Brick Breaker

How to play

Drag anywhere on the board to aim and let go to fire. With a mouse the aim line follows the pointer; click to fire. Every ball you own leaves along the same line, one after another, and bounces off the walls, the ceiling and the blocks until it lands on the floor.

When the last ball is down, the blocks move one row closer and a new row comes in. The first ball to land decides where you shoot from next. A block that reaches the floor ends the game, and the rim of the board turns red when one is a single row away. If you bought Second chance, it clears the bottom three rows once instead of ending your game.

What is on the board

• Block. Each hit takes one off its number. At zero it breaks. New blocks carry the round number, and some carry double.
• +1 ball. Touch it with any ball and you fire one more ball from next round on. If it reaches the floor you still get it.
• Row laser. Every time a ball passes through it, every block in its row loses one. It is used up at the end of the round.
• Column laser. The same, straight down its column. A ball that rattles through it again and again keeps firing it.
• Scatter. Sends any ball that touches it off in a random upward direction. Good for reaching the gaps you cannot aim at.
• Bomb block. Has a dashed amber rim. When it breaks it clears every block touching it, and sets off any bomb among them.

Questions people ask

How do I play Brick Breaker?

Drag on the board to aim. A dotted line shows where the first ball goes. Let go and every ball you own follows the same line, one after another. Each hit takes one off a block's number, and a block breaks at zero. When the last ball lands, every block moves down a row and a new row comes in. A block reaching the floor ends the game unless your unused Second chance upgrade clears the bottom three rows.

Where does the next shot start?

From wherever your first ball landed. Watch where it comes down: a good landing spot sets up the next round.

Does it get harder?

Every round. It opens with one to three blocks a row and the aim line showing two bounces. From round 6 some blocks carry double the round number, rows fill up to five and then six blocks, power-ups and spare balls turn up less often, and the aim line shortens to one bounce from round 15 and to the first thing it hits from round 40.

How flat can I shoot?

One degree off the floor, either way. Drag level with the launcher, or a little under it, and the shot runs almost along the floor, which is how you reach a block hiding in a low corner. Drag well below the launcher to cancel the shot.

What do GOOD, GREAT and PERFECT mean?

Break 4 blocks with one shot and you get GOOD, then GREAT at 7, EXCELLENT at 11, AMAZING at 16 and UNBELIEVABLE at 24. Break every block on the board and it is PERFECT. A new announcer calls them out. Sound is on by default; the speaker button turns it off and the game remembers.

The balls are taking forever. Can I speed it up?

Yes. The speed button switches between 1x, 2x and 3x. A long round also speeds itself up after nine seconds and again after eighteen, and after a couple of seconds a Recall button appears that brings every ball home at once. Recalled balls do no more damage, and the next shot starts from where the first ball landed, or from the same place if none has landed yet.

Can I stop and finish later?

Yes. The game saves after every round. Pause and choose Save and quit, or simply close the page, and Continue picks up at the start of the round you were on. Signed in, Continue also works on any other device you sign in on.

Can I play with a keyboard?

Yes. Tab to the board, aim with the left and right arrow keys (hold Shift for bigger steps), fire with Space or Enter, press R to recall the balls and P or Escape to pause.

How do I earn coins?

Play a game to earn one coin for every two blocks you break, plus two coins for each round you reach. Coin magnet adds 10% more coins per upgrade level. Signed in, the coins land in your account when the game ends, and a game you leave to start a new one still pays for the rounds you played. Coins are only earned in the game; you cannot buy them with money.

Do my coins and games follow me to another device?

Yes, once you sign in. Your coins, balls, upgrades, best round and rank are kept on your account, and a ranked game is saved to it after every round, so you can start on your phone and carry on on a computer. Guest progress stays on the device it was played on.

What can I buy in the ball shop?

Choose from ten balls. Classic is free; use coins for Ember, Frost, Mint, Comet, Neon, Gold, Galaxy, Prism or Void. You can also spend coins on upgrades.

What do the upgrades do?

Head start gives you more balls at the start of each game. Lucky rows bring more lasers and scatters. Second chance saves you once per game by clearing the bottom three rows when a block reaches the floor. Coin magnet adds 10% more coins per level.

How does the leaderboard work?

Everyone can see it, right next to the game. It ranks each player's highest round, and a tie goes to whoever got there first. Sign in and every game you finish counts: the server replays each round as you play it, so the board only shows games that were really played.

Can I change my player name?

No. You choose your player name once, after you first sign in, and it is yours for good: nobody else can take it, however they space or capitalise it. It is the name shown on the leaderboard, so pick it carefully. If your account is older than permanent names, it keeps the name it already had, unless that name breaks the rules or another player already has it.

What happens to my guest coins when I sign in?

You can play and earn coins as a guest. The first time you sign in on a device, that device's guest coins, plus what you spent there on upgrades, move into your account, up to 2,000 coins per account in total, and any balls you bought come along. Anything over the limit stays on that device.

Is it free?

Yes, with no sign-up and nothing to download. It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer.