The game guide
The Blocks, a colourful block puzzle with room to think
The Blocks is a free online block puzzle about making space. Place bright shapes on an 8 × 8 board, clear complete rows and columns, and build towards a spectacular multi-line combo. There is no falling stack or countdown pushing you to act. You choose when and where to place each piece, with a reserve slot and two refreshes to help you manage a difficult hand. The challenge is to keep the board playable while setting up a bigger score.
How to play The Blocks in your browser
Three shapes are available at a time, and you can use them in any order. Place them entirely inside empty cells. A completed row or column disappears, including when several lines finish together. Other blocks stay where they are: there is no gravity, and shapes cannot be rotated.
Check all three shapes first
Before placing a small piece, check where the largest one could fit. On mobile or desktop, drag a shape onto the board, or select it and then choose its destination.
Make space with a full line
Fill all eight cells in a row or column to clear it. The preview helps you see the result of a placement before committing. A valid placement cannot be undone.
Use your reserve and refreshes
Keep one shape in reserve for later, or swap it with an available shape. Two refreshes per run replace the available tray while keeping the board and reserve. When no placement or rescue remains, the run ends.
Block puzzle tips for bigger combos
Leave useful gaps, not isolated holes
Broad empty areas can accept more shapes. A single trapped hole may need exactly the right piece, so build along existing edges and keep several placement options open.
Prepare a row and column together
Look for an intersection where one piece could finish both lines. Clearing two or more lines at once earns a larger bonus and raises the combo for every line cleared.
Use the reserve before the board is full
Save a flexible shape or move an awkward piece out of the tray. Look at the new space a clear will create before spending a refresh. A reserve piece is most useful when you have a plan for bringing it back.
Multi-line bonuses and the ×5 combo
Each placed cell earns 5 points. Clearing lines adds 100 times the square of the number of lines, plus a multi-line base bonus: 500 for two lines, 1,500 for three, and 3,000 for four. These clear points use the new combo multiplier. Every cleared line adds 0.25 to that multiplier, up to ×5. Clearing the whole board adds another 500 points. Three consecutive placements without a clear reset the combo to ×1; waiting, reserving and refreshing do not consume those moves.
For example, clearing two lines from ×1 raises the combo to ×1.5. The 400 line points and 500 multi-line bonus become 1,350 points, before the points for placed cells and any all-clear bonus. There is no speed bonus: you can plan your move.
Back to the gameThe Blocks: rules and strategy questions
Is The Blocks free on mobile and desktop?
Yes. Play in your browser without installing an app. Touch, mouse and keyboard controls are supported, and guest play is available.
Do blocks fall, and can I rotate the shapes?
No. You place fixed shapes at your own pace. Blocks stay in place after a line clears, so you need to plan around the empty spaces rather than wait for a stack to fall.
How do the reserve and two refreshes work?
The reserve holds one shape that you can place later or exchange with a tray shape. Refreshing replaces the available tray without changing the board or reserve. You have two refreshes per run, with no ad required for them.
Can I choose the difficulty?
Difficulty increases automatically with the number of cleared lines, in 10 stages. There is no difficulty selector. It eventually settles instead of increasing forever, so managing space remains the main challenge.
What do the three bars near the combo mean?
They show how many placements without a clear remain before the multiplier returns to ×1. Clear a line to replenish them. They are a move allowance, not a timer, so taking time to think does not empty them.