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ChronoBlocks Support

Get help with the time-bending block puzzle. Find answers, learn the mechanics, and contact our team.

Getting Started

Quick start guide

FAQ

Common questions

Report a Bug

Help us fix issues

Contact Support

Email our team

Quick Start Guide

From download to your first Pivot Clear in 4 steps

1

Download

Get ChronoBlocks free on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. The Classic Pack and the Chrono theme are included.

2

Play the Tutorial

Interactive lessons cover rotating, moving, soft and hard drops, hold, wall kicks, lock delay, line clears and Pivot Clear setups.

3

Pick a Mode

Marathon for endless scoring, Sprint to clear 40 lines fastest, Ultra for the best score in 2 minutes, or Practice at any speed.

4

Sign in to Game Center

Optional, but it unlocks leaderboards and syncs your 16 achievements. Sign in from iOS Settings, then open the Leaderboards button on the main menu.

Common Issues

Quick solutions to frequent problems

Can't Restore Purchases

  • ✓Go to Settings > Purchases > Restore Purchases
  • ✓Make sure you're signed in with the same Apple ID you bought with
  • ✓Requires an internet connection
  • ✓Wait a few seconds for Apple to verify, then restart the app if packs or themes still show as locked

Score Not on the Leaderboard

  • ✓Sign in to Game Center in iOS Settings; the app shows a warning when you're not signed in
  • ✓Practice and Tutorial games never post to leaderboards
  • ✓A Sprint game that ends before 40 lines is not posted
  • ✓Scores made offline are queued and uploaded the next time you sign in

Achievements Don't Match Game Center

  • ✓Achievements are stored locally and synced to Game Center automatically
  • ✓Open Settings > Achievement Sync to push your local progress to Game Center
  • ✓Check progress any time in Statistics > Achievements
  • ✓Choose where notifications appear (ChronoBlocks, Game Center or both) in Performance Settings

No Music or Sound

  • ✓If your iPhone's Silent switch is on, music stays off. Flip the switch or turn off Respect Silent Switch in Settings > Silent Mode
  • ✓Check Master Sound and Enable Music in Settings > Audio & Feedback
  • ✓Menu, Gameplay, Tutorial, Victory and Defeat music are each toggled separately
  • ✓Music can auto-disable at level 15+ when performance mode is on

Frame Drops at High Levels

  • ✓Open Settings > Performance Settings
  • ✓Set auto-save, background music, sounds and haptics to auto-disable at level 15+
  • ✓Auto-save can cause brief frame drops during very fast play; turning it off at 15+ is the biggest win
  • ✓Lower the parallax background motion in Visual Preferences

Lost a Game After a Crash or Call

  • ✓ChronoBlocks auto-saves continuously and restores the game when you reopen the app
  • ✓Works in Marathon, Sprint, Ultra and Practice, not in the Tutorial
  • ✓The game auto-pauses for phone calls and app switches
  • ✓Check Auto-Save Game State is on in Settings > Performance Settings, and hasn't auto-disabled at level 15+

Keyboard or Controller Not Responding

  • ✓Keyboard: Settings > Keyboard Controls shows "Hardware keyboard detected" and has an enable toggle
  • ✓Keyboards need Bluetooth or USB; works with iPad Smart Keyboard and on Mac
  • ✓Controllers: Xbox, PlayStation and MFi controllers paired in iOS Settings > Bluetooth
  • ✓Movement feels sluggish? Switch Input Responsiveness to Fast (applies to touch, controller and keyboard)

Pivot Clear Didn't Count

  • ✓The rotation must be the last move before the piece locks
  • ✓Hard dropping right after the rotation is fine
  • ✓Moving, soft dropping, letting it fall a row, or holding cancels it
  • ✓3 of the 4 cells diagonal to the T piece's centre must be filled or a wall; both front corners filled makes it a full Pivot Clear, otherwise a Mini

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers organized by topic

What's free and what's paid?

ChronoBlocks is free to download and play. Every mode, the Classic Pack (7 pieces) and the Chrono theme are included. Optional one-time purchases:

ChronoPacks: Temporal Extensions ($3.99), Pentomino Masters ($2.99), Geometric Foundations ($2.99).

Themes: Nostalgic, Neon Pulse, Pastel Dream, Molten Core and Cosmic Flux at $0.99 each, or all five for $4.00.

Multiplayer: $6.99, a one-time unlock for Co-op and Versus, coming in the next update.

Unlock Everything: $14.99 for all ChronoPacks, all themes and Multiplayer in one purchase.

There are no subscriptions and no ads.

How do I restore my purchases?

Go to Settings > Purchases > Restore Purchases. This restores every pack, theme and bundle bought with your Apple ID, including on a new iPhone or iPad. You need an internet connection.

I bought the theme bundle. Do I still need to buy the themes?

No. The bundle covers all five premium themes. If any theme still shows a price, use Restore Purchases and restart the app.

How do I get a refund?

