For years, BrickBreaker iPhone apps were always a pale imitation of the original, classic BlackBerry version of the game. But that’s all changed now, ever since an app called Classic BrickBreaker was introduced by a developer named Solomon Sapiro.

I’ve only spent about 1 hour testing the new version of the game, but I find it a faithful reproduction of the original BrickBreaker.

As per the game’s listing in the app store:

This iOS remake of the old classic BrickBreaker offers an authentic experience of the original game, anatomically correct down to every pixel, movement, and feature.

Thanks to Vince and Oliver for alerting me to this iPhone version of BrickBreaker. Vince has played it extensively (including a 20 million+ point game!) and had this to say about the iPhone version compared to the original BlackBerry version:

The game app developed by Solomon Sapiro differs from the original Blackberry game in a few ways, the most significant being that:

After the “the Turn”, i.e., the 3X through and all subsequent times, the ball starts out kind of slow, (and the bricks drop each time the ball strikes the paddle), but after ~ 50 bounces, the ball speeds up for the next 50 or so strikes.

This make the game much more difficult than the original game.

Another positive thing about the iPhone version of BrickBreaker is it saves your game progress. On the BlackBerry, if your phone ever reset, your high score progress would be lost. With the iPhone version, your progress is retained! Sweet.

You can find Solomon Sapiro’s Classic BrickBreaker by searching for it in the App Store.

Speed BrickBreaker is a challenge for expert BrickBreaker players who have already beaten the game.

The goal in Speed BrickBreaker is to get the maximum score over a set number of levels. For example in 2-round speed BrickBreaker you try and get the highest possible score over 2 rounds (twice through 34 levels).

High scores submitted so far:

• 1-Round
• 2-Round
• 3-Round
• 4-Round
• 5-Round
• 6-Round
• 7-Round
• 8-Round
• 9-Round
• 10-Round

Please see below for the Speed BrickBreaker high score board. If you’d like your score posted here, please email me (contact …at… brickbreaker guide . com) and I will put it up.

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1-Round

Submitted by Nicholas. Score: 20,020

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2-Round

Submitted by Nicholas. Score: 38,890

Submitted by Maso. Score: 38,830

Submitted by Nick D. Score: 38,290

Submitted by Slavivodka33. Score: 38,240

Submitted by Marc. Score: 38,140

Submitted by Pierre. Score: 37,670

Submitted by Cory V. Score: 37,640

Submitted by LukaszMM. Score: 36,180

Submitted by Ian. Score: 35,960

Submitted by Nick. Score: 35,460

Submitted by Nikos (at Brussels Grande Place). Score: 34,250

Submitted by Nikos (with South African pupils). Score: 33,600

Submitted by Nikos. Score: 33,470

Submitted by Nikos (at Taj Mahal). Score: 32,880

Submitted by Nikos (at Forbidden City). Score: 32,000

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3-Round

Submitted by Nicholas. Score: 58,310

Submitted by Nick D. Score: 56,750

Submitted by Nikos (at Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum). Score: 50,880

Submitted by Nikos. Score: 50,080 (in Mexico by Theothiuacan pyramid of the sun)

