Score 0 Lines 0 Level 1 Best 0

BlockMad

Block puzzle · 20 seconds, less every level

Tap or press any key to start

You start with 20 seconds a piece; every five lines raise the level and cut the clock, down to 8. Choose one of the three pieces in the tray (keys 1, 2 or 3, or a tap/click on it), drag it where you want it, rotate with R (or the Rotate button), then place it: click the board, press Enter, or tap the Place button. The choice is final. Full rows and columns clear.

How to play

BlockMad is a free browser block puzzle. Three Tetris-style pieces arrive at a time: choose one — the choice is final — and decide where it goes. Nothing falls, so the only pressure is the clock above the board — 20 seconds at level 1, one second less each level, down to 8. Fill a whole row or a whole column and it clears; clear several lines in one turn and it pays a combo. The run ends only when none of the three pieces fits anywhere.

The seven pieces

I — the long one. Four blocks in a line. Press R to stand it up and open a whole column in one move.
O — the square. Four blocks in a block. It never changes shape, so it is the piece that plugs the last two holes in a row.
T — the tee. Three blocks in a row with one below the middle. Four turns, so it fits almost any dent.
S — the step. Two blocks up, two blocks down, offset right. Fills a staircase; two turns look identical because it is symmetric.
Z — the step, mirrored. The same staircase leaning the other way. Two distinct turns, like the S.
J — the hook left. Three blocks in a row with a foot under the left end. The mirror of the L.
L — the hook right. Three blocks in a row with a foot under the right end. Four turns make it as flexible as the J.

Controls

1 / 2 / 3 choose one of the three tray pieces; tapping or clicking it does the same. Once chosen there is no putting it back: that piece must be placed.
R rotates the piece — on a touch screen, the Rotate button does. Every piece except the square has more than one position.
Arrow keys or A / D / W / S move the piece; it hovers freely, even across settled blocks.
Enter, Space or a click places the piece where it hovers. On a touch screen: drag the piece into place, then press Rotate and Place.
The piece's frame turns red while a cell underneath is occupied — move it before you place it.
A tray piece that fits nowhere is dimmed in red and cannot be chosen; the run ends only when all three are dead.
Rerun: Enter or Space after the final screen starts a fresh board.

Levels and rocks

Five lines per level. Every level takes one second off the turn clock, to an eight-second floor.
From level 2, rocks appear. Each level stamps one more grey rock on a free cell, up to ten. A rock blocks a cell like a placed block, but it clears with its row or column, so no line is locked forever.

Scoring

100 points for every row or column you fill completely.
+50 points for each extra line in the same turn: a row and a column together pay 250.
+10 points for every second left on the clock, so deciding quickly is worth as much as clearing well.
Timing out lands the chosen piece where it hovers (or the nearest free spot) and earns no bonus. With nothing chosen, the first piece that fits is placed for you.

There is no gravity and no wrong landing to punish you: placing a piece is only refused while a cell underneath is already taken. BlockMad runs in any modern browser, needs no download and no signup, and remembers your best score on your own device.