“I feel like I’m living in an ad,” sophomore Ben Holtzman declared as he looked at his fellow advisees.

It’s true: morning advisery looked suspiciously like one of those low-budget ads that interrupt a mobile game every time one fails at a level (*cough, cough* Royal Match ads). Everyone was staring at their phone, talking absentmindedly with each other as they played the game. It didn’t help either that most people downloaded the app because they saw other people playing it and decided to play it too. At least, that’s what Holtzman’s peers said in response to him. A few days later, Holtzman downloaded the game.

The app in question? Block Blast.

Block Blast is the latest game fad, following a long list of games like Wordscapes and the watermelon game that were wildly popular last year. Block Blast is a Tetris-esque game, as in, there are colorful blocks that go into a grid and disappear if put into a row. However, they don’t fall, there’s no time constraint, and the blocks disappear if put into columns too, making it a little easier.

“It’s definitely easier than Tetris because you can manipulate the pieces more, and put them wherever you want. It’s not just falling,” sophomore Reese Barnett says. “You can [also] take a break and then come back to it, and you can pause gameplay.” 

Like most game fads of the past, Block Blast mainly spreads through word-of-mouth or seeing others playing it. I found out because my friends would rave about it constantly (they would never stop. Ever). This experience is common among students, like sophomore Lily Generes, who found out about the game from her peers.

“I saw [my friend] playing it, and so I downloaded it. And then I just kept playing it constantly,” Generes says.

Who needs marketing when you have a bunch of high schoolers and widespread craze?

In all seriousness, though, the game is remarkably addicting. And it’s not just a New Trier High School thing. I know people from Australia, Japan, and, the most foreign place imaginable, Texas, who play it. I’ve also found adults to play it too, including Forbes gaming reporter Mike Stubbs, who has fallen into the Block Blast trap.

“I just lost almost an entire Saturday to it after picking it up for the first time. After seeing a social post about the game, I thought I’d give it a look, expecting to figure out what the game is, play it for a bit and then never return to it again,” Stubbs said in an article he wrote about the game. “Then hours had [passed] as I tried to beat my high score.” 

And it makes sense why Block Blast is so compelling: you can’t get stuck on a level (on classic mode at least). Sure, you may fail your current game, but you can simply restart shortly after.

“With Block Blast, even if I’m bad [at it], I’m still improving every time I play, whereas [with] Wordscapes, I might get stuck on a word or just never come back [to it],” Generes said.

I also find the visuals aid in its addicting nature. Once you get a streak of clearing rows going, yellow words declaring that you have a “combo!” and a beating cartoon heart behind your score makes me motivated to get the combo number up; when I got a combo of over 25, I felt euphoric.   

If there was a spectrum of Block Blast addiction, I would be, unfortunately, at the higher end (I play it maybe 20 minutes a day, at least). Some of my friends play it constantly, others maybe just for 15 minutes a week. For the most part, Block Blast is something that’s played when you’re bored or during a free period. Barnett and Generes both said while Block Blast is definitely addicting, it isn’t taking over their lives.

“I should probably cut down on the amount of time I play it, but as of right now, it’s not hindering my academics or athletics, so I don’t see an issue,” Barnett says.

For Barnett (who I would place at the lower end of the Block Blast addiction spectrum), playing Block Blast is a mindless pastime, which helps make sure it isn’t infringing on her life.

“I would definitely equate it to scrolling through TikTok—I’m not [particularly] enjoying it, it’s just something to do,” Barnett says. 

Regardless of your affinity for playing the game, it is hard to disprove the hold that Block Blast has on people right now. But all good things must come to an end: when will Block Blast join the game fad graveyard? A month? Six weeks? A year? Most people I talked to think a few months is all it will take for the craze to wane.

Even so, Block Blast is THE game right now. Everyone and their grandmother is playing it, and it’s remarkable just how fast it spreads through word of mouth. Generes summarized this craze perfectly.

“Get Block Blast!” she said with a smile.