The Rise of Block Blast
By MELIA THIBAULT ‘27
Everywhere on campus, you see people glued to their phones. At lunch, in Grill, on their way to classes, in assembly. But what are people doing? Some people may be on TikTok, Instagram, or another addicting app, but more often than not, people are sliding their fingers across the phone, trying to put colorful blocks in a row. People sit at tables together, entranced, almost hypnotized, hunched over, until they lose. Then, they cast aside their phone in frustration and finally look at the people around them, but nobody is looking back at them. It turns out that all of those people are also playing, comparing high scores and combos. But what is this game that has washed over campus like a plague? It’s none other than Block Blast. And if the previous scene sounded oddly specific, it’s because it is an actual scene that I have lived through many times. I myself am an addict of this game, and I can’t tell whether to be proud or ashamed that my high score is over 120,000.
On the off chance you haven’t played Block Blast or haven’t seen an ad for it, the game itself is simple. Similar to Tetris, you are given an eight-by-eight box and some different shapes. The goal of the game is to clear rows by filling them with the given shapes. The game ends when you cannot place one of the shapes given. You can also get combos, which occur when you eliminate rows consecutively. Additionally, when you die, you get points based on how full the 8x8 space is.
As you can see, Block Blast is by no means a unique game. There are hundreds of others just like it. So why is it so popular? I asked avid Block Blast players (my friends) why they enjoyed Block Blast so much, and I mostly got two answers. One, because it’s satisfying, and two, because it’s popular. So first, I looked at why Block Blast was so satisfying. When just playing the game casually, one thing that stands out is the colors. In most versions of Block Blast, when you get rid of blocks, they fall away like dominoes, leaving behind a brief rainbow trail. Additionally, when you get a “combo” going, there’s a heart that beats behind your score until you lose. The game also encourages you when you make a good move. You either get a thumbs up or the words “good” or “amazing” appear. So, with all of these stimuli, coupled with positive reinforcement, it is easy to see why some may find the game rewarding. However, most people didn’t have an answer to why Block Blast was popular. They just talked about how people can compete with friends, go through adventure mode, or even show off their best scores as a badge of honor. But, in looking at everything described here, nothing is unique. No aspects of this game are new or revolutionary; it’s just a basic game that became popular overnight.
So, what does this say about us? Why is it significant that we spend hours on this game at a time, hoping we get the newest update or a higher score than our friends? The simple nature of Block Blast proves that it was never about a complex and unique game, although those are great in their own right. Instead, the rise of Block Blast shows us how easily susceptible we are to the phenomena otherwise known as “the herd mindset.” The herd mindset is basically the idea that we will do what the masses are doing, even when it doesn’t actually make all that much sense. It used to be a survival technique, way back before Block Blast even existed, because there was always safety in numbers from predators like bears or lions. It is this same mindset that protected us all those years ago that pushes us to download Block Blast in the first place, and then the fun, colorful, and satisfying graphics keep you hooked for hours at a time. This mindset can be observed in other aspects of our lives, like TikTok trends. We go through micro trends seemingly every month or so, and with every new micro trend, we are encouraged to adopt a completely new aesthetic because it’s “brat summer” or because we want to be seen as “clean girl” or “coquette.” We follow and oblige almost blindly because, in our minds, if all these people on the internet are engaging in these trends, we must be missing out by not doing the same. If all of our friends have downloaded Block Blast and play it religiously, then there has to be something really unique or special about it, and we must get it.
Although these beliefs might not be true, and although you might be able to recognize this within yourself, there will always be just a little tinge of FOMO. And the herd mindset is not necessarily a bad thing. It doesn’t mean you need to feel bad about playing Block Blast, and it doesn’t mean you have to stop playing Block Blast (I know I won’t). Just because Block Blast is an example of the herd mindset doesn’t mean that it isn’t fun or addicting. The herd mindset doesn’t come out of a vacuum. In order for Block Blast to become popular, it still needed to have some appeal. It is just interesting that out of all the games like it on the app store, Block Blast is what we choose to play. It also goes to show that Exonians are always looking for something to do other than their homework.