Report updated May 7, 2026
This is Blast!
For casual mobile gamers seeking short, repetitive puzzle sessions for mental refreshment or commute-based entertainment.
This is Blast! is a challenged games app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.4/5 rating from 20.2K reviews, it faces significant user friction. Users particularly appreciate relaxing core gameplay loop provides a satisfying stress relief experience for casual players, though persistent progress resets force players back to the first level after recent updates remains a common concern.
What is This is Blast!?
This is Blast! is a casual puzzle game for mobile devices that combines block-clearing mechanics with ball-blast physics.
Players hire the game for low-stakes, repetitive stress relief during short breaks, where the satisfying visual feedback loop provides a quick mental refresh.
Current Momentum
v3.12 · 3w ago
Active- Shipped stability fixes in latest release.
- Maintains seasonal content update cadence.
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
What Are The Key Features?
Precision-based shooting mechanics requiring timing to clear board obstacles
Full game functionality available without an active internet connection
Time-limited content drops and challenges updated throughout the year
How much does it cost?
- Free-to-play with optional in-app purchases
Freemium model relies on IAP for power-ups and boosters to monetize a free-to-play user base.
Who Built It?
Voodoo
Providing casual gamers with instant, satisfying entertainment through high-velocity, physics-based arcade and puzzle experiences.
Portfolio
13
Apps
What other apps does Voodoo make?
Explore the full Voodoo report
Portfolio breakdown, audience, momentum, and every app published by Voodoo.
What do users think recently?
High confidence · Latest 100 of 146 total reviews analyzed · Based on 146 reviews. Signal may be noisy.
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a frustrated sentiment. Users appreciate relaxing core gameplay loop provides a satisfying stress relief experience for casual players and visual design and color palette choices create an engaging and attractive puzzle environment, but report persistent progress resets force players back to the first level after recent updates and aggressive monetization and forced advertisement frequency degrade the overall user experience significantly.
What Users Love
What Frustrates Users
What Users Want
View the full user-sentiment analysis
Mood gauge, ratings & review-volume history, every praise / complaint / request, and sentiment over time.
What is the competitive landscape for This is Blast!?
How's The Games Market?
**Pricing Strategy**: Freemium model relying on IAP for power-ups and boosters to monetize a free-to-play user base. **Target Audience**: Casual mobile gamers seeking short, repetitive puzzle sessions for mental refreshment or commute-based entertainment. **Performance**: The app currently holds the #99 Grossing position in its category (↓3), signaling that monetization friction is beginning to outweigh discovery advantages.
How does it evolve in the Games market?
This is Blast! currently sits at #99 Grossing in its category, with the rank falling 3 spots this week. The discrepancy between its casual appeal and the declining grossing rank signals that monetization friction is outpacing user acquisition.
Rank progression
93 active rankings tracked — 30-day window
The rivals identified
Nemeses(1)
This is the most direct rival, sharing the exact 'block puzzle' mechanics and grid-based gameplay loop as the target app.
Differentiators
- Integrates Sudoku-style grid constraints that force strategic placement beyond simple line clearing mechanics.
- Maintains a minimalist, high-contrast aesthetic that reduces visual clutter compared to the target's explosive effects.
- Utilizes a daily challenge system to drive long-term retention that the target app currently lacks.
Head to head
The target app must lean into its 'blast' identity to differentiate from the slower, logic-heavy gameplay of Blockudoku.
Contenders(3)
Directly competes for the 'Blast' and 'Tetris' search intent with a high-recognition brand.
Differentiators
- Leverages the globally recognized Tetris IP to lower user acquisition costs and increase initial trust.
- Combines classic falling-block mechanics with modern blast-style clearing to bridge two distinct puzzle audiences.
The foundational title for the block puzzle genre, maintaining a massive, loyal player base.
Differentiators
- Offers a pure, unadulterated block-placement experience without the distraction of complex meta-layers or themes.
- Optimized for extremely low-friction sessions that allow for rapid, repetitive gameplay cycles.
