Ludography
83/100
Players2 ratings

Where to get it

Block Hole cover

1990 · Port · Konami · Puzzle · Shoot 'em up

Block Hole

Nintendo console exclusivePort

Quarth is a combination of Tetris-style gameplay and a fixed shooter in the Space Invaders tradition.

Released
16 March 1990
Platforms
Game BoyMSXNESNintendo 3DSNintendo SwitchWii U
Genres
PuzzleShoot 'em upShooter
Developers
Konami
Publishers
Ultra GamesKonami
Themes
ActionScience fiction
Country
Japan
Age ratings
ESRB ECERO A
Languages
English

About

Block Hole, released in Japan as Quarth, is a 1989 puzzle video game developed and published by Konami for arcades. It was released in Japan on October 9, 1989 and internationally the same year. It was ported to the MSX2, Famicom and Game Boy as Quarth, with the exception of the European Game Boy Color release of Konami GB Collection Vol.2, where the game was renamed to the generic title Block Game for unknown reasons.

A sequel, Block Quarth, released on the Konami Net i-mode service, with an updated Block Quarth DX in 2001. It was released internationally without the "DX" suffix in 2005.

Keywords

  • blocks
  • digital distribution
  • game boy link cable support
  • nintendo 3ds virtual console

Media

Block Hole screenshot 1

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Block Hole is a combination of Tetris-style gameplay and a fixed shooter in the Space Invaders tradition. The player's focus is on falling blocks, and the action is geometrical. Rather than arranging the blocks together to make a row of disappearing blocks, a spaceship positioned at the bottom of the screen shoots blocks upwards to make the falling block pattern into squares or rectangles. Once the blocks have been arranged properly, the shape is destroyed and the player is awarded points based on the shape's size.

The blocks continue to drop from the top of the screen in various incomplete shapes. As each level progresses, the blocks drop at greater speed and frequency. There are also various power-ups which could be located to increase ship's speed, among other bonuses.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Quarth on their December 1, 1989 issue as being the third most-successful table arcade unit of the month. Block Hole was a hit overseas in Europe, particularly the United Kingdom and Italy.

Philip J Reed of Nintendo Life gave the Game Boy version a 6/10 score, praising its fun gameplay but criticizing its repetitive nature.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Game Boy16 March 1990Japan · North America 31 December 1990
Nintendo 3DS22 February 2012Japan · North America 27 September 2012

Editions and related releases

Part of
Block Hole
Remastered as
Block Game
Built on it
Block Game
Port of
Block Hole

Games like this

Collections1 collection

Platform libraries

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.