Boom Blox

The Adventure and Explore modes are the single-player portion of Boom Blox, constituting over 300 levels.[9][10] More advanced levels challenge the player with time limits or a limited number of projectiles with which to complete the levels.[16] Each level also challenges the player to get a gold medal, though achieving a bronze medal is all that is required to reach the next level.[13]

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.[10][15] Explore mode presents puzzle-based objectives that focus on different groups of skills,[10] allowing the player to discover the basic mechanics of the game.

There are four basic "worlds" through which the player must progress. The first, Gem Kingdom, which takes place in medieval times, involves the player aiding a group of sheep dressed like knights to gather gems, and then protect said gems from invaders. The second level, Gorilda Rescue, takes place in an island jungle and involves the player helping a gorilla named Gert save her children from a tribe of hostile natives called the "Tiki". The third, Boots 'n' Bandits, is set in the Old West, and involves a beaver named Boots mining for gold with the help of the player, only to have it stolen by desperadoes; he then takes the gold back and protects the citizens of the nearby mining town from the bandits. The fourth and final world, Haunted Night, takes place on Halloween and tells the story of a family of kittens trying to get to a mansion at the end of a road; the player must defend them from enemies such as skeletons, grim reapers, and monkeys dressed as devils.[15][17]

In addition to single player, there are also over 100 cooperative and competitive multiplayer levels available in Party mode that can be played by up to four people on one screen, by taking turns, and on a split screen.[10][17] Cooperative play involves destroying or building structures together with friends and family while competitive play involves playing against others to accumulate the highest scores by destroying blocks with positive point values attached or attacking the opponent's castle to destroy their gem blocks within.[10]

Create mode is a built-in level editor that can be used to create or modify multiplayer and single-player levels.[18] These levels are designed using different types of blocks unlocked by playing through the single-player Explore mode.[9][17] The player can alter the size, height, and width of the blocks, clone them, and assign them attributes such as point value or type.[14] Then, the user-created levels can be played or sent to people added to the player's Friend roster via WiiConnect24.[11]

It was awarded Best Wii Game of the Year by Spike TV in their Video Game Awards.[26] It was awarded Best Family Game for the Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game awards.[27] It was also awarded Best Casual Game of 2008 at the British Academy Video Games Awards. It was nominated in the "Best Family Game Category" at the 12th Interactive Achievement Awards. In addition, it was nominated in the "Innovation Award" category in 9th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards. It was also nominated for several other Wii-specific awards by IGN, including Best Puzzle Game,[28] Best Local Multiplayer Game,[29] Best Use of the Wii-Mote,[30] and Most Innovative Design.[31]

Boom Blox sold 60,000 copies during its first month of availability in the United States, according to the NPD Group.[32] EA CEO John Riccitiello says that the game met internal expectations, though certain analysts assert that they expected the game to sell more.[33] In July 2008 EA revealed that Boom Blox sold over 450,000 copies during their first fiscal quarter and "continues to sell well".[34]