Shapes Blast! tips: how scoring, combos and power-ups really work

01How scoring works

Every time you place a piece in Shapes Blast!, you score two things: the cells you placed and the cells you cleared.

• Placement1 point for every cell in the piece.
• Clear10 points for every cleared cell, times the multiplier. Cells where two cleared lines cross count once.
• Multi-line1 line: 1×. 2 lines: 3×. 3 lines: 6×. 4 or more: 10×.
• Streak+0.5× for each consecutive placement that cleared at least one line, counting this one. The HUD shows "Combo ×N" from the second in a row.

Put together, a clearing placement scores:

cells placed + cleared cells × 10 × (line multiplier + 0.5 × (streak − 1))

A placement that clears nothing resets the streak. So do the Bomb and Clear Board power-ups.

02Worked examples

All on the Classic 8×8 board, where every line is 8 cells, and not counting the piece's own placement points:

The lesson is in the last two rows of the comparison: clearing four rows with one piece scores 3,200. Clearing the same four rows one at a time, even on a perfect four-placement streak, scores 80 + 120 + 160 + 200 = 560. Setting up multi-line clears is worth far more than chaining single lines.

That said, the streak bonus stacks with the line multiplier. A two-line clear on the fourth placement of a streak is worth 16 × 10 × (3 + 1.5) = 720. The best runs do both: build parallel lines that are one cell short, and keep a small piece around to finish them.

03Board-by-board tips

The formula is the same on every board. What changes is the geometry, and each board keeps its own high score, saved game and Game Center leaderboard.

Classic (8×8, 16 lines)

Every line is 8 cells, so every single clear is worth the same 80 points. Build two or three parallel rows (or columns) together and leave one shared gap, so a single bar or L finishes them at once. Keep a corner free for the rare 3×3 square: it's the piece that most often ends Classic runs.

Hexagon (61 cells, 27 lines)

Lines run in three directions and range from 5 cells at the edges to 9 through the center. Edge chords are cheap to fill but score least; the center chord is the hardest to fill and scores most. Because every cell sits on three lines, cross-direction multi-clears happen more often than on Classic. Fill around the center and let pieces complete two directions at once.

Triangle (64 tiles, 21 lines)

Pieces must match the up or down orientation of the tiles, which makes the board feel tighter. Lines run from 3 tiles at the top to 15 along the bottom, and a full bottom row is worth 150 points on its own. The narrow top fills up fast: keep it clear so you always have somewhere to put small pieces.

04Using power-ups well

• UndoReverts your last placement, including score and combo. Its best use is saving a long streak after a misplaced piece. Only one step back.
• RotateLong-press a tray piece. One charge covers any number of rotations and mirror flips of that piece, so try every orientation before you place it.
• BombDestroys a 3×3 area on Classic (7 cells on Hexagon, 9 on Triangle) for 10 points per block, with no multiplier, and resets your combo. Use it to survive, not to score.
• RefreshSwaps the whole tray. Best when two or three pieces are dead weight.
• DeleteReplaces one tray piece, never with a color already in the tray, and shows you the replacement before you confirm.
• Clear BoardWipes every block for 25 points each plus 200. On a 50-block board that's 1,450 points; on a near-empty board it's wasted. Like bombs, it resets the combo.

A fresh tray always contains at least one piece that fits if the board has any space, so a stuck position usually means the last one or two pieces of a tray. That's when Rotate, Delete or Refresh earn their keep. Bombs and Clear Board can't be undone.

05Daily streak and achievements

Claim the daily bonus once a day from the streak chip on the menu. Odd days pay Rotate and even days pay Undo, with Bombs on days 3, 7, 14 and 30 and Refreshes on days 7, 14 and 30. The multiplier climbs with the streak: 2× from day 3, 3× from day 7, 5× from day 14 and 10× from day 30. A few holidays multiply the grant again (Halloween is ×3). Miss a day and you're back to day 1.

Two Game Center achievements are worth farming. Combo King pays a free Bomb every time you clear 5 or more lines with one placement, or clear on a ×5 combo. Shape Shifter pays a Bomb once you've finished a game on all three boards.

06Frequently asked questions