As school continues ramping up, students find themselves searching for an escape from the pressure of assignments and drama. One of the more popular forms of relaxation has come from the usage of mobile games like Block Blast. With colorful graphics, an easy objective and a calculated setup, it has many of the qualities that make a game addictive. Block Blast has captured the attention of both adolescents and adults alike.

   It uses an eight-by-eight grid with blocks similar to that of Tetris, where players must place the blocks next to each other in order to clear rows horizontally and vertically. Clearing rows yields points and allows you to work toward a high score, which is conveniently visible on the top of the screen, giving players an achievable goal in an attempt to beat it. If they fail, they feel an urge to start another game and try again. This summarizes the cycle of Block Blast. 

   For many, however, it’s not just about achieving a high score; they want the sense of progress and achievement.

   Junior Audrey Etters enjoys playing the “adventure” mode that Block Blast offers. Unlike the regular gameplay, this mode allows players to work toward a specific goal rather than just increasing their high score. Players must reach a certain number of blocks on the grid or clear rows to get gems. As they reach these goals, they unlock more and more levels of the game. 

   “I feel like I’m having fun, but sometimes I get disappointed when I mess up… I always want to keep going– even after a failure,” Etters said.

   Many teens have taken to playing it at all times of the day. It’s become somewhat of a routine, symbolizing

things like class changes or lunch time. When students have any free time, they pull out their phones and play the game. Whether they use it as a chance to unwind between classes or as a relaxant before they go to bed, the currency it plays in young minds is compelling.

   Block Blast has gained popularity through TikTok, with users posting videos about their high scores or livestreaming them playing it. Seeing countless people play this game fuels a sense of competition, urging users to start playing, if only just to beat their friend’s score or see how many levels they can beat. Over a short period of time, it’s become a game that every teen has either played or knows someone who has.

   “I would watch TikToks with a show playing on one side of the screen and Block Blast playing on the other, and it was entrancing. I could not take my eyes off of it,” junior Jami Bermello said. “I would find myself losing track of time and just wanting to keep playing it over and over for the sake of getting a higher score than the last time.” Bermello has expressed that the game is addicting and describes it as a “time-waster.”

   But is Block Blast just another mobile game trend that will fade out over time, or will it 

continue to remain a usual hobby? We’ve seen it before– games become trendy and suddenly it’s something that every person wants to talk about and watch. Games like Among Us and Slither.io caused crazes and it seemed like their influence would never end. A few years later, however, hardly anyone still plays it.

   While it’s too soon to say whether this game will stick around, the impact it has on teens is clear. Like many viral games before it, it shows how quickly mobile games can captivate audiences. So maybe it’s just a fad, but it’s provided a much-needed escape from the pressures of daily life.