Getting Started

Introduction

Welcome to Blockara, a head-to-head action puzzle game where you, one of the best alchemists in the world, must compete in the World Alchemy Tournament for a chance to have your wish granted by the September Dragon! Do you have what it takes to rise to the top?

Saving and Deleting Data

Saving Data

Your progress is saved automatically whenever you finish matches or puzzles. You can view information that has been saved in the "Player Data" section on the Title Screen.

Deleting Data

To delete all game data, select "Clear Data" from the Options Menu.

Once deleted, data cannot be recovered.

Controls

The following controls apply to the default configuration. You can customize these controls in the Options Menu.

Menu Controls

Action	Keys
Navigate Menu	Arrow Keys
Confirm Selection	Space Bar
Cancel Selection	Backspace

In-Game Controls

Action	Keys
Move Cursor	Arrow Keys
Launch Tiles	Space Bar
Shift Current Row	Z/X
Shift Everything	A/S
Pause/Unpause	Return
Call Medic	E

No medic will come, no matter how much you call.

Endless Mode Controls

Action	Keys
Select Tile	Arrow Keys
Recover/Repair	Space Bar
Return to Game	Return

Mouse Controls

You may navigate menus and play the game with the mouse (In-Game Mouse Controls must be turned on in the Options Menu). You can shift a row by clicking a tile in it and dragging left or right. Clicking and dragging above your tiles will shift everything. Click a tile and drag up to launch that column.

Playing the Game

How to Play

Blockara has a Tutorial built right into the game, but if you prefer reading, we've got you covered! The in-game Tutorial is explained in the Game Modes Section.

Your Goal

As an Alchemist, it is your goal to use your elemental tiles to destroy your opponents tiles, drilling a hole through an entire column to win! You have three elements: Fire beats Plant, Plant beats Water, and Water beats Fire. Make sure you know these strengths and weaknesses, as they're what'll keep you safe and keep your opponent losing!

An on-screen guide is present during all matches to remind you of these elemental strengths and weaknesses. If you have colorblindness, see the Accessibility Options menu to make their differences more clear.

Basic Actions

To conquer your foes, you will have three basic moves at your disposal: moving your cursor, shifting rows, and launching columns. For information about how to perform these actions, see the Controls Section.

Moving the Cursor: Move your cursor to change which row and column you are acting on.
Shifting Rows: This is your main move for strategizing and defending yourself. Shifting will move all of the tiles in the row your cursor is in to the left or right. If you want to line up several tiles of the same element in one column, this is how you'll do it! You can shift all of your tiles (and your cursor) at once, too, for dodging and aiming!
Launching Columns: This is how you damage your opponent! Move your cursor and shift rows so that multiple tiles of the same element are lined up in a column at the top of your field. If you launch a column of tiles at one of your opponent's tiles of the weaker element, that tile will be destroyed!

How to Win (or Lose)

By lining up two tiles of the same element in a column, you can knock out a tile on your opponent's field. But wait! After you've dug halfway through their field, you'll need THREE or more tiles of the same element in a column to go any further! Once you've cleared an entire column, launch one more column of ANY element through the empty column to win! But of course, if you have an empty column, you'll lose the match.

If you line up five tiles of the same element in a column, you can take out up to two of your opponent's tiles in one move! And with six tiles, you can take out three! Now THAT'S video games!
If only your bottom two rows of tiles remain, you will automatically lose, too, since it won't be possible for you to win!

Advanced Tips and Techniques

Tile Recovery

If you see a + sign on a gap between some tiles on your board, you can recover a tile! But be careful, if you try recovering too many tiles at once, some of the upper tiles may have an × sign on them, which means they'll be lost in the recovery process! Once you lose an entire row of tiles, there's no way to get those tiles back, so be careful when recovering!

Chain Bonuses

If you can launch multiple times in a short time period, you'll get more points than usual! Make sure you have multiple columns ready for quick attacks!

The Jiggle Defense

If you really want to avoid losing tiles, you can mash the Shift All keys (A/S by default) repeatedly to jiggle your tiles around, making them harder to hit! You can't fight back while doing this, though, but it might give you a quick moment to figure out your next strategy!

Screaming

When playing 2P Versus Mode, the game doesn't just end with your computer! A clever way to psyche out your opponent is to scream loudly in their ear. This might lower their guard enough for you to launch a long-overdue finishing move!

Players under 13 years of age should not use this technique without parental permission.

Game Screens

Character Select Screen

The Character Select Screen is usually the first thing you see after you select a game mode on the Title Screen. After selecting your character, you will be able to select different options for the game, such as difficulty. See the Mode Options Section for more information. After setting the Mode Options, you can begin the game!

