Every blocker, lid and gate, explained

#Crate

A box that fills one cell. A sliding brick stops against it, nothing can be swapped with it, and on boards where bricks fall it stays put while the bricks above rest on it. It has one or two layers: a two-layer crate looks sturdier, and a tap or VoiceOver always tells you how many are left.

Make a line right beside it (the cell above, below, left or right of any brick in the line): each line takes one layer, however many of its bricks touch the crate. A blast that reaches it also takes one layer, and a bomb’s double blast can take two. The last layer breaks it open and frees the cell.

First appears

Level 5, Pots and Ice. Two-layer crates from level 20.

Goal

“Break” crates: every layer you knock off counts once.

Looks like, but isn’t

A statue, which never breaks, and a lid, which covers bricks and shows a sign.

VoiceOver says

“Crate, 2 layers”. Tapped: “Crate, 2 layers. A line beside it breaks a layer”.

The UFO booster takes one layer off a crate wherever it is.

#Brick in ice

A coloured brick held in a block of ice, one or two layers thick. While it is frozen it cannot slide, swap, fall or count in a line, and a sliding brick stops against it.

Make a line right beside it, or reach it with a blast: each takes one layer. When the last layer breaks, the brick is an ordinary brick again and can be moved and matched.

First appears

Level 5, Pots and Ice.

Looks like, but isn’t

An iced gate, which is on the edge of the board and thaws differently. See Iced gate.

VoiceOver says

The brick, then its ice, for example “Red brick, in gel, 1 layer”. Tapped: “… A line beside it breaks the gel”.

An iced brick of a goal colour is worth freeing early: until it is free it cannot reach its gate.

#Locked brick

A brick held by a lock. It cannot slide, swap or fall, and a sliding brick stops against it. It still counts in a line of its colour.

Make a line through it: the line clears the bricks around it, opens the lock and leaves the freed brick where it is. A line merely beside it does nothing. A blast that reaches it also opens the lock.

First appears

Level 9, Locks and Moss.

Goal

“Undo” locks: each lock opened counts once.

VoiceOver says

“Yellow brick, locked, a line through it frees it”.

Look for the locked brick’s own colour on both sides of it, or above and below: one slide or swap that completes the line frees it.

#Moss

A clump of moss that fills a cell. A sliding brick stops against it. On Locks and Moss boards it spreads: in the game’s words, it creeps onto a brick after any move that clears none, taking over one plain single brick next to it.

Make a line right beside it, or reach it with a blast: one hit clears it. Moss that has grown over a brick clears the same way.

First appears

Level 9, Locks and Moss.

Goal

“Clear” moss: every clump cleared counts, including ones that grew during play.

VoiceOver says

“Moss, spreads after a move that clears none”. Tapped: “… A line beside it clears it”.

Clear a little moss whenever you can: a move that clears some moss never lets it grow. Boosters never count as a move, so using one does not let moss spread.

#Statue

A garden statue, or another ornament of the village, standing in a gap inside the board. It is scenery, not a piece: nothing slides through it, nothing can land on it, and it never breaks. On boards where bricks fall, bricks above it rest on top, and single bricks slide round it diagonally to fill the cells beneath.

It cannot be cleared. Plan around it: use the open lanes, or bring the brick round by another row. A line blaster’s blast passes right over it.

First appears

Level 10, Stone Lanes.

Looks like, but isn’t

A crate, which breaks; a statue never does.

VoiceOver says

Its name, for example “Statue: part of the scenery. Pieces fall round it”.

#Face-down “?” brick

A slate-grey brick with a white “?” and no colour symbol. It hides its colour, but it is a real brick of a real colour and plays by it: it slides, swaps, matches and goes home through its own colour’s gate exactly as that colour would.

It turns over when a brick next to it (above, below, left or right) leaves the board: out through a gate, cleared in a line or cleared by a blast. It never turns over because it moved, or because a neighbour slid or fell away.

First appears

Level 49.

