How to play Block Puzzle

What a block puzzle is

A block puzzle is a grid and a supply of shapes made of squares: bars, corners, squares and zigzags. You place the shapes on the grid; when a row or a column is completely filled, it clears and makes room again. Nothing falls and there is no clock, so every move is a choice made at your own pace. The game ends when no piece you hold fits anywhere, and the skill is in leaving room for shapes you have not seen yet. The pieces are polyominoes, the family of shapes made by joining squares edge to edge.

Playing Blocks on AllFun

AllFun Blocks uses an 8 by 8 board with three pieces waiting below it. Drag a piece onto the board; a shadow shows where it will land, and it goes down only where every square is free. When all three are placed, three new ones arrive. The pieces never rotate, from a single square up to a bar of five and a three-by-three square.

Tap Play for the endless game and your best score, or try the 30 Levels, which start with blocks on the board and set a goal: a score, a number of lines, or gems to collect by clearing their rows or columns. Blocks never costs coins. More games like it are on our puzzle games page.

The rules

Placing pieces

• Each piece goes down whole, in the orientation shown. It cannot be turned or flipped.
• Every square of the piece must land on an empty square of the board.
• You may place the three pieces in any order, but you must place all three before new ones come.

Clearing lines

A full row or a full column clears at once. A piece that completes a row and a column together clears both, and the square where they cross counts for each. Blocks that stay behind do not fall or move; the board is exactly as you left it, minus the cleared lines.

Scoring on AllFun

Every square you place scores one point. Lines cleared together score by the square of their number: one line 10, two lines 40, three lines 90, four lines 160. Clear lines on placements in a row and a streak builds, adding a quarter more each time, up to three times the points. A placement that clears nothing ends the streak.

The end of a game

When none of the pieces still in the tray fits on the board, the game is over. AllFun deals fairly: while there is room for a piece, you are never handed a set where nothing fits. The Bomb, New pieces and an undo button help once you are stuck.

Six block puzzle tips

1. Keep the centre clear. A three-by-three square or a bar of five needs open space. Build along the edges and leave the middle for the big pieces.
2. Look at all three first. Before placing one piece, find a spot for each of the three. The order often decides whether the last one fits.
3. Avoid single holes. A lone empty square surrounded by blocks can only be filled by a single square. Place pieces flush against each other.
4. Aim for two lines at once. Two lines together score 40, four times one line, and they free twice the space.
5. Keep the streak alive. Plan so that most placements clear something. The multiplier grows with every clear in a row.
6. Leave a home for the long bars. Keep one row or column nearly empty so a bar of four or five always has somewhere to go.

Block puzzle FAQ