Block Stacker
A falling-block puzzle with the rules that make it feel right: 7-bag pieces, wall kicks, hold, ghost piece and combo scoring.
Arrow keys move and soft-drop · Up or X rotates · Z rotates the other way · Space hard-drops · C or Shift holds · P pauses. On a touchscreen, use the buttons under the board.
Things worth knowing
- Pieces come from a shuffled bag of all seven, not at random. That means you will never wait more than twelve pieces for the one you need — and it means you can count what is still to come.
- Touching down does not fix the piece. It rests for half a second first, and sliding or turning it restarts that pause — up to fifteen times, so a piece cannot be walked along the floor forever. This is what lets you tuck a piece under an overhang after it has already landed.
- Rotating against a wall shifts the piece clear rather than failing. This is what lets you slot a piece into a gap that looks a column too narrow.
- Hold swaps the falling piece for the one in reserve, once per piece. Banking an I-piece early and saving it for a four-line clear is the single biggest scoring habit.
- Four lines at once scores 800 rather than the 400 you would get clearing them one at a time, so digging a well and waiting is worth real points.
- Consecutive clearing drops build a combo bonus. Breaking the chain with one quiet drop resets it, which makes a messy stack expensive twice over.
- The hard drop is worth two points a row and the soft drop one, so slamming pieces down is faster AND scores better than letting them fall.
How to use
- Press New game, and pick a starting level if you want it fast from the off.
- Arrow keys move and soft-drop, Up or X rotates, Space hard-drops, C holds a piece for later.
- Clear four rows at once for 800 points instead of the 400 you get clearing them singly.
Frequently asked questions
Are the pieces random?
Not purely, and that is deliberate. They come from a shuffled bag of all seven, dealt out and then reshuffled, so you never wait more than twelve pieces for the one you need. True randomness produces long droughts that feel unfair rather than difficult — and the bag means you can count what is still to come.
Why does rotating next to a wall shift the piece sideways?
That is a wall kick. When a rotation would collide, the game tries a series of small offsets before giving up, so the piece slides clear instead of refusing to turn. It is the single biggest difference between a stacker that feels responsive and one that fights you.
What is the faint outline at the bottom?
The ghost piece — exactly where a hard drop will land. It makes slamming pieces down safe, which matters because the hard drop is both faster and worth more points than letting a piece fall.
How does hold work?
It swaps the falling piece for the one in reserve, once per piece. Banking an I-piece early and saving it for a four-line clear is the single biggest scoring habit in the game.
Is it worth waiting for four lines?
Yes. Four at once scores 800 at level one against 100 each for four singles, so digging a well and holding your nerve genuinely pays. Consecutive clearing drops also build a combo bonus, and one quiet drop resets it.
Does the level do anything besides speed?
It multiplies your score as well, so the same four-line clear is worth far more at level ten. The level rises every ten lines regardless of where you started.
Does it pause if I switch tabs?
Yes. Switching away pauses automatically, so you do not come back to a game already lost.
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