Brick Breaker Tips: How to Aim and Clear Levels Fast
To get good at Brick Breaker, aim with the paddle: the middle sends the ball straight up and the ends send it off at a steep angle. Use that to open a gap and get the ball above the bricks, where it breaks many of them on its own. Keep your eyes on the ball rather than on power-ups, and save steep shots from the ends for the last few bricks.
1. Aim with the paddle, not with luck
Every brick breaker game lets you steer the ball through the paddle. On GameLake, the spot where the pearl lands on the log decides its new direction: the middle sends it almost straight up, halfway out gives a gentle lean, and the very end gives the steepest angle, about 62 degrees from straight up.
So when you want the ball to go left, catch it with the left part of the paddle; to go right, catch it with the right part. Move a moment early and let the ball land where you want instead of chasing it at the last second, which nearly always ends in a middle hit.
Hard to picture? Turn on Teach me and Hop draws the whole thing for you: where the pearl will land, a faint log showing where to catch it, and the line it will take to the brick he picked. Coached runs are practice and don't count on the leaderboard.
2. Tunnel through and get the ball above the bricks
The single best thing that can happen in a brick breaker level is the ball getting behind the wall. Up there it bounces between the ceiling and the backs of the bricks, breaking one after another without coming back to you. That's also how you build the biggest combos.
To get there, pick one column (usually near a side wall, where it's easy to aim) and keep hitting it until it's open all the way up. Then send the ball up that tunnel with a steep shot from the end of the paddle.
3. Build combos for big scores
Points multiply while the ball keeps breaking bricks without touching your paddle. On GameLake each brick adds one to the combo: the 4th to 6th bricks score ×2, the 7th to 9th ×3, and from the 13th on every brick scores ×5. A tunnel shot like the one above is worth far more than the same bricks broken one by one.
- Break the tough bricks (stones and ice) during a combo when you can: an ice block is worth 40 points, so ×5 makes it 200.
- Three pearls is a combo machine. Several pearls break bricks while the combo climbs, and the combo only resets when one of them touches the log.
- The Laser frog zaps count too: every brick it breaks adds to the combo.
4. Use power-ups, but never chase them
Losing a life costs more than any power-up gives you, and losing a life also switches off every power-up you have. So the rule is simple: the ball comes first. Only go for a falling bubble when the ball is high up and heading away from you.
| Power-up | Best use |
|---|---|
| Long log | Relax and go for steep shots from the ends; a wider log forgives late catches. |
| Three pearls | Aim the extra pearls at a tunnel or the tough bricks; don't try to save all three. |
| Slow pearl | Perfect for the last few bricks, when you need careful, precise catches. |
| Sticky log | Catch, slide to where you want, then lift your finger to send the pearl exactly where you aim. |
| Laser frog | Park the log under a column of stones or ice and let the zaps chew through it. |
Golden shells always drop a power-up, so break them early: the sooner the power arrives, the more of the level it helps with.
5. Finish the last bricks quickly
The last two or three bricks are where most of a level's time goes. Two habits help:
- Look where the brick is, then aim for it. A brick near a side wall is easiest to hit with a steep shot from the far end of the paddle, bouncing off the wall on the way.
- Change the angle if you keep missing. If the ball keeps going up and down the same path, catch it on a different part of the paddle. (If a ball goes round the same loop for a while without breaking anything, the game also tilts it a little so it can't loop forever.)
6. Stay calm when it speeds up
The ball gets a little faster with every brick you break, so each level ends faster than it began, and Hard starts faster and with a shorter log. Keep your paddle near the middle while the ball is high, so you're never more than half a screen from where it comes down. On a phone, drag with your thumb low on the screen: the log follows your finger's movement, so you can keep your whole hand out of the way.
Frequently asked questions
How do you aim in Brick Breaker?
With the paddle. Where the ball lands on it sets the angle: the middle sends it nearly straight up and the ends send it out at up to about 62 degrees. Catch it with the left part to send it left, the right part to send it right.
What is the best strategy in Brick Breaker?
Open a column near a side wall and send the ball up through it. Once the ball is above the bricks it breaks many of them by itself and builds a big combo, while you just wait for it to come back.
How do you get a high score?
Long combos. Points multiply while the ball keeps breaking bricks without touching the paddle, up to ×5 on GameLake, so tunnel shots and multi-ball score far more than single hits. Finishing a run with lives left adds a bonus too.
How do I stop the ball going back and forth the same way?
Catch it on a different part of the paddle to change its angle. GameLake also never lets the ball fly flat, and tilts it slightly if it loops for a while without breaking anything.
Should I always catch power-ups?
No. Only when the ball is safely high up. Missing a power-up costs nothing, but losing the ball costs a life and switches off every power-up you have.