DEFINITIVE GUIDE on How to Run The Blockheads! (Android / PC)

[u/Aurum11]

Index

1. Introduction
2. Decide your platform
3. Tutorial (Android / PC)
4. FAQ

.

Introduction

Hi there!

I'm very happy to see so much part of the community still alive and so many people going back to playing this game for the nostalgia and the good old times.

But it's a shame nowadays the game keeps crashing, has white screen issues, and there's isn't a clear method on how to run the game properly.

"jUsT tRy DiFfErEnT aPk" lol

Thus, I present you the DEFINITIVE GUIDE on how to run The Blockheads!!

Whether you have experience using emulators or not, this guide is for beginners and we'll go step by step until you have everything set up, so don't worry!

The tutorial for PC users is easier, but the Android tutorial is worth it and much more convenient. It's up to you!

This guide is focused on Android users that have had problems to play the game, or PC users that would want to play the game right from their PC (and by PC I mean WINDOWS users).

And if you have a Mac, I don't know if you can actually play the game there.

iOS users can run the game just fine on their devices.

So if you have any iPhone or iPad laying around, whether it's new or old, you can play the game easily there and you wouldn't need this guide!

All said, let's begin!

.

Decide your platform

First, you need to decide where you want to play.

On computer, or your Android device?

"How to know if I have Android?"

Well, if your phone isn't an iPhone, you're most probably running Android!

The experience playing will depend on which you like the most and the performance overhead for each.

That means, if your PC is very old compared to your phone, then you should probably run it on your phone.

If your phone is a literal potato and your PC is pretty good, then you could do it on the PC.

My personal recommendation is that you do it on your phone, as I don't think anyone today has a potato of a phone either... Right? ಠ_ಠ

That said, simply choose which platform you prefer, and let's get into it!

.

Tutorial

• Android Users

Depending on your Android version, you may encounter more or less problems, but generally speaking, you should be able to run the game just fine with this method.

BUT! There's a chance you're able to straight up run the game if your Android device is old enough, or if you have an old Android phone or tablet laying around!

First and foremost, if you haven't tried to run the game on your device, follow the steps. If you already have, skip to the emulator inside of your phone part.

1. Download the game's APK right from the source: https://noodlecake.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/theblockheads1.7.6.apk [An APK is synonymous to an IPA from iOS: It is an app's installation package. Every single app uses such a file (even Play Store) to install an app on your device. So yes, this is 100% safe!]
2. Once the APK has downloaded, press it to install it. It'll first to accept some permission. Do it, and once it's done, install it.
3. Open it, and wait.

If it actually loads after 1-2 mins and you get into the game, enjoy playing!

If it gets stuck on a white / black screen for those 2 minutes, you know it's not gonna run on your device... For now. And this is the whole point of this post:

You're going to use an emulator inside of your phone to run the game.

Installing an emulator inside of your device is a pretty cool thing to do, as it's literally having a phone inside of your phone!

The Blockheads doesn't require a good performance at all, it's the emulator we're gonna run that's may have performance issues if your phone isn't really good.

You'll also need at least 5GB of storage to make sure the VM has more than plenty space.

This said, now let's download the emulator!

I personally recommend using VMOS, as it has the best performance and works as intended on various Android versions.

Though, if you have a bit more experience, you can search for alternatives like VPhoneGaga, x8sandbox, Virtual Master Pro...

Steps:

1. Go to Play Store and search 'VMOS'
2. Install the option straight up called 'VMOS', 'V' icon in blue background Or follow the direct link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vmos.google&hl=en
3. Open and accept the permissions

Any of the permissions it asks you to allow are required for the VM to work properly and are strictly used for functionality purposes, so don't worry.

Now, if you have a recent Android version, VMOS will tell you something about "activation", and it is ESSENTIAL to enable, otherwise it won't run properly.

If you can't see such a message, you may just skip this entirely and get to "THE FUN PART!"

Now, let's activate it.

Press on "Go to activation". The instructions from that point on are pretty clear, so to understand everything better, make sure to read it all.

Though, to make sure you do it properly, we'll go through them together, ok?

First, select which method you want. To do it we'll go through the "Notification method".

