How to play Block Drop

What you need

Block Drop can be played on a phone, tablet or computer. On a touch screen, use the big buttons under the well: Left, Right, Turn, Down and Drop. You can also tap the well to turn a shape, slide your finger to move it and swipe down to drop it. On a computer, use the arrow keys: left and right to move, up to turn, and down to drop faster. Space drops a shape straight to the bottom, Z turns it the other way and P pauses.

The play area

The game takes place in a tall, narrow area called the well. It is 10 squares wide and 20 squares tall. Shapes fall from the top towards the bottom.

The shapes

Every shape is made of four squares joined together. There are seven of them:

• a long straight line,
• a square,
• a T shape,
• two L shapes, one facing each way,
• two S shapes, one facing each way.

A small box at the side shows which shapes are coming next (one, two or three, as you prefer). The shapes come in sets of seven: every shape appears once in each set, in a shuffled order, so you never wait too long for the one you need. Each shape has its own colour and a faint mark on its squares, so you can tell them apart without relying on colour.

How to play

A shape appears at the top of the well and starts to fall. While it is falling, you can:

• move it left or right,
• turn it round a quarter turn at a time,
• soft drop it, making it fall faster while you keep control, or
• hard drop it, sending it straight to the bottom at once.

A faint outline at the bottom shows where the shape will land (you can switch this off in Settings).

When the shape lands on the floor or on other blocks, you still have half a second to slide or turn it before it locks in place. Moving it gives you a little more time, but only a few times. The next shape then appears.

If a shape is against a wall or another block when you turn it, the game nudges it one square sideways (or one square up) to make room, if it can.

Hold (optional)

Switch on the Hold box in Settings to put the falling shape aside and bring it back later. Tap the Hold box or press C. You can use Hold once per shape.

Clearing rows

When a row from one side of the well to the other is completely filled, it gently fades away. Everything above it moves down. You can clear up to four rows at once.

Game over

If the blocks stack up so high that a new shape has no room to appear at the top, the game ends.

Scoring

You score points for every row you clear. Clearing more rows with one shape earns more, and the points are multiplied by your level:

• 1 row: 100 × level
• 2 rows: 300 × level
• 3 rows: 500 × level
• 4 rows at once: 800 × level

Dropping also earns a little: 1 point for each row you move a shape down, and 2 points for each row of a drop to the bottom.

You start on level 1 and go up a level for every 10 rows you clear.

Speed and pausing

Choose Slow, Normal or Fast in Settings. On Slow, a shape takes a full second to fall each row at first. Each new level makes the shapes fall a little faster, but only up to a limit, so Slow always stays gentle. If you prefer, choose “Speed stays the same” and the pace never changes (levels still raise the points).

You can pause at any time, and everything freezes until you carry on. The game also pauses by itself if you switch to another tab or app, and it is saved, so you can come back later and continue.

Tips for beginners

• Keep it flat. A flat, even surface gives every shape somewhere to fit.
• Avoid holes. A gap covered over by other blocks is hard to fill. Think before you drop.
• Look at the next shape. Plan where both the current shape and the next one will go.
• Leave a well for the straight piece. Keep one column empty at the side, then drop the long piece in to clear four rows at once.
• Do not stack too high. If the pile gets tall, focus on clearing single rows until you are safe again.
• Use the walls. Shapes can be turned against the side of the well to slot into tight spaces.