Blocksum's basic concept is simple, but not enormously so. You have blocks that rise from the bottom of the screen, and on those blocks are numbers. The numbers indicate how many blocks of the same number must be touching them in order to score. In other words, if a block has a 2 on it, it must be paired with another block that has a 2 on it. Two 2-blocks. This goes for every number you can think of. Three 3-blocks, four 4-blocks, eleven 11-blocks, whatever. On top of this ability to combine blocks, you can speed up the rate at which the blocks rise from the bottom, which speeds up both your session and is important for making the most amount of points. Also, if you attempt to speed up while your combo is on the field, it will instantly trigger the combo.

In order to match the blocks together, you must create chains of blocks that add up to that particular number. The sum of the blocks, in other words. For example, combine a 1-block and a 1-block, and you get a 2-block. Combine a 3-block and a 2-block, and you get a 5-block. However, once a block has been matched, you can not add any more blocks to that sum, so you have to think out your moves carefully before executing them, as you might kill a huge combo by accidentally triggering another combo. Especially bothersome when 2-blocks are still on the field!

The game goes in levels. A level is really simple to increase, and every time it does increase, it changes the combination of numbers currently on the play field. For example, the first level's range is 2-3, and you will primarily find 1-blocks and 2-blocks lying around the play field. The second level's range is 4-5, and you will primarily find 2-blocks and 3-blocks lying around. There are exceptions to the kinds of blocks you find, but that is the general progression. Furthermore, to increase your level, you must erase 100 blocks. Blocks are measured on the amount of single spaces taken up, which means your total space erased in a combo is the amount added to your level meter. A 3-block combo comprised entirely of 3-space 3-blocks will give a level meter score of 9 spaces.

So far I've only talked about combos that meet the minimum. But what about combos that exceed the number on the blocks? For those you get a nice fat multiplier bonus stacked on, meaning that you want to match as many blocks as possible to do a gigantic screen-clearing combo. A good example of this are the gigantic (in terms of points and screen space) 5-block combos during the second level. This has the added effect of leveling you up fast. As a rule of thumb, you can screen-clear approximately two times before your level will increase.

Once a single block is touching the top of the screen, a countdown starts that begins to rise towards the top. Once it reaches the top, you fail your game and it's time to try again. However, this countdown stops when a combo is started, meaning that the optimal (and risky) strategy is to fill the screen to the top and create a gigantic combo while the death timer is frozen. However, if you fail to prevent your loss, the game ends and submits your score to the high-score list. If you do not lose and clear 10 levels, you will finish the game and trigger the credits. After the credits roll (and during, for that matter), you will have a limited time to make more points before the game finally ends and submits your score.

For those aiming to improve their game to a huge degree, the high scores list is both a place of learning and a goal to shoot for. Any score input to the high score list (which is an online leaderboard) automatically has a replay of the session saved to the host computer. Not only that, but a replay is uploaded to the master server and can be viewed by selecting the high score you wish to view. This allows other players to view your personal replays. Some of the sessions are truly incredible, especially that of the current top-place person.

For such an simple game concept, one might assume that the graphics are sub-par. This is not the case, however. Blocksum manages to amaze with the graphics and sound. The sound pops extremely effectively, and the music is very catchy. The graphics are not half bad either, thanks to some very smart design and nice special effects work. Numbers are color-coded effectively and the colors are all vibrant, allowing players to make split-second decisions purely on color recognition.

All of these elements combine to make Blocksum into an extremely addictive and satisfying game, even if you lose. While it may be near impossible to hit first-place, the game is so fun that you won't even care! Just be careful that you don't sink so much time into it that you lose your job! You can download Blocksum right here on Big Download! You can also download it from the official site as well as check out the current leaderboard rankings.

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