You're a drummer with a beat that's weird and wonderful. The record label wants it “more palatable to the target market.” Grab the Rockblocks to build your beat, dodge the suits, and set their business plans on fire until they finally get it.
🕴️Chad Synergy · VP of A&RComes straight at you. Has never once been early to anything except chasing you.
👨💼Gary · Focus Group LiaisonChases you from far away, panics up close and retreats to his corner to 'gather data'.
👩💼Brenda · Head of MarketingDoesn't chase you. Chases where you're GOING. She has a funnel for that.
🤓Todd · Chief Algorithm OfficerTeams up with Chad to box you in. Has a dashboard that says you're wrong.
How to move
↑←↓→orWASDto run
Spacelight pyro 🧨JorShiftStage Dive 🤸Ppause
Like Pac-Man, you keep running until you hit a wall. Press the next direction a little early and you'll turn at the next gap.
🟩 Rockblocks are your beat. Each one is a random rhythm on a random drum, and it lands in your beat when you grab it.
🐥 Chicks dig drummers. Scoop up every one and the encore starts: unlimited pyro!
⛽ Gas fuels pyro. You also earn a can for every 3 Rockblocks.
🧨 Pyro burns an exec's laptop. While they're rethinking everything (😰), run into them to make them cool.
📑 Pyro burns through stacks of label paperwork too.
💥 Don't stand in your own blast! Every gas can and Stage Dive you're holding goes flying across the maze. Get caught with nothing on you and it's game over.
🤸 Stage Dives let you leap right over an exec, your own lit pyro, or a stack of paperwork. You start each level with one; grab more in the maze.
🏁 You clear a level by making every exec cool. Collecting everything isn't enough!
🚇 Run through a gap in the outer wall to come out the other side. Execs crawl through tunnels, so it's your escape hatch.
📝 Every exec who catches you gives your beat a “note.” Get caught too often and you'll hear what they want it to sound like.
★ HIGH SCORES ★
LOADING…
↑←↓→ runSpace pyroJ Stage DiveP pause
BombBlocks is a free RockBlocks maze game that mixes Pac-Man and Bomberman. You're a drummer with a snare drum for a head, running through a neon maze collecting Rockblocks: glowing blocks that are each a random rhythm on a random drum, and every one you grab lands in a real drum beat. Each level builds a brand-new beat on a bigger kit, from hi-hat, snare and kick up to crash, toms, ride and rimshot. Four record executives chase you, each with their own strategy, trying to make your music more palatable to their target market. Collect gas to light pyrotechnics that burn their laptops and business plans, then catch them while they're rethinking everything to make them cool. Scoop up every baby chick for an encore with unlimited pyro, grab Stage Dives to leap over an exec, and escape through the tunnels. After every level you hear your beat and can open it in the RockBlocks editor, save it to your library or post it on Drummit, and there's an arcade high-score table. If the label catches you too many times, you choose: stay indie and keep your weird beat, sign the deal and take the label's simplified version, or sign in and sneakily keep both.
How to play
1.Collect Rockblocks. Steer the drummer with the arrow keys, WASD, swipes or the on-screen pad. Each glowing Rockblock is a random rhythm on a random drum, and it drops into your beat the moment you grab it.
2.Fuel up and light pyro. Grab gas cans (you also earn one for every three Rockblocks), then press Space or the Pyro button to drop a firework. It blasts in a cross, burns through label paperwork, and sets fire to any exec's laptop it reaches. Don't stand in it yourself.
3.Make the execs cool. A blasted exec spends a few seconds rethinking everything. Run into them before they recover and they put on sunglasses and quit to follow your band. Win over every exec to clear the level.
4.Hear your beat. Every level builds a brand-new beat on a bigger drum kit. After each one, play it, open it in the RockBlocks editor, save all your beats to your library, or post them on Drummit. Clear a level with every chick collected too and you can make the beat odd time, just to annoy the label.
5.Choose your ending. Every exec who catches you gives your beat a note: fewer notes, straight eighths, a two-beat loop, or only the basic drums. If they catch you enough times, you decide: stay indie and keep your own beat, or sign the deal and keep the label's simplified version.
Frequently asked questions
What is BombBlocks?
BombBlocks is a free browser game on RockBlocks that mixes Pac-Man and Bomberman: collect Rockblocks to build a drum beat, dodge record executives, and use pyrotechnics to win them over.
Is the beat I make in BombBlocks real?
Yes. Every Rockblock is a real RockBlocks rhythm tile on a real drum, played through the same audio engine as the editor. After each level you can play it, open it in the full editor, or save it to a page or your account.
How do the record executives behave?
Each one has a personality. Chad from A&R comes straight at you, Brenda from Marketing heads for where you're going, Todd the algorithm guy teams up with Chad to box you in, and Gary from the focus group loses his nerve up close. Every so often they all back off to their corners for a breather.
Can I play BombBlocks on a phone?
Yes. Swipe on the maze or use the on-screen arrows, and tap the Pyro button to light fireworks. On a computer, use the arrow keys or WASD and Space.
Is there a high-score table?
Yes. BombBlocks has an arcade-style top ten: make the board and you enter your three initials, just like the old cabinets.
Do I need an account to play?
No. BombBlocks is free with no login. Signing in lets you save every beat from a run to your song library and post them on Drummit.