Blackbox Overview: Finally an unconventional iPhone puzzle game that you wish you hadn’t installed!

While playing, remember that patience is virtue.


In this time of the global pandemic, many of us are searching for new ways to entertain ourselves while we are in isolation or are distancing ourselves socially. The App Store has an abundance of iPhone games that you can happily spend hours on.

There’s a game for everyone’s taste, whether you enjoy a repetitive game you can play alone, or to multiplayer online adventures with complex worlds and storylines.No matter how simple or complex these games are, they usually share one common trait.

To play, all you need to know is how to tap and swipe on your screen. That’s one of the many features that sets Blackbox apart. This game of puzzles requires you to use almost all of your iPhone’s functions and sensors except tapping and swiping your screen.

It’s an iPhone game that forces you to think creatively. For that reason alone, Blackbox deserves its spot in the App Store list of top free games.

Blackbox makes you think out of the box

Blackbox’s premise is simple. In each puzzle, you’ll see a number of squares with dots in the middle. These squares are called “lights.” Your goal with each puzzle is to turn these lights on. You’ll know the light is on when the colored dot in the center fills the whole square.

This is where Blackbox’s seeming simplicity stops being so simple. Since you can’t turn the lights on by swiping or tapping, you’ll have to figure out some other way to do it. The puzzle will give you subtle hints on what you need to do.

It could mean fiddling with your iPhone’s volume controls, turning off the Wi-Fi, holding the phone upside-down, or even adjusting the microphone to capture the sounds around you. You’ll find that there are specific ways to solve a puzzle, but they’ll rarely involve tapping or swiping.

When playing Blackbox, remember that patience is a virtue

It can take time to solve a Blackbox puzzle. But when you do manage to solve one, you’re likely to feel a satisfying buzz.

That rewarding feeling can become amplified when you switch to the game’s home grid. Your home grid shows all the puzzles available to you, solved and unsolved. Light represents a puzzle—solved puzzles are turned on, while unsolved puzzles are off.

The more turned-on lights you see on your home grid, the prouder you’d probably feel about your puzzle-solving abilities.

Blackbox puzzles can also make you feel frustrated. Thankfully, the game’s developer understands this not-so-happy effect. The game is designed as such that you’re allowed to walk away from the puzzle you’re trying to solve.

In the meantime, you can take a breather or open a different puzzle. You can return to your previously unsolved game whenever you’re up for it again. In this way, Blackbox can be taken as an exercise in patience.

But if you really can’t figure out how to turn a light on, you can use a hint.

Blackbox is free to play, but not totally free

Speaking of hints, you’ll get six hints for free when you first use Blackbox. A hint is only good for one light, though, and not for the entire puzzle. You’re advised to use these hints sparingly because when you run out, there are only two options to get more.

Another option is to invite your friends to download and play the game using your individual link. You’ll get one free hint for every friend that gets Blackbox through your link.

In this time of the global pandemic, many are working from home and feeling isolated. Introducing Blackbox to your work colleagues could be a great way to feel connected again, build team morale, and encourage work-life balance.

You can buy hints or puzzle bundles from Blackbox. When you look at your home grid, you’ll see lights surrounded by grey. These are either puzzles you’ll need to pay to play or challenges you have yet to unlock.

Blackbox is available to play only on iPhones with at least iOS 13 at the time of this overview. Thus, you’re out of luck if you’re using older software.

The App Store has no lack of games for every type of mobile gamer. If you’re into puzzles and you consider yourself a patient person, then maybe Blackbox is for you. You may find this game extremely rewarding. But if you’re one who is easily frustrated, you can just stick to your casual and multiplayer games.


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