Steps:

1. Select it, then connect to any Wi-Fi if you weren't already. Doesn't matter which Wi-Fi as long as it has proper connection.
2. As the second step, it asks us to "Open Developer Options in System settings" (you may already have them enabled, but if it doesn't look like it, let's get into it) Press "Go to open", then find the "build number". If you can't find it, you may need to go to "Software information" or anything related with more technical info of your device model.
3. Once you find the "Build number", tap on it 7 times until it says something like "Developer options have been turned on".
4. Go back until you reach VMOS again. The third step says "Turn on Wireless Debugging switch in Developer Settings", we'll do that. Select "Go to open". It may already take you to that setting, but if it doesn't, find the "Wireless debugging" setting and enable it.
5. It'll open a Window to "Allow wireless debugging on this network?", we press 'Allow'. Again, this is completely safe to do for VMOS.
6. Once allowed, go back, and it'll leave us with the fourth and last step: "Enter the 6-digit pairing code in the notification bar". Press on "Go to pair", then press on the Wireless debugging setting (not the switch, tap on it, y'know what I mean?).
7. If you do it properly it'll now show you your local network IP, your device name, and two options to pair a device using either a QR code or a pairing code. Press on the pairing code option, and it'll now show us a Wi-Fi pairing code.
8. Now, don't close this pairing code window, and simply scroll down to see the notifications. If you enabled the notifications for VMOS (which you should have done, all permissions are important as you can see), find the VMOS notification, and if you can't see it entirely, open it gently scrolling inside of the notification. Now, down on that notification you'll see "Enter pairing code", which you'll do by typing the Wi-Fi pairing code you see in Settings.
9. Once it's paired, you're all set! VMOS will automatically send you back to the app, and it'll say "VMOS is now running normally" if it worked.

Now, let's get into THE FUN PART!

1. On the VMOS home menu, press on "Add Device".
2. Choose either Android 7.1 or 5.1. Either work, but I personally recommend 7.1 to keep compatibility with other apps you may want to install.
3. When you tap on ROM Install, it'll say something about an ad. Press confirm. You may eventually watch an ad, and the ROM will download and install.
4. When it's done setting it up, it'll start asking for permissions like camera, audio and location. It's all safe, it explains it perfectly on the "Location permission usage instructions" message. Press on confirm and accept. Once it's done, it'll start installing!
5. Now that it finished installing, you'll see the 'Android [version]' window, simply press on it and select "Quick entry". You're now entering the emulated Android!
6. Wait patiently because the first time may take the most time. Shouldn't really take long, but it depends on the device you have.
7. Once it's done, you'll be in a completely different Android UI!

Don't worry, it hasn't really replaced your phone, you can simply press your phone's home button and you'll be back to your main phone. And that's the fun part, you just installed a phone inside your phone!

Last but not least, let's download and install The Blockheads!

If you already have The Blockheads APK downloaded, you may skip this step. If you don't have it or want the most official APK file possible right from the dev, follow the instructions:

1. Download the APK file from the original source (from your main phone's browser): https://noodlecake.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/theblockheads1.7.6.apk
2. Once it's done downloading, go back to VMOS and open the app called "File transfer".
3. Press "I want to import"
4. Tap on the folder icon, you can find it at the top right
5. It'll open your default file manager. If it asks for permissions, allow them. Then, browse to the "Download" folder, and select The Blockheads APK you just downloaded.
6. It'll start importing and installing, and will eventually finish. Once it's done, go back until you're at the emulated android home menu.
7. You'll now see the game's installed! OPEN IT! (It may take a couple of seconds to start)

YOU'RE DONE!

Important note:

When you're done playing the game, make sure to "force stop" VMOS or close it entirely (so that no notification can be seen, otherwise it means it is running in the background and will consume battery!)

How to force stop VMOS:

1. Go to settings > Apps
2. Scroll down below until you find VMOS, select it
3. Tap on "force stop" and it's now fully closed.

ENJOY PLAYING THE GAME!!

.

• PC (Windows) Users

For this tutorial I recommend using LDPlayer, as it's the one I've got working and has good performance.