Purchases are handled by Apple, so refunds go through Apple: open reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in with the Apple ID you bought with, find ChronoBlocks and choose Request a refund. We can't issue refunds directly.

What do the three time powers do?

Slow Motion: 3 charges. Slows the fall for 5 seconds.

Rewind: 2 charges. Jumps the board back 10 gravity steps, so a bad placement can be undone.

Fast Forward: 2 charges. Speeds the game up for 3 seconds when you want to burn through pieces.

Tap the power buttons above the board, or on a controller use L2/LT for Slow Motion, R2/RT for Fast Forward and click the left stick for Rewind.

How do I earn charges back?

Charges come back from clearing lines:

  • • +1 per line clear, +2 for a clear of 4 or more lines
  • • +1 for a Pivot Clear, +1 while you're on a Streak
  • • Doubled when clears come within 2 seconds of each other
  • • Rewind refills on a 3+ line clear or a Pivot Clear; Fast Forward on a 2+ line clear or a Pivot Clear

Do time powers affect my leaderboard score?

No. Powers are part of the game in every mode and scores with powers post normally. Only games altered with the Debug Panel (TestFlight builds) are excluded from leaderboards.

How is a line clear scored?

  • • Single (1 line): 100 × level
  • • Double (2 lines): 300 × level
  • • Triple (3 lines): 500 × level
  • • QuadStack (4 lines): 800 × level
  • • PentaStack (5 lines): 1200 × level, needs a 5-wide beam from Temporal Extensions
  • • HexaStack (6 lines): 1600 × level, needs the 6-wide beam

What is a Pivot Clear and how much is it worth?

Rotate the T piece (Phase Fork) into a pocket where 3 of the 4 cells diagonal to its centre are filled or a wall, and lock it with the rotation as your last move. Both front corners filled makes it a full Pivot Clear; otherwise it's a Mini.

  • • Pivot Clear Single: 800 × level
  • • Pivot Clear Double: 1200 × level
  • • Pivot Clear Triple: 1600 × level, the highest single clear
  • • Mini Single: 200 × level, Mini Double: 400 × level

Every Pivot Clear counts toward a Streak. The Tutorial's last lessons walk through building the setup.

How does the Streak system work?

Back-to-back QuadStacks, PentaStacks, HexaStacks or Pivot Clears earn ×1.5. Pieces that clear nothing in between don't break the chain; a plain Single, Double or Triple does. The chain counter on screen shows your current Streak.

What are ChronoSweep, ChronoRotation and ChronoBag?

ChronoSweep: clearing every block off the board. Tracked in your statistics.

ChronoRotation: the rotation system with wall kicks, so a piece against a wall or a stack still rotates by nudging sideways. Using it unlocks an achievement.

ChronoBag: the piece randomizer. It deals every selected piece before repeating, so there are no droughts of a piece you need.

How does lock delay work?

When a piece lands you get a 0.5 second grace period. Moves and rotations reset it, up to 15 times per drop; the resets refresh only when the piece falls to a new lowest row. Soft drop doesn't reset it and hard drop locks instantly. You can only Hold once per piece.

What's the difference between the modes?

Marathon: endless. The level and speed rise every 10 lines. Best for high scores.

Sprint: clear exactly 40 lines as fast as you can. Time is your score, lower is better.

Ultra: the highest score you can reach in exactly 2 minutes. Pivot Clears and Streaks are the way to win it.

Practice: set any speed from 0.1× to 3.0× before you start; the board auto-clears when full. Nothing posts to leaderboards.

Tutorial: interactive lessons from your first rotation to a Pivot Clear setup.

Marathon, Sprint and Ultra support custom piece selection from your ChronoPacks. Practice and Tutorial use the standard set.

Where is multiplayer? The menu says Coming Soon.

Co-op and Versus ship in the next update. Co-op puts two players on one shared board, taking turns with a shared score and Team Bonus. Versus is 1v1 on two boards with time powers you aim at your opponent. Multiplayer will be a $6.99 one-time unlock, included in Unlock Everything, and needs Game Center for matchmaking and invites. There's no date to announce yet; the app will show a What's New screen when it arrives.

Can I pause and come back later?

Yes. The game auto-pauses when you open Settings or Help, take a call or switch apps, and it auto-saves continuously in Marathon, Sprint, Ultra and Practice. Reopen the app and your game is restored, including hold piece and next queue.

What's in each ChronoPack?

Classic Pack (free): Chrono Beam, Time Core, Phase Fork, Slipwave, Backwave, Inverse Loop and Loop Anchor. These seven are always in the bag.

Temporal Extensions: Phase Beam (3-wide), Chrono Lance (5-wide) and Time Spear (6-wide). The long beams make PentaStacks and HexaStacks possible.

Pentomino Masters: six five-block pieces: Time Shift, Phase Ladder, Temporal Wave, Time Branch, Phase Boot and Chrono Corner.

Geometric Foundations: Phase Bridge, Big Loop, Big Fork, Big Wave and Temporal Cross.

