Booming Breakthrough: The Rise of Block Blast

Arya Mehta ’27 Campus Correspondent

With the growing popularity of mobile apps, more and more Hopkins students have been flocking to their phones to play the new trending app Block Blast. Huddled in assembly, around the lunch table, or even in class, students are hypnotized, trying to beat their friends’ high scores.

According to the game’s developer, Hungry Studio, the game Block Blast was released in 2022, and rose to fame in late 2024. Block Blast is similar to Tetris, where players are given an eight-by-eight box and are challenged to fit various different block shapes inside. The main objective of this game is to clear rows by filling them with the given shapes. When you can no longer fit a block into the grid, the game ends. According to the game statistics, about 40 million people play the game, with the majority demographic being teenagers. This raises the question: why is it so addicting and what consequences might it have in the classroom?

The simplicity of the game has attracted students based on several characteristics. First, students find the game satisfying. Daven Kaphar ’27 says, “I play the game because I like the way that the blocks fit together. The colors stand out to me. The game stimulates my mind.” Dayna Wong ’27 loves the game because it’s a great way to fix boredom. “I like Block Blast because it’s the perfect game to play when you’re bored. It exercises my brain in the morning while still having fun. I always play when there’s not much else to do.” While many students expressed having joined Block Blast after seeing their friends play, some still don’t participate in the game. Karolina Jasaitis ’27 differs by saying, “I’m not really drawn to mobile games. They can be fun, but they don’t really attract me.”

Because of the time most teenagers spend on their phones, schools like Hopkins have been trying to decrease
phone use in classrooms, especially for the Junior Schoolers. Some Junior School students don’t have social media, so the main distraction for them is often mobile games. According to Amy Xu ’29, “A lot of kids in my grade play games on their phones, and sometimes take that into the classroom. I feel that it does form some distractions, which might make some teachers upset.”

On campus, some classrooms are fitted with “phone hotels” where Junior Schoolers have been required to leave their phones during class. By putting their phones in the pockets, Junior Schoolers are subjected to lessening distractions caused by their phones. Sarah Li ’30 states that her teachers “Sometimes make us put our phones in the pockets. Usually it’s because someone is caught on their phone, or so that no one uses their phone during class.” For Upper Schoolers, the rule is seemingly dependent on a teacher’s in-class policy. According to Isabel Fan ’25, some of her teachers collect her phone before the class starts to prevent in class phone disruptions and constant distractions during the important time when she learns.

Block Blast is more than just a game; it’s a way for students to use their brains while still having fun. For high
school students managing schoolwork and social life, Block Blast grants them a much-needed break to relieve themselves from stress, but Fan states that “we can’t let it get in the way of learning in the classroom.” As schools start to become more and more strict with phone usage, games like these may be contributing to future bans. Although the game currently stands as a fun way to socialize and relieve boredom, bringing these games into the classrooms might contribute to stricter policies in the future.

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Booming Breakthrough: The Rise of Block Blast