Blockers
Blockers are the most common game pieces in Match 4 Crush; there are three (3) types, regular, functional and dynamic.
Typically, blockers are designed to obstruct matches and create obstacles, they may:
- Prevent a player from accessing or using candies (example: buttons, crystal, order borders, spirals, pancakes, cinnamon locks, waffle coats, frosted coats)
- Prevent candies from occupying a space until the blocker is cleared (example: icing, carrotcakes, cupcakes and twirls)
- Prevent desserts (in particular, beams effects) from performing their normal function (example: licorice nets, silver truffles)
- Replace candies and even other blockers on the board (example: chocolate and spewers)
- Spawn more blockers onto the board (example: chocolate fountains, spewers, fences)
- Prevent a level from being completed (example: fences or spirals overpopulating the board to create a ‘reshuffled 100 times – no more possible matches’ scenario. It is possible with spewers and fountains but very unlikely)
- Prevent candies from matching (example: studs and a variety of candy cane fences)
Typically blockers occupy one hexagon cell on the board, the exceptions being spirals and banana split sundae’s which take up 4 hexagons and the fences and studs which go between 2 hexagons. Blockers can be very annoying by threatening the combination of candies. Every blocker has unique properties, some are more susceptible to special effects while others have resistance or are not affected at all. Some blockers are harder to remove than others, immune to many effects or even permanent throughout the level.
Blockers are the main obstruction on the board, so it’s advisable to clear them as quickly as possible in most levels. Deciding which blockers to clear first presents a challenge. In collect order levels, players may also have to collect blockers to fulfill an order. Nearly every level contains at least one type of blocker. Levels can have three to eight different types of blockers, or even more.
Despite blockers being pests, some can be useful:
- Chocolate can engulf more impeding blockers
- Spewers can replace resistant blockers with less troublesome ones.
- Spewers and fountains can help fulfill orders by spawning needed blockers.
All destructible blockers can be destroyed by removing all their layers. Blockers (example: spewers) can be made indestructible, making their removal from the board impossible.
Immoveable blockers are attached to a hexagon and can not move.
Moveable blockers are mobile, so they are not attached to a hexagon, instead they move around the board as candies do.
Encasing blockers entomb other game pieces underneath. When a candy beneath an encasing blocker is matched, a layer is removed from the encasing blocker.
When a candy is part of a match, an ‘adjacent hit’ is delivered to all the surrounding hexagons.
When a dessert is detonated, a hit is delivered to every hexagon in range of the effect (example: explosion, beam or lightning)
A strike by a special effect, an adjacent hit or a match made underneath an encasing blocker are ways to remove layers from blockers. Though please keep in mind some blockers:
- Are immune to special effects.
- Resist adjacent hits.
- Are extra sensitive and lose two layers when struck by SFX.
- Change during their lifecycle. At the start, a blocker may be immune to adjacent hits, but become susceptible once a certain number of layers are removed. An encasing blocker may start immune to color matches, but once a certain number of layers are removed, color matches become possible.
Functional blockers have the properties of regular blockers except they also effect change on the board. A functional blocker performs a particular action in response to a player action.
A dynamic blocker has the same properties as both regular and functional blockers, but in addition, dynamic blockers can change, grow and move around, all in unpredictable ways. Unique to Match 4, they are a true instance of NPC (non-player/non-playable character).
Blockers which are not functional nor dynamic are regular.
| Name | First appearance | Unique properties | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Icing | Level 17 | Immoveable blocker, maximum 6 layers. Special effects remove 2 layers. | Regular |
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Strawberry pie | Level 6 | Encasing, immoveable blocker, maximum 3 layers. Locks candies, preventing them from being switched or destroyed. Can hold other game pieces. Immune to special effects. Adjacent hits and color matches can strip layers. | Regular |
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Wrapped Cookies | Level 6 | Moveable blocker, maximum 5 layers. Cannot be matched. Cannot be switched. | Regular |
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Chocolate | Level 18 | Immoveable blocker, maximum 2 layers. Multiplies by turning adjacent candy into chocolate when no chocolate is broken within a move. | Functional |
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Pancakes | Level 13 | Encasing, immoveable blocker, maximum 6 layers. Can encase any element, but when a candy is encased it can be matched regardless of the number of pancake layers above it, even though the color is hidden (candy is never visible). | Regular |
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Carrotcake | Level 19 | Immoveable blocker, maximum 4 layers. Special effects remove 2 layers. | Regular |
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Toffee | Level 8 | Encasing, immoveable blocker, maximum 5 layers. Adjacent hits and special effects remove layers. Color matches only remove layers after the first fully encasing layer is removed. | Regular |
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Banana Split Sundae | Level 21 | Immoveable blocker that occupies 4 hexagons with 14 sides. Each side adjacent to a match delivers a hit to the whole, Immune to dessert SFX, as the banana split is itself a dessert. It is cleared once a maximum of 11 layers are removed. | Regular |
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Cream | Level 15 | Immoveable blocker, maximum 4 layers. Immune to adjacent hits. Only special effects can remove layers. It is a very challenging blocker. | Regular |
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Candy shell | Level 13 | Encasing, immoveable blocker, maximum 4 layers. Immune to adjacent hits. Special effects and color matches can remove layers. However, color matches only remove layers after the first fully encasing layer is removed. | Regular |
