Google Block Breaker
Steer with the mouse or a finger. Where the ball lands on the paddle decides the angle it leaves at, so the edges are how you reach the corners of the wall.
What Is Google Block Breaker?
Block breaker is the 1976 brick game rebuilt in a browser: a wall of blocks, a paddle, one ball and three lives. Clear the wall and the next level rebuilds it with a slightly faster ball. Rows near the top score double what the bottom rows do, so the order you break them in matters.
The version that made it famous replaced the bricks with image thumbnails, turning a page of picture results into a playing field.
How Block Breaker Started
It appeared in image search in May 2013 for the game’s 37th anniversary. Searching the arcade title rearranged the thumbnails into a wall and dropped a paddle at the bottom, with the score running in the corner of the results page.
It was retired after several years, the same way zerg rush was. Both survive as standalone rebuilds because people kept looking for them after they disappeared.
How to Play Block Breaker
- Press launch and follow the ball with the paddle.
- Hit with the paddle edge to send the ball out at a sharp angle.
- Open a channel up one side, then let the ball run along the top of the wall.
- Use the slow control if the pace gets away from you late in a level.
- Losing all three lives resets the score but not your patience.
FAQs
Does the image search version still work?
No, it was removed. Rebuilds like this one are how the game stays playable.
How many levels are there?
It keeps going. Each cleared wall speeds the ball up a little, so the ceiling is your reaction time.
Can I play it on a trackpad?
Yes, and on a touchscreen. The paddle follows whatever pointer you give it.
What other arcade rebuilds are there?
The maze in google pac-man and the fleet in space invaders google, both filed with the rest of the google easter eggs.
