Three blocks sit under the board. Drop them on the nine by nine grid, fill a row, a column or one of the three by three squares, and it clears.
Nothing is timed. The only thing working against you is space, because the blocks never turn and the board only empties when you clear something.
Drag a piece from the tray onto the grid. The landing spot lights up before you let go, so you can see exactly where it will sit and whether it fits.
Fill a full row, a full column or a full three by three square and those cells disappear. If a move is about to clear something, the cells that will go are outlined while you are still holding the piece.
You score for every cell you place and a lot more for every line you clear, with a bonus when a single piece clears two or three things at once.
The tray only refills once all three pieces are gone, so it pays to think about the set rather than the piece in your hand. The game ends when none of the three will fit anywhere.
No. A piece goes down exactly as it looks in the tray, which is what makes the puzzle a puzzle. The question is always where it fits rather than which way round it sits.
A full row, a full column, or all nine cells of one of the three by three squares. Squares are the part people miss if they have played other block games.
One point per cell you place, plus eighteen for each line cleared, plus a rising bonus for clearing more than one at the same time. Doubles and triples are where the big scores come from.
When none of the three pieces in the tray can go anywhere. There is no way to skip a piece, so the board always has to keep room for whatever turns up next.
Blockdoku takes the grid from Sudoku and the pieces from a block puzzle, and the mix works better than it sounds. The three by three squares give you a second way to clear, which rewards building in the corners instead of only along the edges.
Good play comes down to space. Keep one area open for the big pieces, avoid leaving single holes that only the one by one block can fill, and read all three pieces before you place the first one.
Your best score is kept on your own device, so there is always a number to beat when you come back.