Fair play

No hint, teaching hand, rotor, row sound or VoiceOver word ever gives its colour away. The hint will not suggest a move that moves, swaps or clears a face-down brick, so on a board full of them it may show no hint at all.

VoiceOver says

“Face-down brick, turns over when a brick next to it leaves the board”. Its swaps never say “no match”, and a lane that ends at a gate is offered as “Slide left into the gate”. Voice Control calls it “face-down”, as in “Slide face-down 14 left”.

Clear the bricks around a cluster of “?” bricks first: each brick that leaves can turn over up to four of them, and then you can plan.

#Key brick

A brick of its colour with a key on it. It only appears on boards with a keyhole lid, outside the lid and usually high on the board.

It plays exactly like a brick of its colour: slide it, swap it, match it. The moment it leaves the board, matched in a line, cleared by a blast, or slid out through a gate of its colour, the keyhole lid opens.

VoiceOver says

“Red key”.

বর্ণান্ধ

It wears a corner badge with its colour’s symbol.

If its gate is far away, a line of three is quicker: a key matched anywhere opens the keyhole just the same.

#Long and big bricks

One moulded piece covering two or three cells in a row (1×2, 2×1, 1×3, 3×1) or a 2×2 square. It slides as one piece and stops as soon as any of its cells meets something.

Slide it into a gate of its colour that is as wide as the brick across its lane: a brick two cells tall sliding sideways needs a side gate two cells long, and a 2×2 needs a gate two cells long. The cells behind it must be free to follow it out. It is never swapped, never counts in a line, and no blast or booster can take it, so sliding it home is the only way. It counts every cell for your goals: a 2×2 red is four red.

First appears

Level 6, Long Bricks.

Where bricks fall

It falls as a unit, one row at a time, and only when every cell beneath it is free: one crate under one of its cells holds the whole piece up.

VoiceOver says

“Red long brick, 2 tall”, “Blue big square brick”. Its actions name it: “Slide the red long brick left, out through the red gate”.

Before you clear a lane, check the gate’s width. A gate one cell long will never take a long brick, however well it is lined up.

#L and T bricks

Bent pieces of four cells in the shape of an L or a T. They follow the same rules as long bricks: one piece, never swapped, never in a line, never blasted.

Line the piece up with a gate of its colour that spans the whole piece across its lane, then slide it home. Whichever of its cells meets something first stops the whole piece.

First appears

Level 7, Corner Pieces.

VoiceOver says

“Red L brick”, “Blue T brick”.

#Counter lid

A lid with a grid sign and a number that counts down.

Every brick that leaves the board, of any colour, takes one off: matched in a line, cleared by a blast or sent out through a gate. A long or big brick counts once. Sliding bricks around the board does not count. On the boards so far it asks for 5 to 9 bricks.

VoiceOver says

On each covered brick: “sealed under a lid, opens after 6 more bricks are cleared”. Opening: “The counter lid opened. Its bricks can move”.

#Colour counter lid

A lid in one colour, with a stack sign and a number.

Only bricks of its own colour leaving the board count: matched, blasted or sent through a gate. Other colours do nothing for it. On the boards so far it asks for 3 or 4.

First appears

Level 65.

VoiceOver says

“sealed under a red lid, opens after 3 more red bricks are cleared”. Opening: “The red counter lid opened. Its bricks can move”.

Its colour is usually one your goals want as well, so every brick you send home works twice.

#Stained-glass key lid

A lid in one colour with a key sign and no number.

Make a line (or a 2×2 square) of its colour with at least one brick right beside the lid: above, below, left or right of one of its cells. A line of another colour, a line further away, or a blast does not open it.

VoiceOver says

“sealed under a red key lid, opens to a red line beside it”. Opening: “The red glass lid opened. Its bricks can move”.

Look for two bricks of the lid’s colour already touching it: one slide or swap of a third brick next to them opens it.

#Clock lid (the sealed bed)

A lid with a clock sign and a number of moves. On The Big Day it often covers the two bottom cells of one corner; the game calls that one the sealed bed.

