Stack Tower: how to play and build a taller tower

What the game is and how the rules work

Your tower starts with a single wide block. A new block of the same size appears above it and slides along one direction, then the next block slides along the other direction, so the challenge alternates between left-right and front-back. When you drop a block, only the part that overlaps the block underneath is kept. The overhang is cut off, so the next block is exactly as wide as what you managed to keep.

That simple rule creates the whole game. A small mistake makes the tower a little narrower, and a narrow tower is harder to hit. If a block misses the tower completely, it falls and the round is over. Your score is the number of blocks you stacked.

Controls and how to start

Press the start button and the first block begins to slide right away. There is only one action in the game, so the controls are the same on every device.

The game pauses by itself when you switch to another tab or app, and you can pause it yourself at any time, so a message or a phone call never costs you a run.

• On a phone or tablet, tap anywhere on the game area to drop the block.
• With a mouse, click the game area.
• With a keyboard, press Space, Enter or the down arrow.
• Press P or Escape, or the pause button, to pause, and Resume to carry on.

Perfect drops and combos

If you drop a block almost exactly on top of the one below, it counts as a perfect drop. The block snaps neatly into place and keeps its full size, so nothing is lost. A short message on screen tells you when it happens.

Perfect drops in a row build a combo. Once the combo gets going, each further perfect drop makes the block slightly wider again, which slowly repairs a tower that has become thin. A single imperfect drop ends the combo, so long combos are the main way to stay in the game for a long time.

Tips for a taller tower

Watch the leading edge of the moving block, not its middle. Your eyes judge the moment when two edges line up much better than the moment when two centres line up. Tap a fraction of a second early, because there is always a tiny delay between seeing and tapping.

Find a rhythm. The block moves at a steady speed, so after a few drops you can feel the timing rather than chase it. Breathe out and keep a relaxed hand; tense, rushed taps are usually late. When the tower gets narrow, stay calm: a narrow block is harder to place, but one perfect drop keeps it from shrinking further, and a combo will widen it again.

Do not panic about speed. Each block slides a little faster than the last, but the speed stops rising after a while, so a good rhythm keeps working even in a very tall tower.

A short history of stacking games

Stacking things as high as possible is one of the oldest games there is, from children's wooden blocks to tabletop classics where a tower of pieces wobbles until it falls. On mobile phones, tower building games became popular in the mid 2000s, when simple one-button games were perfect for short breaks.

The modern style, with clean pastel blocks, an isometric view and the overhang being sliced away, became a worldwide hit on smartphones around 2016. Its appeal is easy to see: one tap, instant feedback and a clear number to beat. Stack Tower follows that idea in a lightweight web version you can play without installing anything.

Scores, speed and privacy

The end screen shows how many blocks you stacked, how many perfect drops you made and your longest combo. Your best score is stored only in this browser.

When a round ends, only your number of blocks is sent anonymously to our server so we can show how your tower compares with other players. That comparison appears only when there are real scores to compare with. Share your result with friends from the end screen and challenge them to build higher.