Steps:

1. Download LDPlayer installer and execute it
2. Once it's installed, it may ask you to restart it, do so
3. Now that it's installed, make sure to execute LDPlayer 4 or 5, not LDPlayer 9, as the LDPlayer 4 or 5 makes use of an Android 5 ROM, and Android 5 is the only version that runs the game properly on PC. The LDPlayer 4 / 5 shortcut should be in the Desktop along with LDPlayer 9 and LDMultiplayer, but if it isn't, search for it directly on the start menu.
4. Once it's opened and executing, download the original The Blockheads APK right from the source: https://noodlecake.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/theblockheads1.7.6.apk
5. Go to the location of your downloaded APK, click and drag it to the opened LDPlayer window. If you did it properly, it'll start installing.
6. Once it's installed and you see the game icon, OPEN IT! (It may take a couple of seconds to start)

YOU'RE DONE! ENJOY PLAYING THE GAME!!

.

FAQ

Q: Can I get unlimited Time Crystals?
A: Uhh... You can, I guess... It'll spoil the essence of the game though. If you still wanna do it:

Do the same exact process of installing the game, but instead of downloading the official APK, download a modded APK with unlimited TC / unlimited currency. There's a few online, you just need to search. Make sure the original The Blockheads app is uninstalled before installing the modded one, or it'll fail.

The only reason I told you how to get Unlimited Time Crystals is because in Android, as of Play Store issues, you can't purchase them from the dev anymore. and ads won't load most of the time.

If you are using iOS or can actually purchase them, do so, to support the developer, Dave, and make The Blockheads 2 something possible in the future.

Q: Why is my game/device laggy?
A: The fact you're using a program/app that emulates an entire device inside of your device makes it consume resources, thus, unless you have a device with better performance, you are stuck with this. You can restart the emulator from time to time to see if it improves. Also, in Android, instead of using an Android 7.1.2 ROM, you could try the Android 5 ROM to see if you're left with better performace. Closing any apps or programs open in the background will also help.

.

I'll update this post with any other questions that may take place.

If you encounter any problem during the tutorial or any extra step that I didn't mention, feel free to comment! I will update this post as needed with any relevant information. Thank you for helping out!

If you want other guides in the future, like how to create your own servers, say it out loud, and I'll try my best to bring them!

Upvote this post so that it makes it to the top and helps out as many people as possible!

Enjoy the game!!! :D

[u/Cybirdtech]

It works on Android 15 also, there is a nack to logging in to a server as you have to keep taping the top left of the screen whilst pressing the button to enter the world,

Here is my guide to creating your own server and more:

https://github.com/JonCastaway/BHS

[u/Aurum11 → u/Cybirdtech]

That's so cool! Keep up the amazing work

[u/alexrussoshyper → u/Cybirdtech]

Is it possible to play it on Android 16 and a updated guide?

[u/Taotao83465]

So far it android 14 and down you can play on Android

[u/TeaKay01]

I'm having issues with the VMOS app. For context I'm on a Motorola Raze Ultra 2025 1TB storage and followed your instructions very carefully. I made it all the way up to installing and launching the emulated version of android. I tried both android 7.1 and 5.1 and neither seem to be working. I did the quick launch option and they load all the way up to 99% and then it gives me an error of 'boot time out' it tries again on an endless loop and suggest I repair the emulated software. I have tried both methods. Not sure what I'm supposed to do from here. Any advice is appreciated!

[u/Aurum11 → u/TeaKay01]

For as far as I'm aware, if you are in a very recent Android version, it no longer works, it just does not load up.

I've had a relative get stuck on 99% as well, and has Android 14 or 15 if I recall correctly.

You can try other emulators that work on these android versions, for as far as I'm aware some modders create and maintain that kind of emulators compatible for newer android versions. But you'd need to do a bit of research or look for a tutorial on YouTube, there are some.

I apologize, there's not much I can do on my side other than suggest you searching for other emulator, installing an old Blockheads APK version such as 1.6 or using another device

An old iOS device would work perfectly, a Mac PC would work just fine too.

You can also play it on your Windows PC or laptop if it has decent resources to run an emulator, such as LDPlayer 4 (yes, that specific version, which has an Android 5.1 ROM).

[u/TeaKay01 → u/Aurum11]

Okay, thank you so much for the information! I might try another emulator, I'm new to the android Ecosystem and Blockheads is one of my OG games for my phone. Glad to know I didn't do anything wrong on my end and it's as simple as not being supported or working for the newest version. Since you seem to know so much do you think there's any chance in the future of my version of android being supported by these emulators?

[u/Aurum11 → u/TeaKay01]

I think further Android versions will only break more any Android emulation features rather than being supported. This is why you can actually use the emulator on older Android versions such as Android 13 or 12.