Submitted by Nikos (at Great Wall). Score: 48,360

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4-Round

Submitted by Nicholas. Score: 78,470

Submitted by Nick D. Score: 76,010

Submitted by Nikos (with snow at the Ancient Agora of Athens). Score: 68,160

Submitted by Nikos (by a church in the Santorini volcano). Score: 67,740

Submitted by Nikos (w/ Trinidad sunset). Score: 66,940

Submitted by Nikos (w/ Santorini sunset). Score: 63,760

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5-Round

Submitted by Nicholas. Score: 97,780

Submitted by Nick D. Score: 95,190

Submitted by Nikos (over Abu Dhabi). Score: 85,630

Submitted by Nikos (at the Elgin Marbles). Score: 83,430

Submitted by Nikos (Santorini sunset part 2). Score: 80,980

Submitted by Nikos (at the Bolshoi). Score: 77,280

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6-Round

Submitted by Nicholas. Score: 117,410

Submitted by Nikos (at Santorini volcanic caldera). Score: 101,740

Submitted by Nikos (at Thesion Temple). Score: 100,380

Submitted by Nikos (at the Acropolis). Score: 96,260

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7-Round

Submitted by Nicholas. Score: 137,130

Submitted by Nikos (at the Louvre). Score: 118,050

Submitted by Nikos (at the Eiffer Tower). Score: 108,210

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8-Round

Submitted by Nicholas. Score: 155,530

Submitted by Nikos (night-time at the Acropolis). Score: 135,090

Submitted by Nikos (flying over the Bosphorous Bridge). Score: 132,840

Submitted by Nikos (in Venice). Score: 126,370

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9-Round

Submitted by Nicholas. Score: 174,040

Submitted by Nikos (at Tirana Historical Center). Score: 151,510

Submitted by Nikos (in Nepal). Score: 148,700

Submitted by Nikos (flying over the Himalayas). Score: 146,230

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10-Round

Submitted by Maso. Score: 195,220

Submitted by Nicholas. Score: 192,260

Submitted by slavivodka33. Score: 188,360

Submitted by Pierre. Score: 188,260

Submitted by Marc. Score: 187,820

Submitted by Nick. Score: 182,070

Submitted by Nikos (at Spetses Island). Score: 171450

Submitted by Nikos (with Delhi elephant). Score: 165,400

Submitted by Nikos at the Akrotiri prehistoric
settlement at Santorini. Score: 162,920

One of the most common questions I receive from readers is whether you can save a BrickBreaker high score without ending the game in progress.

To my knowledge, it is not possible to save your game.

Often, people are working on a big high score but need to reset their BlackBerry. Be aware, if you take the battery out of your phone, it will erase your high score. To record the high score you’ve been working on, you can either lose all your lives or force-quit the game by right-clicking the BlackBerry menu button and selecting Close, then clicking Yes on the confirmation screen. You’ll need to start your next game from zero.

Have other questions? Email me here.

At this point, I assume you already know the most important BrickBreaker Secrets to improving your high score:

1. Your overall strategy should be to survive past the “Turn”
2. You understand the ball speed changes
3. You know the capsules inside and out
4. You are comfortable with your BlackBerry settings and know how to pause a game in progress
5. You know how to Walk the Dog
6. You’ve familiarized yourself with every BrickBreaker level

I also assume you’ve already passed Level 34 — twice. If you haven’t passed Level 34 twice, you shouldn’t be thinking about your high score yet. You should be thinking about survival.

Once you’ve passed the Turn, and it’s time to ramp up your score, here are a few secrets to scoring points as quickly as possible.

• Damaging a brick with the Laser nets you 20 points, compared with 10 points when you damage it with the ball. Destroy as many bricks as possible with the Laser.
• Each capsule is worth 50 points. Grab every capsule you can…even the Flip! (Exception: if you have the Laser and lots of bricks left to destroy, keep the Laser.)
• Hitting a brick with a Gun bullet gives you 50 points. Try to use the bullets on unbreakable bricks — that’s 50 points you wouldn’t otherwise get.

Another thing you should do once you’re past the Turn is practice. Take this opportunity to learn the opening moves on each level. Memorize where the capsules are. Learn how to cope with using the Flip. And so on. This way if you ever find yourself starting from the beginning of the game, you’ll be better prepared to make it past the Turn again.

Often I’ll see so-called BrickBreaker cheats posted on BlackBerry message boards. In other words, someone will post a cheat code or hack that’s supposed to help you advance through the game more easily, like there used to be on old Nintendo games.

I have bad news for you: there are no BrickBreaker cheats. If you see a BrickBreaker cheat code posted online, you can be sure it’s fake. I don’t know why people post fake cheat codes online, but my guess is they get a kick out of all the poor suckers who will try out the codes over and over without success. Often people will post follow-ups in the forum saying something like, “I tried this over and over on my BlackBerry but I couldn’t get it to work”. I can hear the original poster laughing quietly to himself.

I also have good news for you: you don’t need BrickBreaker cheat codes to get a six- or seven-figure high score. You just need a bit of patience and practice. Basically, if you can survive through all 34 levels twice, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get a big high score. Check out my BrickBreaker Game Strategy article to learn the specifics.