game whenever she gets bored, and it allows her to take time for herself when playing the game. 

“Block blast keeps me entertained,” Reed said. “I think it makes me use my phone more than I said, and I definitely am playing it for too long.”

For Reed, adventure mode provides a challenge, whereas classic mode provides for a short-term experience. 

“I feel like adventure is fun when you hit all the squares and stuff like that,” Reed said. “I feel like I wouldn’t do a long-term challenge, but I feel like just for a short-term challenge, the classic mode is really good.”

Many people connect to the hit game, whether by knowing of the game or engaging in it. Since many people play Block Blast, students find the topic easy to connect to in daily interactions. 

“[Block Blast] makes [my daily relationships] better, because I can have a topic to relate with people about like with my friends,” Reed said. “There’s a lot of my friends that are playing, and I was like, I actually kind of want to play that.”

Blocks within the game consist of various colors and shapes that give players the satisfaction of variety. 

“I just like the game in general,” Reed said. “I think it became popular just because of how satisfying the game was and how much people liked it.”

Players can download the game for free, however, advertisements display after every round a player fails. Sophomore Izabelle Guerra finds the game calming.

“I like the colors. I like how it’s not very overstimulating,” Guerra said. “There’s not that many ads unless you’re dying. It’s calming because, yes, it can get annoying at times, but for the most part, it’s a chill game.”

A study shows that people who play certain games can improve their cognitive skills. Each time a player clears a grid, the game illustrates graphics in congratulation to the players’ success and releases dopamine, which further increases their desire to continue playing the game. 

Block Blast allows players to improve their problem-solving skills by providing various obstacles, such as limiting the available space for a variety of blocks on the screen. Players wanting to solve and clear the grid have to use tactics to advance further without the possibility of failure, such as determining future moves and blocks. 

“I normally do adventure because I like structure, I like levels, I like having a goal rather than just beating a high score. So it’s critical thinking,” Guerra said. “I think if you’re gonna be on your phone and you’re gonna play a game, you might as well do something that’s stimulating and something that’s actually allowing you to use your brain and think rather than just consuming brain rot or some not helpful media.”

The game updates a player’s high score each time they defeat it. Block Blast leads players to continue striving to be better competitively. 

“It’s a game where it’s consistent. The whole point is to consistently try to be better,” Guerra said. “So if you already lack discipline and self-control, then that’s only gonna worsen it, because then it’s just more of a reason to stay on your phone to continue trying and do better.”

As of now, Block Blast only offers two game modes to players: Classic and Adventure. However, recently, the game added new features such as starting a game with blocks already placed on the grid. 

“I wish it was more difficult at times. Sometimes I feel like it’s not stimulating because it can definitely be easy and you can definitely start picking up the patterns and predict what blocks you’re gonna have,” Guerra said. “I wish they expanded the type of levels because right now it’s just getting gems and just trying to beat high scores. So I wish there was something more difficult.”

Block Blast reached a peak in popularity and continues to grow as time passes. The game is commonly featured in students’ daily conversations and flows among younger players. 

“I talk about this with my friends,” Guerra said. “A lot like me and my peers were able to communicate and discuss Block Blast, so I think it has opened like a similar interest that I’m able to go and converse with people and socialize.”

The game gives users a new option to resort to when they want to disconnect from the world around them. Because of this, it also benefits them in stimulating their brain and using logic to complete the puzzles the game presents.

“I think it’s a fun game,” Guerra said. “I’m glad that people are, you know, if they’re gonna be on their phone, I’m glad that they’re doing something that is at least making them use their brain.”

Block Blast plays a role in the stimulation of the brain while also allowing players to enjoy the experience. The release of dopamine causes players to continue playing while strengthening their problem-solving skills through the use of logic and reasoning. 

“I think that people like a challenge. People can only go and mindlessly scroll on all this stuff for so long because, I mean, not everyone is interested in reading, not everyone’s interested in doing something that’s very, very connected,” Guerra said. “I think Block Blast is that good medium of still being on your phone and still continuing that blue light, but also stimulating to the brain and allowing you to use critical thinking and actually having to use your brain.”

While Block Blast provides a temporary and intriguing solution to boredom, it disrupts the social interactions between individuals. 

“I think it’s a good game to stretch your mind and to definitely open up to more possibilities and problem-solving skills,” Kerley said. “But I do feel like it shortens people’s attention span and kind of closes off people’s relationships because, I mean, TikTok already does that. You could be talking to someone or reading or doing something more productive, but instead you get bored so you go to the easiest game that you can play.”