Hi, I'm hakairyuousinn (my X account).
Glassblow is a game where you blow colored glass and make a vessel. Hold to blow, reheat it in the furnace, and squeeze it with your finger. It's free and runs in the browser on phones and PCs. No download, no sign-up.
It's based on real glassblowing. You take hot glass on the end of a pipe, inflate it yourself, and give it a shape.
How to play
Pick an amount of glass and a color, and the game starts. The glass swells while you hold Blow. Press the side of the glass and move inward, and it gets narrower at that height. I aimed for the same touch as my earlier pottery wheel game. Left alone, the glass cools and hardens in about 18 seconds, so you reheat it in the furnace now and then.
When you like the shape, press “Open the lip” and pull the rim outward. “Done” cools it overnight, and the game names it by its shape. Tips, like how to make a tumbler, are on the how-to page.
Fail, and you get a cracker
I went and failed on purpose in the live game.
| What I did | What I got | The note it came with |
|---|---|---|
| Held Blow and never let go | Shattered Cobalt Stripe | Please get a broom. |
| Held the furnace for 6 seconds | Ruby Lace Cracker | Please mop the floor. |
| Waited 19 seconds, then pressed the cold glass | Cracked Jade Bubble | Reheat it before you touch it. |
| Picked a color and touched nothing | Cobalt Stripe Paperweight | Your papers will stay put. |
The paperweight doesn't count as a failure. It's a finished piece…
You get the cracker by overheating. The glass goes too soft, falls off the pipe, and flattens on the floor.
I made the first version without looking up the process, and had to start over
I built version 1 without looking into how glassblowing actually works. You couldn't make shapes, the controls felt bad, the results weren't fun, and the explanations made no sense. All of it was bad…
I looked up the process in a glass artist's write-up from overseas and in explainer videos, and version 2 turned those steps directly into the controls.
| The real process | In the game |
|---|---|
| Reheat in the furnace about every 20 seconds | Press the furnace button |
| Shape it by pinching with a tool | Press the wall with your finger, and tools pinch from both sides |
| Cut the neck and move it to another rod | Press “Open the lip” |
| Cool it overnight in a special oven | Doors close, then open on the cooled vessel |
Version 2 had better controls and flow, but it didn't look good enough, so I redid how the glass is drawn once more.
Right after release, the glass fell off on its own
When I checked the live game after release, a “Small” amount of glass fell off the pipe after just a little blowing and waiting. The neck's thickness limit didn't match the amount of glass. I fixed it right away.
I also found that pulling the lip hard inflated the whole vessel until it burst. Now only the rim opens, and it stops before it gets too thin.
Your vessel isn't saved. If you want to keep it, share it on X from the result screen. I'd love to see what you make.
▶ Play Glassblow (how to play and tips here)