Block Mania Demo

Coming up with an original idea for a puzzle game is not a particularly tough task, but the challenging thing is to make the said idea attractive for a large number of people. Hence, even if the puzzles themselves are tricky to solve, they must also be fun to toy around with, and that is much more difficult to achieve than simply designing something difficult.

Block Mania is not a particularly original or brilliant game, but it can be fun and addictive to play, at least if you have an inclination toward puzzles and brain teasers. As such, all you have to do is move a block around a window and try to place it in a different part of the grid, while avoiding the other blocks and activating various buttons to unlock the way further.

There are many other similar games on the theme, but Block Mania may have one additional element which is not that common: blocks with special attributes. Hence, most of the other pieces come in different colors and every color signifies a special kind of block. While some of them are very similar to the red one you have to move around, others can only move on a single axis, while some may have the same freedom as the red block, but cannot activate buttons they come in contact with.

Speaking of which, buttons are an important part of the gameplay as well, because some of the puzzles force you to reach them before you are able to finish the level. In some circumstances, you even have to use the main red block to push it, which significantly increases the distance you have to travel. On the other hand, it is also a good method to make you think about every move and make sure that you don’t get stuck.

From a technical point of view, the game is certainly nothing to stand in awe of, considering the fact that everything is rather basic and even crude, especially from a visual point of view. The soundtrack is nice but very repetitive, while at least the controls are responsive and always precise, which makes it easy to quickly handle the blocks around the grid.

In the end, although Block Mania is not at all original when it comes to the main idea behind the gameplay, it’s certainly fun and challenging, at least in the later stages. Obviously, a lot more work is required to make this a refined product, but the elements are all there for a pretty addictive puzzle game.