Block Blast! is like high school

Ruhi Kaneria | The Chronicle

Block Blast! has recently risen to popularity, hooking high schoolers into the simple yet addictive game experience. 

Block Blast! is a spin-off of Tetris: the premise of the game is to fill in an eight-by-eight grid with different colored blocks to clear or “blast” out a section of the board when it gets perfectly filled in either vertically or horizontally. 

High schoolers love it because it is so simple. There are no time constraints and no levels when you play the popular ‘Classic’ version. Only colorful blocks in various arrangements, a built-in guide to help you clear sections, and the challenge of improving your high score. 

I will admit, I was hesitant to try it. I did not want another game taking up my phone and brain space. But after reluctantly downloading it, I was hooked. The satisfaction of seeing the board get cleared and my scores rise kept me coming back, trying and trying to find better ways to organize the blocks and clear the board.

Before I got Block Blast!, I thought it was just a silly app. But when I began playing, I realized that my life is kinda like a real life version of the game. 

In Block Blast!, players must learn to organize the blocks to fit in the grid. Similarly, high schoolers have to organize the commitments they have into their schedule. Sometimes we are faced with odd tasks, similar to the oddly shaped blocks we get in Block Blast! Nevertheless, we are expected to make it all fit into our tight schedules. 

While it can be stressful to try to fit everything in, Block Blast! starts with a clear grid, allowing the players to decide their moves. While there are a few commitments that we all are tasked with such as school work, scheduling a day in high school offers a sense of control — players control the speed and direction in which they organize blocks much like how students control the tasks of their day. Block Blast! also rewards smarter and strategic compartmentalization because the more blocks you blast, the more points you receive. High school students can relate to this — the better we can blast out the tasks we have, the more blocks of free time we make for ourselves. 

In the chaotic life of students like me, achieving small victories, like clearing a section of the board or finishing a test, can feel like a win. Block Blast! is no doubt a favorite amongst high school students, but I think it is more than just a game. It is a reflection of our need to organize the different aspects of our days into an easy schedule and hopefully clear out and free up our “board” of tasks.