- Primary Subject: Mobile Puzzle Games
- Key Update: Mobile titles like Block Blast! use algorithmic RNG manipulation near high scores to artificially force ad consumption and drive ad revenue.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: October 21, 2026
- Quick Answer: Mobile puzzle games use manipulative algorithms to limit high scores, driving players to watch ads for revenue and making free-to-play mobile gaming feel predatory.
Some very upsetting news has been making the rounds recently on social media, and it’s this exposé regarding one of my favorite mobile games of all time: Block Blast. Of course, Block Blast isn’t the most game-y game on the market (I would categorize it more as a fidget spinner than an actual game), but it still is one of the leading games in the Apple App Store, and that is by design.
As it turns out, the game is literally programmed to make you feel good and then tank your RNG as soon as you are about to reach your high score. They do this so you’re more inclined to watch an ad and generate revenue for them.
This is a disgusting way to make money, and sadly, every mobile game is doing it.
Free games are predatory by default, and that isn’t just restricted to video games. There are gacha video games such as Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero that promote gambling for your favorite character, and battle pass games such as Fortnite that get you spending money because of FOMO. While these games are predatory, mobile games take the cake. As I mentioned in a previous paragraph, Block Blast cranks this predatory practice up to 11 by abusing the pleasure receptors of your brain through an algorithm. I should know, because I’ve been chasing that carrot on a stick for most of the year!
Listen, I get it, video games don’t just grow on trees. Developers need to make money somehow, and while there isn’t anything morally reprehensible about what they’re doing, it just feels like dangling drugs in front of a drug addict. But then again, not all mobile games are free-to-play. There are more paid mobile games coming out of the woodwork, with Apple Arcade becoming a paid subscription that gives you premium video games without the ads. As technology for phones continues to advance, there are also more graphically-intensive games being ported to the mobile audience, such as Red Dead Redemption, Resident Evil, and more famously, Balatro.
The existence of paid premium mobile gaming is cool and all, but now the only question scratching at my brain is: Who is this for?
Mobile games have a weird target market, at least from my perspective. From the name itself, mobile games are meant to be played on-the-go, meaning there should be little to no mental investment in these games when played. This smaller mental load in video games is further seen in most mobile games that are just run in the background indefinitely while you tend to real-life problems.
Idle Hero, one of the premier games on the Apple App Store, involves the player upgrading and pressing buttons now and then while their character progresses automatically (with the option of ads to progress faster, of course).
For games with a medium mental load, games such as Diner Dash, Fruit Ninja, Bloons, etc. require a bit more attention, but are ultimately low-stakes. I call these games the fidget spinner games, just something for your thumbs to play with while you’re waiting for your Uber to pick you up. For low- to medium mental load games, you can find the predatory games targeting people who just want to pass the time. With this in mind, mobile games are slowly becoming convenient Cocomelon slop designed to trick people out of their money, and that still does not sit right with me. But again, I have to ask, what about the premium games?
It’s at the higher mental loads where the target market gets a bit more hazy. As mobile games advance, so does the price point for every game, and the hardware to play those games comes along with it. It’s even come to the point where the price point for hardware required to play premium mobile games comfortably is slowly creeping into actual handheld console territory. In fact, I believe the existence of handheld gaming consoles renders the premium mobile gaming market obsolete. Because why would you play Red Dead Redemption on your phone when you can play it on a Steam Deck? Or better yet, on an actual PC or console?
Another market for mobile games that I can see benefiting from its existence is the growing esports scenes. Valorant Mobile, PUBG Mobile, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and most recently, the Overwatch mobile game have all been hedging on the fact that East and Southeast Asian countries are investing heavily in the mobile esports scene. China specifically has a large and well-supported mobile esports community, holding large tournaments for a plethora of games. If reading this surprised you, then that says a lot about the marketability of something as niche as a mobile esports scene.
With my growing disgust with mobile gaming algorithms designed to weasel your money out of your wallet, and the growing complexities of premium mobile games, I just cannot see where else mobile games can move forward. While I understand not everyone has the financial capabilities to buy handheld gaming consoles, that still doesn’t change the fact that the price is only getting higher from here on out. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
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