Pocket Games
Block the Path
Block the Path is a two-player race on a 9×9 board: the first to bring their pawn to the other side wins. But on any turn you can also stay put and place a wall, to make your opponent’s route longer. The route can get longer, but it can never be closed.
Read the Block the Path guide: strategies and tips
The rules
The board is 9 squares by 9. Each player has one pawn, which starts on the middle square of their own side, and 10 walls. The first to reach any square on the opposite side wins. There are no draws.
On each turn you do one thing only:
- move your pawn one square forwards, backwards or sideways (never diagonally), as long as there is no wall in the way;
- place a wall. A wall is two squares long and sits in the grooves between squares, horizontally or vertically. Once placed, it stays there until the end.
Walls have three limits. They cannot overlap, not even by half; they cannot cross each other in the shape of a plus sign on the same crossing; and above all a wall can never close the route completely for either pawn. You can make your opponent’s route as long as you like, but they must always have at least one way to get there.
When the two pawns are face to face you can jump. If the square behind your opponent is free, you hop straight over them. If there is a wall or the edge behind them, you go diagonally instead, onto one of the two squares next to them, as long as no wall is in the way. You can never jump over a wall.
This is the mechanic of the board game made famous by Quoridor, with the board and walls of the two-player version.
On Pocket Games
Your pawn is blue and starts at the bottom; your opponent’s is orange and starts at the top. Each player’s finish row is tinted in their colour, so you can always see where you need to go. There are two modes:
- Against the bot, at three levels. You always have the blue pawn; who starts is drawn at random each game.
- Two players on the same phone, passing it back and forth each turn. A draw decides who opens the first game, then the first move alternates.
On your turn, the squares you can move to are marked with a dot, jumps included: just tap one. For a wall, switch to Wall with the toggle under the board, tap near a crossing to see a preview, tap the same spot again to rotate it (or use Rotate) and press Confirm. If the preview is red, that wall cannot be placed. After every move you are back to moving.
In the browser, on a computer, you can also play with the keyboard:
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Arrow keys or W A S D | move the cursor on the board, or the wall preview |
| Space or Enter | confirm: move the pawn to the cursor or place the wall |
| M | switch between Move and Wall |
| R | rotate the wall preview |
| Level | How the bot plays |
|---|---|
| Easy | nearly always takes a step towards the finish, now and then places a random wall |
| Medium | looks one move ahead and picks the one that leaves it less distance to go than you |
| Hard | thinks three moves ahead, its own, yours and its own again, and tries the walls that cut your shortest route |
At the top you can see how many walls each player has left, each in their own colour. The last wall placed has a border in the colour of whoever placed it.
- Statistics. Wins and losses against the bot are counted separately for each level and appear on the start screen. Two-player games are not counted.
- Resume. The game is saved after every move, two-player games included: if you leave, the start screen offers to pick it up again.
- No undo. A move made stays made, and a wall placed cannot be removed.
Count steps, not squares
The distance that matters is not as the crow flies, but the shortest route each player still has, walls included. At the start it is 8 steps for both, and whoever moves first is one step ahead.
To know who is winning, just compare the two routes: if yours is shorter than your opponent’s, you only need to run; if it is longer, you need to place walls. If they are equal, whoever has the move is ahead.
A wall costs a turn
Placing a wall means not moving forward. If the wall makes your opponent’s route only one step longer, you are even: you lost a step, and so did they. A wall really pays off when it forces a detour of two steps or more.
The best walls go in front of your opponent, on their shortest route, where the way around is longest: near the edge, or next to a wall that is already there.
Don’t waste walls early
A wall placed on the first move is easy to walk around: your opponent has all the time in the world to change route. Midway through, when the pawns are close to the finish, the same wall can cost four or five steps.
Walls are few and they don’t come back. A player who has run out can only run, while the one who still has some decides where the other will pass. That is why it is worth reaching the end with a few walls in hand: the hard bot counts them, and so should you.
Corridors and dead ends
Two or three walls in a row make a corridor: a pawn that enters has to go all the way through, and a wall placed at the exit at the right moment forces it to turn back. But the corridor works both ways. Walls have no owner and block your path too: before placing one, check that it doesn’t lengthen your route more than theirs.
The jump
When the pawns end up face to face, whoever has the move can jump and gain a step. So it is best not to stop right in front of your opponent when it is their turn: you hand them a square. If there is a wall behind you, the jump becomes diagonal, and sometimes that opens exactly the shortcut they were looking for.
Common mistakes
- Placing walls too early. They add little and leave you defenceless at the end of the game.
- Walls that block you too. A wall blocks anyone who passes that way.
- Running without watching the other player’s walls. If they still have walls and you don’t, the shortest route you see today can be twice as long tomorrow.
Frequently asked questions
Can you close your opponent’s route completely?
No. A wall that would leave either pawn with no route at all to the finish cannot be placed: the preview turns red. That applies to your own pawn too.
Can a game end in a draw?
No. The game only ends when a pawn reaches the other side.
Is the bot unbeatable?
No. On hard it sees three moves ahead and uses its walls well, but it doesn’t plan a long-term strategy: keeping a few walls back for the end is the surest way to beat it.
Do the statistics carry over to another phone?
No. Wins and losses stay on the device you played on and are not synced with your account.
More games to try
See the full list of games, or open Pocket Games in your browser: they are free and you don’t need an account.