A dominant force in the block puzzle genre with high update velocity and massive user scale.
Differentiators
- Features a distinct wood-themed tactile aesthetic that creates a unique sensory experience for players.
- Aggressive live-ops cadence with frequent seasonal events keeps the core loop feeling fresh and evolving.
Same space(3)
Adjacent tile-matching genre that competes for the same casual puzzle-solving time budget.
Differentiators
- Focuses on 3D tile-matching mechanics that provide a different spatial challenge than 2D block puzzles.
- Employs a 'collectible' meta-layer that encourages players to unlock various tile sets and themes.
A direct competitor in the 'blast' sub-genre, focusing on character-driven progression.
Differentiators
- Uses a character-led narrative structure to build emotional investment in the puzzle-solving journey.
- Features a robust team-based social system that drives competitive engagement through weekly tournaments.
Adjacent puzzle category leader that defines the current standard for high-quality match-3 production values.
Differentiators
- Sets the industry benchmark for smooth, high-fidelity animations and satisfying 'juice' in puzzle clearing.
- Implements a highly refined meta-game loop that keeps players engaged between core puzzle sessions.
New entrants(1)
Rapidly growing title that successfully pivoted the puzzle genre toward a 'relaxing' value proposition.
Differentiators
- Prioritizes a 'Zen' atmosphere with calming audio-visuals to differentiate from high-stress, fast-paced blast games.
- Integrates home-decorating meta-elements that provide a creative outlet alongside the core matching gameplay.
Compare This is Blast! against every rival
All rivals in one side-by-side table — identity, store metrics, ratings & sentiment, and strategic intel — plus a head-to-head page for each.
The outtake for This is Blast!
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- High-energy visual feedback loop sustains short-session engagement
- Offline-play capability removes connectivity barriers for commuters
Critical Frictions
- Persistent progress-reset bug triggers immediate uninstalls
- Aggressive ad frequency degrades long-term retention
- Lack of cloud-sync prevents multi-device play
Growth Levers
- Implementing cloud-based account syncing to reduce churn
- Adding accessibility features like colorblind modes to expand addressable market
Market Threats
- Tetris IP-based entrants siphoning search intent
- Rising user acquisition costs in casual puzzle category
- Competitor live-ops cadence outpacing current update frequency
What are the next best moves?
Rebuild save-state logic because progress-reset reports are the top churn driver → stabilize retention
Multiple user reviews cite progress loss as the primary reason for immediate uninstalls.
Trade-off: Pause all new seasonal content development for one sprint — retention stability is the immediate priority.
Implement cloud-sync because cross-device play is the top-requested feature → increase long-term LTV
Users explicitly request account connectivity to prevent data loss and enable multi-device play.
Trade-off: Deprioritize the new level-pack release — data security is a higher-value retention lever.
A counter-intuitive read
The game's #99 chart position is a liability, as maintenance-mode at the top of the category makes it more vulnerable to a single live-ops rival than a lower-ranked app with upward momentum.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- Daily challenge system (available in Blockudoku but missing here)
- Sudoku-style grid constraints (available in Blockudoku but missing here)
- Home-decorating meta-elements (available in Zen Match but missing here)
Key Takeaways
This is Blast! maintains a strong casual loop through satisfying visual feedback, but the persistent progress-reset bug and aggressive ad frequency actively erode the player base, so the PM must prioritize technical stability over new content to prevent further chart decline.
Where Is It Heading?
Declining
Casual block-puzzle traffic is consolidating around fresh entrants, and the lack of robust meta-layers leaves This is Blast! exposed to competitors with higher live-ops velocity. The current technical instability will erode the user base before the next major content drop can recover the lost chart position.
Persistent progress-reset bugs in the latest release trigger immediate uninstalls, which compounds the rating drag already visible on the Android platform.
Aggressive ad frequency and difficulty spikes in later levels force reliance on paid boosters, which alienates the core casual audience and compresses long-term retention.