Brick Breaker Games

How it works

The brick breaker goes back to the arcades of the 1970s. A wall of bricks fills the top of the screen, a paddle slides along the bottom, and a ball bounces between them. Each brick the ball touches cracks or breaks, and clearing every breakable brick finishes the level. Let the ball fall past the paddle and you lose a life.

The skill is in the angle. Where the ball meets the paddle decides where it goes next: the middle sends it almost straight up, the edges send it off at a steep slant. A player who controls the angle can dig a tunnel through the side of the wall and let the ball rattle around above the bricks, clearing dozens without touching it.

What makes a good one

• Exact, fair bounces at any speed, so the ball never slips through a brick or the paddle.
• Paddle controls that keep your thumb out of the way on a phone.
• Power-ups you can understand at a glance.
• A fix for the last few bricks, so a level never ends with the ball looping past them for a minute.
• Instant restarts.

Strategies that help

Use the edges. Catching the ball near the end of the paddle is how you aim.

Tunnel up the side. Open a gap at one edge of the wall and send the ball through it to work from above.

Watch the ball, not the bricks. Keep your eyes low and let your side vision follow the wall.

Break the tough bricks early. Bricks that take several hits are easier to clear before the ball speeds up.

Our take

Our brick breaker game is Brick Fuse. The bricks are firework crates linked by fuses, so popping one lights its neighbours and a single shot can set off a long chain. Each run is a show of 12 floors with a new card to pick after every floor, and a Daily Show is the same for everyone.