Puzzle Select Screen

If you select Puzzle Mode, then instead of the Character Select Screen you will be taken to the Puzzle Select Screen. All of the Puzzle Mode levels are shown here. Move to the one you want to play and press the Space Bar to start the puzzle. Completed levels will have crowns displayed next to them. On the right side of the screen are a preview of what the currently highlighted level looks like and rules for the currently highlighted level along with information about how many rows you and the target will have. Completed levels will have high scores listed here, too.

Game Screen

The Game Screen is where alchemy matches and puzzles take place! In the center is the Playing Field; this is where all the action happens. On the bottom are your tiles, and on the top are your opponent's tiles. Your goal is to empty an entire column of your opponent's tiles! In the upper corner, information such as your score and the amount of time elapsed are shown, as well as a quick reference showing what each element is strong and weak against. Additional information is displayed here in Endless Mode and Puzzle Mode. In the bottom corner, upcoming tiles are shown. All tiles that are marked with a grey "+" icon are the tiles that will appear in the current column when you launch.

Game Modes

Quick Play

Quick Play allows you to quickly get into a match against a computer-controlled opponent without anything else getting in your way.

If you or your opponent win over half of the total rounds, then the remaining rounds won't be played. The player with the most victories will be the winner.

2P Versus

Versus Mode allows you to play against a friend locally. Once at the Character Select screen, press the Player 2 confirm/launch key to get them started.

Story Mode

Fight your way through the World Alchemy Tournament for a chance to have your wish granted! Fight several opponents in a row, each stronger than the last, with short character dialogues between each match. Completing Story Mode will unlock character biographies in the Player Data menu.

Endless Mode

Battle as long as you can in a match that only ends when you lose! After you clear a column, you will have time to boost up shields and buy back lost tiles with money earned throughout the match.

Puzzle Mode

Complete 32 pre-made challenges with restrictions on how many shifts or launches you may perform to win! See the Puzzle Screen Section for more information.

Training Mode

Practice your skills in a safe environment with no risk of being attacked by an opponent!

Tutorial: A guided step-by-step tutorial on the basics of the game, for people who don't want to read the manual. Since you're already this far in, you might not need it. Good job!
Normal: Take your time getting the hang of things, without having to worry about your opponent moving or fighting back!
Targets: After you've gotten the hang of the basic controls, Targets Mode pits you against a constantly shifting opponent to practice timing.

Mode Options

Below are the Mode Options that appear on the Character Select Screen.

Row Count: Determines the number of rows each player will have at the start of the match.
Difficulty: Determines how fast and ruthless the computer opponents are. Not available in Versus or Training Modes.
Special Tiles: Enables or disables special tiles. Not available in Endless or Training Modes.
Rounds: Determines the number of matches that will be played to determine a winner. Only available in Quick Play and Versus Modes.
Mode: Only available in Training Mode. See the Training Mode section of the Mode Options Section for more information.

Special Tiles

These are special tiles that can be seen when Special Tiles are enabled in Mode Options, or in Endless and Puzzle Modes.

Name	Effect
Pause Sign	Temporarily prevents the opponent from moving their cursor, shifting, launching, or being happy.
Tile Shield	Gives you a shield that can block one or more launches.
Eye See	Causes a large number of eyeballs to open up and stare at your opponent, obstructing their view of the field. The graphic is changed if Scopophobia Mode is enabled in the Accessibility Options menu.
Row Bomb	When destroyed, it will take out all of the other tiles in the row it was in, too.
Precious Monies	(Endless Mode Only) Instantly gives you some Gold, which can be used to buy lost tiles and shield repairs.
Arrow Tiles	(Puzzle Mode Only) Destroying one of these will shift all of the other tiles in the row to the left or right.
Anti-Tile	(Puzzle Mode Only) These tiles cannot be destroyed. Period. Sorry.

Other Screens

You can also access the Player Data and Options Menus from the Title Screen.

Player Data

The Player Data Menu shows you information about your save file, as well as a few bonus items!

Totals: Shows playtime for each Game Mode, as well as other game data, such as the Game Completion percentage! You can raise this by finishing Puzzle Mode levels and completing Story Mode with all 10 characters! You might even unlock something if you get it high enough!
High Scores: See High Scores and Best Times for Quick Play, Story, and Endless Modes.
Character Bios: Read short biographies of everybody's favorite Alchemists! Beat Story Mode with a character to see their biography show up here!
Sound Test: Listen to the game's full soundtrack, along with all voice clips and sound effects.

Options

The Options Menu lets you change settings!

Options: Change individual volumes here, and clear save data.
Controls: Customize controls for player 1 and player 2 here.
Accessibility: Turn on colorblind mode, make the computer-controlled opponents slower, and more.

If you clear your save data from the Options Menu, it cannot be restored. Make sure you're really mad at all of the progress you've made before doing this!