Business strategy and founder lessons

@ayoships

Decompiling the free game Block Blast, the creator claims an on-device XGBoost model scores each player's ad value and then tunes difficulty (easier, then "death algorithm") to trigger rewarded-ad revives; a reverse-engineering explainer that went viral at 20.8M plays.

20.8M plays · 14 Oct 2026

What they said

Block Blast: free puzzle game, App Store rating 4.9 (2.8M ratings), age 13+, chart #7 Casual. On-screen ad revenue chart: Block Blast $127M, Vita Mahjong $89.8M, Candy Crush Saga $81.1M. They say: over $100M in ads, more than Candy Crush.
Core claim: how well you do depends less on skill and more on how much you are worth to them in ads.
Inputs shown in code: phone model (EcpmFeatureConfig PHONE map such as iPad16,6: 1, iPhone17,2: 12, iPhone16,2: 23, iPhone9,4: 120), country (COUNTRY map ST:1, US:2 ... DZ:238), past ad revenue from you, even whether vibration is turned off (settings screen with Sound/BGM/Vibration).
All feeds an XGBoost regression model (remote config "xgboost_regression_model111.json", runModel() loops tree splits) that runs locally on the phone and predicts your ad value.
Depending on value, the game gets easier or harder.
Rule "Boost Then Kill": secretly makes it easier so you think it is the best run of your life up until your average game length.
If a really expensive ad is ready, it turns on you. "High Value Ad Harvest" trait (RewardHighValueAdHarvestTrait, HIGH_PRICE_MULTIPLIER = 3.5, MIN_HISTORY_AD_WATCH_COUNT = 3) confirms you have a history of watching ads, helps you beat your high score (currentScoreThreshold = currentGameHistoryHighScore + scoreDeltaStep*(t+1)), then triggers "Death Algorithm" (shouldTriggerDeath, setAlgorithmBottomList([deathAlgorithm])) that rigs the next block set so you cannot survive.
On loss, first thing shown is an offer to revive by watching the same ad (Revive_Proxy, E_Revive_Show, E_Advertisement_RewardOver).
If you revive, they add 10% to your high score secretly (AdPlusMinusStrategyTrait onAdd1ReviveSuccess: Math.floor(.1*e) ... storage classScore) so you keep coming back.
They run experiments on the exact minute to make you lose and measure which gets you to watch the revive ad (MABXiBaiTrait with arms 2:240, 3:360, 4:600, 5:1e3, 6:1800 seconds; reward = reviveSuccess / reviveShow).
Conclusion: "Block Blast isn't really a puzzle game. It's an ad harvest with a rigged game loop built to squeeze every penny out of you."
CTA: comment which app to decompile next. Caption: full technical explanation + code evidence will be on his website (bio) soon; submit email to get notified.

Try this

Creators: Copy the structure of this reverse-engineering explainer. Give every claim a visual receipt, such as highlighted code, a chart or a screen capture. That is why it reached 20.8M plays.
Treat the claims carefully: The reel says the game's code scores each player's ad value and tunes difficulty to trigger rewarded-ad revives. That is the creator's reading of decompiled code, and the game's maker has not confirmed it.
Ecommerce and app sellers: The useful lesson is that offers placed at a moment of strong emotion convert, such as post-purchase upsells and cart recovery messages.
Avoid dark patterns: Rigged difficulty or hidden pressure damages trust, especially for premium brands.
Agencies and freelancers: Run a teardown series on competitor sites, ad libraries or funnels, and gate the long write-up behind an email sign-up.

Watch the original

Watch the full reel on Instagram by @ayoships. Follow them for more.

Video, voice and ideas belong to @ayoships. Shown here as a short preview with our own summary, for commentary and education. Want it removed? Tell us.

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