Block Blast is an obsessive and trending game that has been all the rage among students recently, even though it was first launched in 2022. This block puzzle game captivates players and draws them in with addictive components, such as its colorful display, the feelings of accomplishment from surpassing their high score, the unlimited number of replays, and serving as a good way to pass the time.
According to the community of Block Blast players, there is just the right amount of difficulty and challenge to keep players engaged. The purpose of the game is to clear as many colored blocks as possible on the board, inducing a nostalgic effect of the game Tetris, due to its similar layout and game design. However, setting aside their commonalities, the player community feels that Block Blast is slightly easier due to there being no time constraint and having greater flexibility in manipulating the movement of the blocks. Despite the simplicity and straightforwardness of fitting the blocks together, Galileo students often find themselves engrossed in the gameplay, which has admittedly played a role in negatively affecting their productivity.
For a popular and widely-enjoyed game like Block Blast, news about it spread quickly through word-of-mouth from peers and on social media, prompting more people to download the game and explore the hype over it. For Junior Yuqi H., she heard about it on Tiktok and immediately felt compelled to download it. She finds the satisfaction from the blocks fitting together and clearing row by row appealing, as well as the urge to constantly want to beat her high score. Sophomore Brandon D. and Junior Leo H. share the same motivation factor in feeling pride and achievement from beating their personal best.
Junior Maddie K. mentions another factor that contributes to the game’s surge in popularity, saying, “I just play when I’m bored because it’s not a timed game, meaning I can play at my own pace.” The community of players also agree on how that makes the game more attractive and pleasurable without the continuous pressure of a timer ticking or a time restriction. It could either be played mindlessly and obsessively by dragging the blocks onto the board, or players could decide on more strategic placements.
For some students, Block Blast has become such an obsession that it interferes with their productivity and schoolwork. For Yuqi, she shared that the app gets repeatedly redownloaded and deleted on her phone. She will delete the game in order to focus on her homework and divert herself from the distraction of playing, but she ends up missing it, and downloads again emphasizing the forces of attachment and addiction that many others can relate to. Now, Yuqi plays almost every day. Additionally, Maddie also expressed that this game can sometimes be a huge distraction for her, saying, “I was supposed to be studying for my calculus final once and instead I needed to play Block Blast.”
On the other hand, some students have been able to control their urge to play Block Blast. Brandon only plays a minimal amount, around 10-15 minutes every other day, and it doesn’t really interrupt his ability to complete his work, and his high score is a whopping 140k! Similarly, Leo is pretty good with managing his time with electronics, playing for only a total of 5-10 minutes, and showing self control during stressful and busy school times. But he also recounted that he’s not always this disciplined, saying, “I was at the height of my addiction right after finals.”