It opens by itself after that many moves: every slide, swap or tap counts one. Boosters do not count. On the boards so far it asks for 3 to 6 moves.

First appears

Level 11, The Big Day, as the sealed bed.

VoiceOver says

“sealed under a clock lid, opens in 3 moves”. Opening: “The clock lid opened. Its bricks can move”.

Nothing you do opens it sooner, so play elsewhere and plan for the bricks underneath.

#Keyhole lid

A lid with a padlock sign. Somewhere outside it is a key brick of a goal colour.

Get the key brick off the board: match it in a line, clear it with a blast, or slide it out through a gate of its colour. The lid opens at once.

VoiceOver says

“sealed under a keyhole lid, opens to a key brick”. Opening: “The keyhole lid opened. Its bricks can move”.

#Open gate

A door that takes bricks of its own colour: plain bricks, keys and line blasters. Bombs, homing darts and colour bombs stop at it.

Three ways in. Slide a brick along its lane and carry it right into the gate: let go short of it and the brick stays where you let go. Match a brick of its colour on the edge cell in front of it. Blast a brick of its colour on that edge cell. Each one counts as sent home.

Width

A single brick can use any cell of the gate. A long or big brick needs the gate to span it, and the cells behind it must be free.

Goal

“Send or match” a colour: bricks matched or blasted anywhere count as well as bricks sent through the gate.

VoiceOver says

“Red gate, 2 cells wide, left side, rows 3 to 4”, and its state: “open”.

#Counted gate

A gate with a number: how many more bricks it will take.

Each brick that goes through it, by slide, match or blast in front of it, takes one off. At zero it closes for good and becomes a wall. It counts only bricks that pass through it; bricks of its colour matched elsewhere still count for a “Send or match” goal but leave the gate’s number alone.

First appears

Level 11, The Big Day.

VoiceOver says

“open, takes 3 more”, then “closed for good”. Tapped: “Red gate: takes 3 more red bricks, then closes”.

On The Big Day the counted gate takes a little more than its goal asks for. Long bricks of its colour can only leave through a gate, so save its room for them.

#Iced gate

A gate covered in ice. Until it thaws it takes nothing and is part of the wall.

It thaws one step at a time in two ways: every brick that goes home through any gate thaws every iced gate by one, and every piece cleared on the edge cell right in front of it thaws it by one. When the ice is gone, slide its colour in.

First appears

Level 5, Pots and Ice.

Looks like, but isn’t

A brick in ice inside the board. Counted and iced gates are drawn differently, so they never look alike.

VoiceOver says

“iced, clear 2 more in front of it to thaw it”, then “open” when it thaws.

Send an easy brick home early, whatever its colour: it starts the thaw while you set up the rest.

#Staged gate

A gate behind a dark shutter with a padlock and a stage number. It belongs to a board whose goals come in two stages, shown as “Stage 1 / 2” in the order panel.

Finish the first stage’s goals and the second stage begins: the shutter opens and the gate takes its colour. Until then it is part of the wall.

First appears

Level 54, on boards where nothing falls.

VoiceOver says

“locked until a later stage”, and “New gates open” when the stage changes.

During stage 1, move the second stage’s bricks toward their sealed gate, so they are ready the moment it opens.

#Portal

A pair of swirling rings set into the board’s frame on two different sides, both marked with the same letter.

Slide a single brick (a plain brick, a key or a special) along its lane to the edge cell in front of one ring, and it goes in and comes out of the twin, travelling inward until it meets something. It costs one move. The cell in front of the twin ring must be free, and if a gate of the brick’s colour takes it at that edge, it goes home instead. Long, big, L and T bricks cannot use portals.

First appears

Level 58, on boards where nothing falls.

VoiceOver says

The action “Slide left, through the portal”, then “Through the portal, out at row 3, column 5”.

Portals are shortcuts to a far gate: a brick walled in on one side of the board can come out right in front of the gate it needs.