After a long day at school, Lilly Hale, sophomore, turns her phone on Do Not Disturb and opens the app “Block Blast.”
Block Blast is a mobile game owned by Hungry Studio, and it is played daily by more than 40 million people worldwide, according to App2Top.
The game has become popular among students.
“I actually started playing mid-November, when my boyfriend made a bet with me before he went on a cruise,” Hale said. “Whoever scored higher had to give the other $100.”
The objective of Block Blast is to arrange the blocks into rows or columns to fill the lines. Once a line is complete, it clears and adds to the player’s point total, with one block accounting for one point. The game continues infinitely, until there is no space to fit the given blocks.
Hale said Block Blast is the new “I Want Watermelon” game for her.
“Freshman year, there wasn’t a moment when I wasn’t trying to earn a watermelon. This one time, I stayed on the app for so long, I got four watermelons in one play,” Hale said. “Now, I can’t seem to stop playing Block Blast.”
McKenna Peters, psychology teacher, said there is a psychological aspect to playing mobile games.
“Dopamine, a chemical released for pleasure and reward, is released anytime where you can level up, achieve something or finish a level,” Peters said. “This explains why some games may be more addicting than others.”
It is similar to, when in a quiet class, hearing a loud noise causes everyone’s heads to turn — this is because our brains are trained this way, Peters said.
With eyes closed, Audrey Cox, sophomore, experiences a mental replay of Block Blast’s falling blocks.
“I started playing Block Blast in January 2023, and I play when I get really bored, when TikTok doesn’t work or when I finish all my work,” Cox said.
Cox said the game got increasingly addicting as she played it, and that she spends more than one hour a day on the app.
“At the end of the day, all I think about is Block Blast,” Cox said.
For Corbin Garrett, sophomore, Block Blast is a way to compete with his friends. He prides himself on his high score of 180,000 points.
“I am always trying to beat my high score, and I love to compete with my friend, Jackson Warden, especially because his score is half of mine,” Garrett said. “I like the game because it’s a rush of dopamine that I need throughout the day.”
Garrett said many people enjoy the app because it’s a good way to relieve stress, especially when students are overwhelmed with school work.
“I turn off my Wi-Fi so I don’t get notifications and so I don’t get advertisements, and I lock in.” Garrett said.
