~BLOCKCOMBERS~

Help Cinch the Crab keep the beaches of Sunset City clean!

Clear the blocks by pushing them together to form lines and score points!

Share your highest score in the comments!

~ Controls ~

Use the [left/right arrows] to walk left and right
Press the [up arrow] to jump
You can push blocks by continuously walking in to them
The more blocks you're trying to push, the long it will take to move them
If you form a solid row of blocks, they'll disappear and you'll score a point
You'll die if you get crushed!

~ About ~

BlockCombers was made as part of the A Game By Its Cover 2021 jam, based on the entries for the My Famicase Exhibition.

The entry that I chose was Puzzle by Jaime Ugarte (twitter: @haimeh_ugarte). Except for creating the inspirational original cartridge image, Jaime wasn't involved with the creation of this game (so don't blame them for any bugs!)

More information

Status	Released
Platforms	HTML5
Rating	Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars (2 total ratings)
Author	tomputergames
Genre	Puzzle
Made with	PICO-8
Tags	2D, 8-Bit, Arcade, Casual, High Score, PICO-8, Puzzle-Platformer, Short, Singleplayer, Tetris
Average session	A few minutes
Languages	English
Inputs	Keyboard, Touchscreen

Comments

jwhop3 years ago(+1)

im a big tetris fan, so i had a lot of fun playing this!! great vibes, like the take on the original cart

tomputergames3 years ago(+1)

Thanks - love my tetris too!

miniwoolf3 years ago

Do you think you'll tweak things a little bit to make it a bit easier? I like playing, but it's hard to do more than a handful of tries in one sitting. :p I haven't managed to clear a single line yet...

tomputergames3 years ago(+1)

When I get some time I plan to. Although I’m not really sure how; I might experiment with making the width smaller to it’s easier to make lines (although it increases the chance of getting squished!).

miniwoolf3 years ago (1 edit)

ooo, I do think a smaller width would help. I had a few other ideas, though I'm not sure how easy it would be to implement them:

prevent blocks from spawning all the way against either side
- ~~since you can't push/interact with blocks against the side~~
give the crab a little extra time or speed to get out from under blocks once pushed
make it less likely for smaller blocks to spawn under larger blocks
- for example, in the early game, a blue one-blip block under a yellow three-blip block can't be moved
make a visual indicator of much longer you have to push to move a row of blocks, or make it take less time to move
- maybe a colored circle appears under the crab and changes color based on how soon the row will move?

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my comment! Even if you don't end up getting back to this project, I'm glad you shared what you made. The visuals are clear and cute, and I like the opening theme. :)

EDIT: oh p.s. I got up to 4 lines cleared in one game 🙌

tomputergames3 years ago(+1)

Some cool ideas there :)

There are a few ‘fix up a game you already made’ jam, so I’ll peg this for when the next one comes around I have some time for.

Glad you got some lines in the end, there’s definitely some strategies you pick up with a few plays.

TriOrvis3 years ago(+1)

Wow! This game has so much character! I love it's simple, yet addictive gameplay. It is insanely difficult, though. I've only had a score of 1 before dying D:

tomputergames3 years ago

Thanks - I’m glad you liked it!

I know what you mean, it definitely turned out more difficult than I had expected. My high score is only 7, so :P