A ball, a paddle, a wall of bricks that did nothing to deserve this. Classic arcade physics, zero installation required.
Brick-breaking games trace back to Atari's Breakout in 1976 (co-designed by a young Steve Wozniak before he co-founded Apple), but the format most people actually picture — coloured brick rows, a launching ball, power-ups raining down — comes from Taito's Arkanoid in 1986, which spawned an entire genre of clones still being made today. The format has survived nearly fifty years on one simple mechanical hook: a paddle, a ball, and the small, satisfying violence of watching a wall of bricks disappear one hit at a time.
Move the paddle left and right to keep the ball in play and break every brick on the board. Miss the ball and you lose a life.
Points are awarded per brick destroyed, with higher rows typically worth more.
Satisfying in the same way popping bubble wrap is satisfying — mindless, repetitive, exactly what a slow afternoon calls for.
How many lives do I get?
Standard three lives — lose all three and the run ends.
Do power-ups appear?
The game keeps things classic and focused on core paddle-and-ball mechanics.