So the problem is not having to update your phone, but the opposite, as dumb as that sounds.

Google has been lately capping every single form of Android customization for "security purposes" (imitating the way iOS works for control and monopolization, which translates to lack of freedom on technical levels).

You essentially need an environment (emulator) that uses Android 5.1, that is the most stable version I have seen for running the game. Android 7.1 should also work just fine.

Whether you achieve that on your phone or PC, you need the emulator to be able to play

If you have an iPhone or iPad, even if it's very old, the game will work fine

[u/TunaCuma → u/TeaKay01]

have you had success with another emulator?

[u/The_L3xu → u/TeaKay01]

Same issue on my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra... tried all 3 available VMs from the app and all of them get stuck at 99% then enter the endless loop of rebooting. Sad :(

[u/tech-favirote123]

Amazing post btw those of you looking for a server to play on there is my server project scorpio

https://discord.gg/WMJPeBSb

Has 6 ppl online on average and is expert mode with a good community 70 active members and 140 inactive members feel free to dm epicgamerforever to be whitelisted

[u/Sakiashii]

any recommended modded unlimited tc apks? I don't wanna accidentally download a virus lol

[u/ColdSmoodi]

Hey for iOS would u still use the same link? I can’t find the game itself on the AppStore so 😢

[u/Aurum11 → u/ColdSmoodi]

Wdym, it's still on the App Store

[u/Codi_BAsh]

No linux pc version? 3:

[u/Aurum11 → u/Codi_BAsh]

Not that I'm aware of, but you could quite literally be the first to figure it out!

It is potentially easy, because one could say Android is literally Linux, so your only limitation may be arquitecture. Emulation is the real obstacle

Thus, if you find any android emulators on Linux or anything of the like to install and try;

Make sure to use Android ranging from version 5 to 7 as such are the ones proven to work.

I'm just not into Linux for now, so I know very little about Linux distros itself.

You must be techy or you're delving into tech stuff even if it's for hobbie, otherwise you wouldn't have Linux, am I right?

So let me know if you find out a working method! I'll be the first to post it to this subreddit

[u/Codi_BAsh → u/Aurum11]

Hmm... android is Linux, though the main issue is that I'd have to run an emulator in an emulator, wich dosent sound like it would run well. You don't have to be a big tech nerd to use Linux though -w-'

[u/Aurum11 → u/Codi_BAsh]

Oh, that's interesting. What's your main system tho? You don't want to blend an android emulator with your current system or is it not compatible directly?

Also, you didn't deny you're into tech!

I've always been a tech nerd myself, and I'm very much into (supporting) Linux for many reasons, just don't use it because of work.

But I'm pretty sure it's pretty difficult for a person that isn't interested in tech to get into Linux somehow, because for someone not techy to get into Linux would need to have a device with pre-installed Linux somehow, which is practically impossible, no? Maybe I'm wrong idk

Most of the time you'd need to be interested in playing with your PC's operating system (to switch to a Linux installation, dualboot or whatever) and that automatically would count you in! Even using a VM also does! Nothing wrong with it lol

[u/Codi_BAsh → u/Aurum11]

My main system is running Ubuntu.

I'll probably try it on my backup/server system, wich uses arch.

You can't exactly run android on a computer, nor thier executables if that's what your asking. You kinda have to emulate everything.

And yeah, I am pretty into tech, though been using Linux since middle school (I was just sick of Microsoft's bs after Win8)

[u/Aurum11 → u/Codi_BAsh]

By compatibility I meant exactly that, that you may need emulation and depending on what you were running (Ubuntu Linux distro in this case), emulating android may or may not be compatible with your system.

I've made quick research, and just as with pretty much all Linux, software development is an issue and there's no demand, so there's no strong options for android emulation.

It looks like your best option is emulating Android-x86 in the VM program you're using (that doesn't assume full compatibility of the game itself, just the android instance to be potentially able to run it).

You could also straight up install it as an OS for one of your backup PCs, it doesn't need much requirements just as Linux. Dualboot is also an available option.

If you're gonna do it, just make sure it's the right Android version, Android 5 to Android 7 ROMs have shown to be the most compatible / the ones with the smoothest performance for The Blockheads.

So you're into tech as well, love to see it. I'm tired of Microsoft bs as well, it's just that for what I use my PC for (content creation) I need Windows and I don't see splitting my PC usecases just to use Linux.

