Brick Smash

How to play Brick Smash

Brick Smash is a quick arcade game built around a simple goal: keep the ball above your paddle and remove every breakable brick from the screen. The ball begins on the paddle. Press Space on a keyboard, tap the game area on a touch device, or use the Start Game button to begin. Move the paddle left and right so the ball returns upward instead of falling below the screen.

The point where the ball touches the paddle changes its reflection angle. A hit near the paddle center sends the ball in a more vertical direction. A hit closer to either edge produces a stronger diagonal angle. This gives you more control than simply moving under the ball at the last second.

Controls

On desktop, use the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys or the A and D keys. Space launches a resting ball. P or Escape pauses and resumes the game. You can also move the paddle with a mouse or trackpad by moving the pointer across the game area.

On phones and tablets, drag inside the game area or hold the visible left and right control buttons. Tapping the game area launches a resting ball. The game prevents accidental page movement while you interact with the canvas, but normal scrolling still works outside the game.

Game rules and levels

You begin with three lives. A life is lost when every active ball falls below the paddle. After a lost life, the current level remains active and the ball returns to the paddle. Clear all breakable bricks to complete the level. Brick Smash contains five layouts, with faster ball movement and slightly tighter paddle control in later levels.

Unbreakable obstacles may appear in later levels. They reflect the ball but do not need to be destroyed. The level is complete when no standard, reinforced, or heavy bricks remain.

Scoring

Standard bricks are worth 10 points. Reinforced bricks take two hits and award 25 points when destroyed. Heavy bricks take three hits and award 40 points. Finishing a level adds 250 points. Clearing a level without losing a life adds another 500 points. If you complete all five levels, each remaining life adds 300 points.

Your best score is stored locally in your browser. It is not tied to an account and may disappear if you clear site data, use private browsing, or move to a different device.

Brick types

Standard bricks disappear after one hit. Reinforced bricks use a two-stage visual pattern and require a second hit. Heavy bricks have three damage stages and reward a higher score. Unbreakable obstacles use a clear metallic pattern, remain on the screen, and do not count toward level completion.

Power-ups

Some destroyed bricks may release a falling power-up. Wide Paddle temporarily increases the paddle size. Slow Ball lowers active ball speed for a short period. Multi Ball adds extra balls, creating more chances to hit bricks but also making the screen harder to track. Power-ups are occasional bonuses rather than a requirement for success.

Tips to improve your score

Watch the ball rather than the paddle. Move early and use the paddle edges to direct the ball toward untouched sections. Avoid extreme edge hits when the ball is moving quickly, because a nearly horizontal path can become difficult to predict. When multiple balls are active, prioritize keeping at least one in play instead of chasing every ball.

On mobile, short controlled drags are usually more accurate than sweeping across the whole screen. In later levels, focus first on opening a path into the top rows. Once the ball reaches that space, it can produce several hits before returning to the paddle.