Block Forge 2.0 is the biggest update the game has had. It now starts in Journey: 60 levels, each with its own goal and three stars to earn. Endless opens once you have cleared level 5. Nothing has been taken away — Endless, the Daily Challenge, Drop Forge and Forge Heat are all still here. If you are new to the game, the complete guide to Block Forge covers the basics from the beginning.
Journey first
A new player is one tap away from their first move. The first game teaches with a hand on the screen rather than a page of text: drag a piece onto the board, fill a row or a column to clear it, clear again on the next move for a combo.
The levels have been rebalanced. The first five are the gentlest on the ladder, and they are meant to be won on the way in. After that the goals climb steadily towards level 60. Every fifth level ends with a chest of coins, and every tenth chest adds a booster as well.
When a level will not go. Run out of room and you can continue, for coins or by watching an optional video. Fail the same level three times and a Skip appears, so one stubborn board never holds up the rest of the Journey. Clear level 5 and Endless opens on the home screen.
Fairer boards
The piece generator checks that what it deals can actually be placed. In Endless and the Daily Challenge there is one more safety net: when nothing in the tray fits any more, the forge re-forges the tray. You see it happen, in a burst of sparks, and it happens at most three times a game.
A piece that has no room on the board is now drawn dimmed, so you can tell at a glance which of the three is still in play. And a new player’s first two games outside Journey are protected up to the 40th piece placed, so the first impression of Endless is not a board that locks up in a minute.
The Blaster and the tight-spot chip
There is a fourth booster. The Blaster clears a whole row or a whole column, whichever you choose: pick Row or Column, then tap the line. It scores like a normal clear, though it does not add to your combo.
When the board is about 70% full, the booster bar starts to pulse and a small chip appears above it: Tight spot? with the Blaster, Swap, and a Swap you can have for watching a video, offered once a game. It asks for nothing — ignore it and play on.
Booster prices, in coins. Hammer 60, Swap 80, Undo 40, Blaster 100. The first Undo in every game costs nothing, and the button carries a small ×1 badge while it is still available.
Piggy Bank, calendar and quests
The piggy bank fills while you play. A share of the coins you earn goes into it, along with a little for every line you clear and for every new best. Once it holds 1,000 coins you can open it: that is a purchase in the shop, with real money, and everything inside is added to your balance. It holds 4,000 at most.
A seven-day calendar pays out after your first game of the day — coins on most days, and boosters on days 3, 5 and 7. Miss a day and it starts again from day 1.
There are three quests a day in Endless, and the first one can always be finished in a single game. Come back the next day and your first game starts with Forge Heat already at ×2.
Ranks and the leaderboard
Your best Endless score now has a rank. There are eight of them: Ember, Spark, Anvil, Hammer, Forge, Steel, Titan and Master, from 500 points up to 25,000. Your rank sits on the home screen, and the result screen shows a bar with how far you are from the next one.
Block Forge is on Game Center with three leaderboards: your best Endless score, a weekly tournament that resets every Monday, and Drop Forge. They open from the Leaderboard button next to your rank. When you set a new best, a Share button makes a card of the score for you to send.
Four board themes and new effects
Four board themes — Forge, which is the default, Night, Ocean and Ember — at 500 coins each. A theme changes the background and the empty cells; the pieces keep their colours. Pick one in Settings or in the shop.
Clears have been rebuilt. A line now breaks in a wave outward from where the piece landed. Two lines at once flash the screen and say BLAST, and three or more add a shake. From a ×3 combo the game slows for a moment, and ×5 adds a flash around the edge. Each booster has its own effect: a shockwave for the Hammer, a flying tray for Swap, a ghost trail for Undo and a beam for the Blaster. With Reduce Motion switched on, the slow-downs and the shakes are gone and only the colour stays.
Ads and the shop, plainly
Ads appear between games, starting from your second, never in the middle of one, and at least 45 seconds apart. Each one is announced by a strip at the bottom of the screen: Ad in 3… 2… 1, with a Remove ads button beside it. Before your first ad, and again before the fourth, a card says what is coming: a short ad, then back to the board.
Remove Ads takes away the full-screen ads and the banners. Reward videos stay, and they only play when you tap one because you want what it gives.
There are also two packs. The Launch Pack bundles Remove Ads, 2,000 coins and five of each booster. The Forge Master Pack bundles Remove Ads, Drop Forge for good, 15,000 coins, fifteen of each booster, all four board themes and a gold frame for your rank badge. Prices are in the shop. Buy any pack that removes ads and the offers stop appearing.
What has not changed
The Daily Challenge is still one board for everyone, new every day. Drop Forge is still there, and for new players it unlocks after three games. Forge Heat still warms up as you play and cools after twenty minutes away. The music is the same three tracks. The evening reminder is still off until you ask for it: after a few games a card asks, and you answer Remind me or Not now. It still plays offline, with no account.
Block Forge 2.0 is on the App Store now, in 17 languages.
Questions people ask
- Do I have to play the levels before I can play Endless?
- Endless opens once the first five Journey levels are cleared. Those five are the gentlest in the game, so for most players that is a few minutes of play.
- What does the piggy bank do?
- It sets aside part of the coins you earn while you play. From 1,000 coins inside you can open it, which is a purchase in the shop, and everything inside goes to your balance. It holds 4,000 at most.
- Does Remove Ads also remove the reward videos?
- No. Remove Ads takes away the interstitials and the banners. Reward videos stay, and they only ever play when you tap one to get something back.
- How do I open Drop Forge?
- It unlocks after you have played three games. From then on it has its own button on the home screen.
- Does my progress from 1.4 carry over?
- Yes. Players updating from 1.x keep their progress and skip the tutorial, and anyone who bought Remove Ads keeps Drop Forge for good.
- What do the boosters cost?
- Hammer 60 coins, Swap 80, Undo 40 and the Blaster 100. The first Undo in every game costs nothing.
- Which devices does it run on?
- iPhone, with iOS 16 or later. App Store → Updates brings you to 2.0.