Blocks strategy: keeping the board open and scoring big

A good Blocks run has two halves that pull against each other: you want to fill lines to score, and you want empty space to survive. Most of the skill is in keeping both going at once.

Know what's coming

There are 29 different shapes, and none of them can be rotated: the flat and upright bars, for example, are separate pieces.

Pieces come out of a shuffled bag of 50. Each bag holds every shape: the 8 biggest and smallest ones (the single cell, the five-long bars, the big Ls and the 3×3 square) once each, everything else twice. When the bag is empty, a new one is shuffled. So no shape can vanish for long, and none can flood you either: the 3×3 square turns up about once every 50 pieces, and you'll rarely see two close together.

Score with several clears at once

Clearing is worth ten times the square of how many lines and boxes go at once. That square makes a huge difference. Three single clears on three separate moves, even as a streak, add up to 60 points. Clear the same three with one piece and you get 90.

So rather than clearing every line the moment you can, it often pays to build two or three almost-full lines that one piece will finish together. A row and a box that share cells are the classic pair: one piece in the overlap completes both.

The catch is risk. Every line you leave nearly full is space you aren't using. Hold back only when you still have room to spare, and cash in early when the board starts to crowd.

Keep the space in one piece

The thing that ends runs isn't a full board, it's a fragmented one. Scattered single holes can't take anything bigger than one cell, and you only get a single-cell piece once per bag.

A few habits keep the space whole:

• Build from the edges and corners in. Pieces against a wall leave one open side instead of several.
• Fill holes, don't make them. Before placing, look at what the piece leaves behind. A one-cell gap enclosed on all sides is a long-term problem.
• Keep a 3×3 space free if you can. The square is the hardest piece to place, and it can end a run that was going well.
• Keep a long lane open. A clear row or column of five or more is the only home for a five-long bar.

Order matters

You get three pieces and must place all three before the next three arrive, but you choose the order. Before placing the first, check that the other two will still fit afterwards. Usually the awkward piece — the square, a long bar, a big L — should go first, while there's still room for it. Small pieces are your flexible fillers; save them for last.

Also think about what a clear will do. Placing a piece that clears a line frees up space for the pieces still in your hand, so sometimes the right first move is the one that makes room for the second.

The daily run

Everyone gets the same pieces in the same order on the daily run, so it's the place for comparing scores. Because the sequence is fixed, there's no luck between players: the difference is all in the choices. Your first run of the day is your score. Once that's done, play as many more as you like and try out riskier ideas there.