The board is 12 columns wide to give the larger pieces room.

How do I pick which pieces are in the bag?

  1. On the mode screen, choose your ChronoPacks
  2. Tap "Show pieces" under a pack to expand it
  3. Toggle the checkmark on any piece; Classic pieces stay selected
  4. Your selection is saved and the ChronoBag uses only those pieces

Try a challenge: only T, I and O pieces for Pivot Clear practice, or every piece from every pack for chaos.

How do I change the theme or piece style?

Settings > Color Themes lets you preview and select Chrono (free), Nostalgic, Neon Pulse, Pastel Dream, Molten Core or Cosmic Flux. Piece Visual Style is separate and free: Gradient, Neon Glow, Crystal 3D, Metallic, Minimal or Nostalgic. Changes apply immediately, there's no Save button.

What are the touch controls?

  • • Tap the left side of the board: rotate counterclockwise
  • • Tap the right side: rotate clockwise
  • • Swipe left or right: move the piece
  • • Swipe down and release: hard drop
  • • Swipe up: hold the piece
  • • Eye icon (bottom right): show or hide the hidden rows above the board

What are the keyboard controls?

Connect a Bluetooth or USB keyboard, or use an iPad keyboard. Enable it in Settings > Keyboard Controls.

  • • Left / Right arrows: move
  • • Down arrow: soft drop (hold to repeat)
  • • Z: rotate counterclockwise; X or Up arrow: rotate clockwise
  • • Space: hard drop
  • • C: hold
  • • Esc: pause

What are the controller mappings?

Xbox, PlayStation and MFi controllers are supported.

  • • D-pad / left stick: move; down for soft drop
  • • A (Xbox) / Cross (PS): hard drop
  • • Y / Triangle: hold
  • • B / Circle: rotate clockwise; X / Square: rotate counterclockwise (LB/RB or L1/R1 also rotate)
  • • LT / L2: Slow Motion; RT / R2: Fast Forward; left stick click: Rewind
  • • Right stick click: pause and resume; Menu / Options: exit game dialog

What do DAS and ARR mean?

DAS is the delay before a held direction starts repeating; ARR is how fast it repeats. Settings > Input Responsiveness has two presets that apply to touch, controller and keyboard at once:

Standard: DAS 167 ms, ARR 33 ms. The classic feel.

Fast: DAS 90 ms, ARR 8 ms. Snappier sideways movement.

Which leaderboards and achievements are there?

Leaderboards open from the main menu and need a Game Center sign-in. There are 16 achievements in seven categories: Getting Started, Line Clearing Mastery, Pivot Clear Expert, Streak & Chain Master, Performance, Mode-Specific and Advanced Techniques. Track them in Statistics > Achievements; they're stored on your device and synced to Game Center.

What does the Statistics screen show?

Overview: totals, PPS, APM, Pivot Clear rate, QuadStack rate and your best records.

History: your last 100 games, each with a screenshot of the final board. Tap a game to see it full size.

Modes: per-mode best, average and trends.

Progress: charts of your performance over time, plus per-piece usage.

Achievements: all 16 with progress. The info button explains every term.

Can I export or delete my data?

Yes, both from the Statistics screen menu:

Export Data saves your statistics and game history as a JSON file you can share or back up.

Clear All Data permanently deletes all statistics and history on the device.

Clear All Data cannot be undone. Export first if you want a copy.

Statistics, achievements and settings live on your device. For anything covered by the privacy policy, such as Game Center data, email privacy@shadowping.net.

Does ChronoBlocks work offline?

Works offline:

  • • Every single-player mode and the Tutorial
  • • Statistics, history and achievements (kept locally)
  • • Packs and themes you already own

Needs internet:

  • • Buying or restoring purchases
  • • Posting to leaderboards (offline scores are queued and sent at your next sign-in)
  • • Multiplayer, once it ships

How does the music system work?

Music is set per context: Menu, Gameplay, Tutorial, Victory and Defeat each have their own toggle and track choice in Settings > Music Tracks. There are five gameplay tracks, including Chrono Pulse, Temporal Flow and Eclipse Phase. During a game the music button lets you pause or switch tracks on the fly. Music pauses with the game and with Settings or Help, and resumes when you continue.

Which accessibility features are included?

  • • VoiceOver support across menus and the board
  • • Voice announcements for Pivot Clears, Streaks, lock delay, ghost piece and the buffer zone
  • • Audio descriptions and verbose rotation feedback
  • • High contrast mode and six piece visual styles
  • • Parallax background motion: Off, Low, Medium or High
  • • Haptic feedback that can be switched off
  • • iPad layouts and hardware keyboard support

All of these are in Settings > Accessibility Features and Visual Preferences.

Need More Help?

Can't find what you're looking for? Our support team is here to help.

Email Support

Typical response time: 24-48 hours

Please include: device model, iOS version, app version (from the About screen), the mode you were playing, and what happened.

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