Boom Blox is a puzzle video game for the Wii console, mobile devices and N-Gage 2.0 developed by EA Los Angeles in conjunction with film director Steven Spielberg. The game was released on May 6, 2008, in North America and on May 9, 2008, in Europe. The N-Gage version of the game was released on December 3, 2008.
The game has over 300 single-player levels as well as over 100 cooperative and competitive multiplayer levels. Additionally, there is a mode that allows players to create their own levels and share them with people added to their Friend Code list via WiiConnect24.
A sequel to Boom Blox has been released, titled Boom Blox Bash Party.
Boom Blox has been described as Jenga meets Tetris Blast, Breakout, Duck Hunt, and Lego. Gameplay emphasises reflexes, dexterity, and problem-solving skills. It features a physics model that ensures the blocks collapse realistically, and also measures the velocity at which an object is thrown, recognising four distinct speeds. In the game, players use the Wii Remote to manipulate bowling balls, baseballs, laser guns, and water hoses in order to knock over structures made of blocks. Alternately, they use the Wii Remote to grab blocks in Jenga-style gameplay, taking care to remove a maximum number of blocks without toppling the precariously stacked tower.
Adventure mode is story-based and offers character-driven scenarios that involve defending forts or the various domino-shaped characters from enemy attacks and guiding these characters by clearing the path in front of them as they walk. Explore mode presents puzzle-based objectives that focus on different groups of skills, allowing the player to discover the basic mechanics of the game.
In 2005, it was announced that Steven Spielberg and Electronic Arts would be collaborating to create three new video game titles. Many were surprised when, in July, 2007, EA announced that their first collaboration of the three would be Boom Blox, a puzzle game for Wii. Spielberg explained the unexpected choice, stating that "I really wanted to create a video game that I could play with my kids." He elaborated his younger children enjoy playing the Wii more than the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360, and this was a chance to "show [them] they can have fun playing games that are non-violent and much more creative and strategic". His children gave feedback for the game because they were allowed to play a prototype.
During development, the focus was on creating a video game specifically for Wii, but senior producer Amir Rahimi has indicated that Boom Blox may be ported to other consoles in the future.
Boom Blox received many positive reviews with aggregate scores of 85/100 from Metacritic and 87% from Game Rankings. N-Europe gave the game a 9/10 score, praising its "amazing replay value" and its "ingenious puzzles". Electronic Gaming Monthly out of three scores gave it an A+, an A, and an A-, stating it as "immensely accessible, wonderfully tactile, and stands as one of the best uses of 3D space." It was awarded Best Wii Game of the Year by Spike TV in their Video Game Awards. It was awarded Best Family Game for the Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game awards. It was also awarded Best Casual Game of 2008 at the British Academy Video Games Awards. It was also nominated for several other Wii-specific awards by IGN, including Best Puzzle Game, Best Local Multiplayer Game, Best Use of the Wii-Mote, and Most Innovative Design.
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