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Stack Tower: the arcade stacker game for two

The prize machine from the arcade, made into a duel. Stop the sliding blocks right on top of each other, take the minor prize or go for the major prize at the top. Send the link, stack the same tower as your friend, and see who gets higher.

  • 2 players
  • About 2 min
  • Watchable live
  • Free, no sign-up

Challenge a friend

Send the link. As soon as they join, you both get exactly the same challenge.

Mode

Links stay open 48 hours after the last move.

A blue arcade cabinet with a dark light panel, a tower of glowing red blocks narrowing to the top and a big red button below

The prize machine game, without the coin slot

You have probably seen it at the cinema or in an arcade: a tall machine full of game consoles and headphones, a panel of lights and one big button. A row of lit blocks slides from side to side, you press the button to stop it, and the next row starts sliding, a little faster. Stack the rows to the top and the big prize is yours.

Stack Tower is that game as a duel. Stop each row right on top of the one below. Blocks that hang over the edge fall off, so your tower gets narrower, and a row that misses completely ends your run. Send the link, and your friend plays exactly the same tower at exactly the same speeds. Whoever stacks higher wins.

How to play Stack Tower

Send the link first

The game starts once your friend has joined, so you both start on equal terms. You can play at the same time or one after the other.

Stop the row

A row of lit blocks slides back and forth. Tap the big button, the panel or the space bar to stop it right on top of the row below.

Keep it straight

Blocks that hang over the edge fall off and the next row is that much narrower. Miss the tower completely and your run is over. Every row slides a little faster.

Minor or major?

In Arcade mode, row 11 is the minor prize: take it and stop, or play on for the major prize at row 15. Fall on the way up and you get nothing.

The arcade machine behind it

The game is best known from Stacker, a prize machine made by LAI Games and first produced in 2004. On the machine, you start with a row of three blocks. At row 4 the machine cuts the row to two blocks, and at row 10 to a single block, while the rows keep getting faster.

Row 11 is the minor prize line. There you choose: take a small prize and stop, or play on for the major prize at the top, row 15, and win nothing if you fall. Reach the top and the lights flash the word WIN. Stack Tower’s Arcade mode follows the same rules, from the three blocks to the WIN at the top.

Why the major prize is so hard to win

On a real machine you are not only playing against your own reflexes. The operator’s manual has a skill setting that sets roughly how often the major prize is won, from about 1 in 20 games up to about 1 in 800. The manufacturer’s recommendation is about one major win in every 400 games, with a major prize worth about 200 times the price of a game.

Stack Tower has no coin slot and no settings. Both players get the same tower with the same speeds, row by row, so the only thing that decides the game is how well you time the button.

Arcade and Endless

Arcade plays like the machine: 15 rows, three blocks cut to two at row 4 and to one at row 10, the minor prize at row 11 and the major prize at the top. Taking the minor prize beats falling on the way to the major prize, so think about what your friend has already done before you play on.

Endless has no top and no cuts. You start with three blocks and keep only what you stack straight, while every row slides a little faster. The highest tower wins. Whoever sends the link picks the mode.

Tips for stacking higher

  • Watch the rhythm, not the block. Every row moves at a steady beat. Count the steps and press on the beat, a moment before the blocks line up.
  • Stay calm on the fast rows. Most misses at the top come from pressing too early. Let the row come to you.
  • Protect your width. Three blocks forgive a small mistake, a single block does not. In Endless, the first rows are where you keep your width.
  • Know the score. In Arcade, if your friend fell before row 11, the minor prize already wins. If they took it, you need it too, and more blocks on your tower.

Stack Tower FAQ

What is the stacker game?

A timing game from arcade prize machines: a row of lit blocks slides from side to side, you stop it on top of the row below, and you try to build a tower to the top. Stack Tower plays it as a duel against a friend.

Is the arcade machine rigged?

The machine has a skill setting in its operator’s manual that controls roughly how often the major prize is won, from about 1 in 20 games to about 1 in 800. Stack Tower has no such setting: both players get the same tower and the same speeds.

Should I take the minor prize?

It depends on your friend. Taking the minor prize beats anyone who falls before the top, but loses to anyone who reaches it. If you play on and fall, you get nothing.

How is the winner decided?

The major prize beats the minor prize, and the minor prize beats no prize. Next, the higher tower wins, and on the same height, the tower with more blocks on it. In Endless mode, the higher tower wins.

Do both players get the same tower?

Yes. Every row starts in the same place and slides at the same speed for both players. Only your own timing changes how the tower looks.

Can I win real prizes?

No. Stack Tower is free and the prizes are lines on the panel. What you win is the duel, and the right to tell your friend about it.

Is the timing accurate?

The row slides in your browser and the stop is measured from the moment you touch the screen. The server works out where the row landed from that time and checks that it fits the time that really passed.

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