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Cupcakes | Level 6 | Immoveable blocker, maximum 6 layers. | Regular |
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Cinnamon locks | Level 11 | Encasing, immoveable blocker, maximum 6 layers. Adjacent hits and special effects remove layers. Color matches only remove layers after the first 3 fully encasing layers are removed. | Regular |
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Spewer | Level 10 | Immoveable blocker, maximum 6 layers. Special effects and adjacent hits remove layers. Often made indestructible. Periodically replaces candies or blockers with new blockers. Some Collect Order levels rely on spewers to produce the blockers needed to be collected. Spewers may spew only specified elements. Spewers with green ooze only spew jelly onto the board to be cleared and collected during Jelly levels and Mixed mode levels requiring jelly. Spewers with brown ooze only spew chocolate onto the board and are called ‘Chocoloate Fountains’. Not-yet-seen spewers with orange ooze spew other spewers and do not appear in the game before level 1042. |
Functional |
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Licorice Net | Level 15 | Moveable blocker, maximum 1 layer and can be switched with elements on adjacent hexagons. Cannot be matched. Special effects and adjacent hits destroy them, but the beam SFX is absorbed and halted by this blocker, therefore the cells on the board beyond the licorice net are shielded from the beam. | Regular |
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Silver Truffle | Level 16 | Moveable blocker, maximum 1 layer and can be switched with elements on adjacent hexagons. Cannot be matched. Immune to special effects and the beam SFX is absorbed and halted by this blocker, thus the cells on the board beyond the silver truffle are shielded from the beam. | Regular |
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Golden Truffle | Level 7 | Moveable blocker, maximum 1 layer and can be switched with elements on adjacent hexagons. Cannot be matched. | Regular |
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Crystal Candy | Level 25 | Immoveable blocker, maximum 3 layers. Always stationary above the board allowing movable pieces to pass freely under, including conveyor belts. A candy on an hex can be switched under the crystal of an adjacent hex successfully only if a match is made under the crystal. Crystal absorbs all effects including SFX, thus sheltering the element underneath. | Regular |
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Twirls | Level 16 | Immoveable blocker, maximum 5 layers. | Regular |
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Frosted coats | Level 24 | Moveable blocker, maximum 2 layers and can be switched with elements on adjacent hexagons. Both Immune to special effects and matchable when containing a candy. Prevents garlic from being collected. Moves together with the encased element and protects it. | Regular |
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Waffle coats | Level 8 | Encasing, moveable blocker, maximum 2 layers and can be switched with elements on adjacent hexagons. Prevents garlic from being collected. Matchable when containing a candy. Moves together with the encased element and protects it. | Regular |
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Fences | Level 14 | Mobile blocker that occupies the space between hexagons, maximum 4 layers. Fences appear in all fence levels and also in other level types where they may only grow in one direction or not grow at all. A layer is removed by special effects or when a match is made next to the fence. Fences can spawn any amount of posts; during any move; at any location on the board connected to the originator. In fence levels, they typically spawn every move in a random sprawling fashion. Elements cannot be switched over fences, nor can they move through fences. Matches cannot be made across fences. Only 1 layer can be removed per move. | Dynamic |
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Evergreen fences | Immoveable blocker, they are indestructible and occupy the space between hexagons. Elements cannot be switched over evergreen fences, nor can they move through them, nor can matches be made across them. | Regular | |
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Black Licorice fence | Immoveable blocker, they are indestructible and occupy the space between hexagons. Elements cannot be switched over black licorice fences, nor can they move through them, nor can matches be made across them. They absorb and stop beam special effects from passing through. | Regular | |
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Studs | Level 15 | Immoveable blocker, they are indestructible and occupy the space between hexagons. Elements cannot be switched over studs, nor can they move through studs. A match on one side of a stud will not deliver an adjacent hit to the element on the other side. Matches cannot be made across studs. | Regular |
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Order Border | Level 8 | Encasing, immoveable blocker. Order borders completely shield elements underneath from all effects and movement. It can only be cleared by fulfilling certain collection orders. The unlocking collection order is overlaid above the order border. Each different color order border supports at most one collection order. | Regular |
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Pedestals | Level 25 | Encasing, immoveable blocker, maximum 6 layers. Pedestals completely shield elements underneath from all effects and movement. A flame moves to a random pedestal each move. Once the flame is extinguished all the pedestals are cleared. The flame must be hit at most 6 times by adjacent hits and special effects. | Functional |
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Puffs | Level 21 | Immoveable blocker, maximum 2 layers. During a move, if any puff is hit, roughly 2 out of 3 of the remaining puffs add a layer by ‘Puffing-Up’. | Functional |
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Spirals | Level 7 | Mobile blocker that occupies 4 hexagons with 14 sides, maximum 6 layers. Spirals appear in all spiral levels and also in other level types. When a match occurs, each side of the spiral adjacent to the match can potentially remove a layer from the whole, though, only 1 layer can be removed per move. Spirals can spawn during any move throughout the level; in predetermined or random locations; and they randomly change positions after each move. | Dynamic |