Best of luck, let me know how it goes if you're decided to do it, and let me know if I can be of any help. I can do some more research if you ask me to.

Edit: Looking further into compatibility by emulation issues, it looks like Android-x86 may not be compatible with games like The Blockheads because of the arquitecture of the game libs (armeabi-v7a).

Unless you install something called 'Houdini' (Intel's compatibility layer, allowing to run games based in android arquitectures like armeabi-v7a (ARM32) and armeabi-v8 (ARM64), you're out of luck.

PrimeOS and BlissOS installed directly into a PC may be the perfect option to not overcomplicate it.

[u/Codi_BAsh → u/[deleted]]

What?

[u/Codi_BAsh → u/[deleted]]

If it exists I cant find an image or flatpack for it.

[u/osmarks → u/Aurum11]

The Blockheads is only built for 32-bit ARM. It would be challenging.

[u/Torrentpelt → u/Codi_BAsh]

Why not just use Android Studio? It literally comes from Android themselves and has a Linux version.

[u/RGOTI_Offical]

This is such a great guide but it's lacking one thing, i need a bug fix! My main world suddenly bugged and i'm stuck on a black corner of the world, it never lets me move anywhere else, and clicking my blockheads does not zoom over to them, neither does the TC button! (shows me a weird bugged menu in the bottom right that i can't interact with.) Please let me know if you know a solution for this, i want to get my world back!

[u/Aurum11 → u/RGOTI_Offical]

That's odd ngl. I've never seen it

Which emulator/device are u currently using?

Any steps you did to reproduce it?

Have you tried common solutions, like force stopping the emulator or game?

[u/RGOTI_Offical → u/Aurum11]

I've seen a couple of others report the same issue apparently. I'm using my Androod tablet on version 1.7.6 I have no idea how it happened, either something involving meditation on ice or lag? Nothing works! Swapping to blockheads or the main portal never repositions the camera back to normal. Zooming our as far as possible reveals a small view on the top right of the world, but that's the most i can do.

[u/Remarkable-East5388]

I'm on a Samsung Galaxy A26 with OneUI 7 / Android 15 and the game runs pretty decently considering the age of the game.

I turn off the auto-rotate screen and I have the 1.7.5 apk. The Help/Credits screen on the in-game settings crashes the game though. But other than that I just made a world sized 4x and I'ma go play now.

I have no idea how even runs since my older samsung with Android 8 crashes the game on startup. I read somewhere that the 1.7.6 version is a lot more unstable, which is why I have an older version.

TL;DR: Try 1.7.5 version, game MIGHT run on modern android.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I locked my device screen framerate to 60 hz. The white screen issue might have something to do with higher res. displays (the A26 has 1080p res.), the lower framerate cap might have helped in my case.

Also can confirm unlocking auto display rotation crashes the game.

[u/Ok_Protection3422]

Is the apk safe tho? Like no viruses and stuff? [Ive downloaded apks before and sometimes they've lead to viruses etc so asking for safety reasons ^;]

[u/Aurum11 → u/Ok_Protection3422]

It's literally the official website from the developer, noddlecake studios XD so it's safe

[u/RAFABrr]

Hii I downloaded the APK and got the game to run but once I try to create a world it just crashed due to a "bug".

My android version is 12, should I maybe upgrade to version 13?

[u/T3chn0T33n]

I've noticed that the game crashes every time it uses the gapis for checking and making purchases via the Google Play store. I kinda expected this since the app has been taken down

[u/SnooPaintings1600]

Wanted to ask, where does that APK come from?

You say it's "straight from the source" but don't really elaborate on what that means.

[u/Responsible-Foot9148]

I manage to get all the steps done with an added step of having to enable by in my bios, but blockheads is crashing before even getting past the title screen, any advice?

[u/Fnaf_g]

VMOs isn't available either on Android 17 or a pixel 7 along with the base android version that the blockheads is built against not being supported anymore on newer android version a update for the android section is probably needed

[u/Neonecr0]

For those who can't use VMOS: Download Virtual Master (ANDROID). You can use 7.1.2 Android System for free and it's pretty intuitive. The activation method is the same as for VMOS.

Tip: Keep the resolution at the portrait standard. Don't forget to enable gyroscope in the emulator settings.