Retro Blocks
FAQ
Everything worth asking before the game is out. If something is not answered here, it is probably not decided yet — and this page says so rather than guessing.
Release and price
When is Retro Blocks released?
There is no release date. This site went up before the app did. When an App Store listing exists, the button on the home page will link straight to it.
What will it cost?
Not decided. Two things are: there will be no advertising and no in-app purchases.
Will there be an Android or iPad version?
Not planned. The app is built for iPhone in portrait, and its layout assumes a handheld held in one hand.
Playing
Which iPhones does it run on?
Any iPhone running iOS 17 or newer. The layout scales from the smallest current iPhone up to the Pro Max models. Portrait only.
How do the controls work?
A square D-pad moves the piece left and right, pushes it down a row, and hard-drops it with up. A rotates clockwise, B counter-clockwise. Every button responds to a tap and keeps repeating while held, at a speed tuned per button.
How does the level system work?
There are 20 levels. Each one drops roughly 11% faster than the last, from about one second per row at level 1 to 0.12 seconds at level 20 — so the difficulty climbs steadily instead of jumping at the end. By default the level goes up every 5 cleared rows, which puts the last level 95 rows in. Rows rather than blocks placed, so the speed follows how well you are actually clearing rather than how long you have been stacking. That number can be changed in the settings.
How is the score calculated?
One point for every block that comes to rest, and ten points for every row you clear.
Can I see which piece is coming?
Yes — the NEXT window under the screen shows the next two shapes, and it shows exactly what will arrive.
Scores and Game Center
Where are my high scores kept?
On your iPhone, and nowhere else. The app keeps the top ten runs with the name you entered, the score, the level, the lines cleared and the date.
Do I have to link Game Center?
No. It is optional and switched off until you press Link Game Center yourself. The game is complete without it, and local high scores work either way.
Are there online leaderboards?
Not yet. Linking Game Center works today, but scores are not submitted to any leaderboard. If online leaderboards are added, only the scores you make after that point would be sent, and only if you have linked your account.
What happens to my scores if I delete the app?
They are deleted with it. Nothing is backed up to a server, because there is no server.
Sound, privacy and the rest
Can I turn the sound off?
Yes, on the start screen and in the in-game settings. Sound and vibration are separate switches, so you can keep one and lose the other. This is on the start screen on purpose: not every iPhone still has a physical mute switch.
For the same reason the game plays through Silent Mode. That switch in the menu is the control — if it is on you get sound, whatever the Action Button is set to, and whatever music you have playing keeps going underneath.
Where does the music and sound come from?
The app generates every beep itself from square and triangle waves at runtime. There are no audio files in the app, and nothing is sampled or licensed from anywhere.
Does the app collect any data about me?
No. There are no accounts, no analytics, no advertising and no third-party SDKs, and the app makes no network requests of its own. See the privacy policy and the data policy for the detail.
Is this Tetris?
No. Retro Blocks is an original game in the falling-block genre. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to The Tetris Company or any other publisher, and it contains no assets, audio or code from any commercial title.
How do I get in touch?
Email hello@retroblocks.vdwal.xyz.