BowStack
Upside-down Tetris, fired from a bow. Shards climb instead of falling — aim along the floor, pull the string back and let go.
Runs in any modern browser. Add it to your home screen and it works offline.
Three moves. That's the whole game.
Everything happens with one thumb, and the order matters — so here it is in order.
Aim
Drag anywhere to slide the bow along the floor. Tap to rotate the shard you're holding — the next one is always shown beside you.
Pull
Pull down and hold. The further you drag the string back, the faster the shard will fly. A short pull drifts up gently; a full pull rockets.
Fire
Release. The shard climbs until it hits the stack or the ceiling, then locks in place. Fill a row and it clears — and everything above it floats up.
You'll get to know these.
Same seven shapes you already know, drawn in BowStack's colours and named for how they behave when they're travelling upward.
Simple to learn. Rough to master.
- A 10 × 19 board, filling downward from the ceiling instead of up from the floor.
- Shot speed is set by how far you pull — placement is aim, not just timing.
- Shards stop at the first thing they hit. They can't tunnel through your stack.
- Clear a row and everything above it floats up, which can cascade into more clears.
- A combo multiplier for chained clears, so a well-set-up row is worth several sloppy ones.
- Five difficulty levels tied to your score — the shot timer tightens from 8 seconds down to 3.
- No ads, no forced sign-in, no waiting on an energy meter.
- Works offline once it's loaded, and installs to your home screen from the browser.
What a run looks like.
Before you start.
Is BowStack free?
Yes. It's free to play in your browser right now, and it will be a free download on the App Store and Google Play. There are no ads and no forced sign-in.
Do I need to install anything?
No. BowStack runs in any modern mobile or desktop browser. On a phone you can add it to your home screen and it behaves like an installed app, including offline.
Isn't this just Tetris?
It shares the seven shapes and nothing else. Shards travel upward and stack against the ceiling rather than dropping into a well. You fire them with a bow, so how far you pull the string decides how fast the shard flies, and it stops at the first thing it hits. When a row clears, everything above it floats up instead of settling down.
Which platforms is it on?
You can play it in the browser today. Android and iOS builds are on their way to Google Play and the App Store — this page will link to them the day they go live.
Does it work offline?
Yes. After the first load the whole game is cached on your device, so it keeps running when your train goes underground.
How big is the download?
About 71 KB. The entire game — code, layout and artwork — is smaller than a single photo.
Designed and built by Mate Bersenadze, founder of ArcadeOnToast.