Glassblow: How to Play and Tips
About the game
Blow colored glass and make a vessel. Start with hot glass gathered on the end of a blowpipe, blow it up yourself, then squeeze it with your finger to shape it.
Glass cools and hardens when you leave it alone, so put it back in the furnace to keep working. Blow too much and it bursts. Heat it too much and it drops off the pipe.
Your finished vessel gets a name based on its shape.
Play in the browser on your phone or computer. No download or sign-up needed.
Choosing the amount and color 
Blowing and squeezing the glass 
The finished vessel
How to play
- Choose the amount and color
Pick Small, Medium, or Large. Tap a color to begin. The six colors are Cobalt Stripe, Amber Swirl, Jade Bubble, Ruby Lace, Gold Leaf, and Opal Wave. - Blow
Hold Blow to inflate the glass. On a computer, hold Space. - Reheat in the furnace
Hold Reheat to warm the glass. On a computer, hold R. Without reheating, it takes about 18 seconds to cool completely from its starting heat. Around halfway down, the message says “Cooling down. Reheat soon”; when it gets colder, it says “Hardened! Reheat it”. - Squeeze with your finger
Press the side of the glass and drag inward to narrow it at that height. - Tap Open the lip
This ends the blowing stage. The glass is cut off the blowpipe and transferred to a rod called a punty. - Widen the lip and tap Done
Press the top rim and pull outward to widen the opening. Tap Done and the kiln door closes, as if the glass were left to cool overnight. Your vessel is finished.
You have 40 seconds to blow and shape the glass, then 12 seconds to work on the lip. When time runs out, the game moves to the next stage.
Vessels you can make
| Shape | Name |
|---|---|
| Straight sides and a very tall body | Highball Glass, Bud Vase, Flower Vase, Umbrella Stand |
| Straight sides and taller than it is wide | Tumbler, Beer Mug, Water Pitcher, Umbrella Stand |
| A rounded body that is taller than it is wide | Bud Vase, Flower Vase |
| About as tall as it is wide | Small Bowl, Wide Bowl, Fishbowl |
| Low and flat | Sake Cup, Shallow Bowl |
| An opening wider than the body | Morning Glory Vase, Wide Bowl |
| A very narrow opening | Sake Flask, Perfume Bottle, Flask |
| A pinched waist in the middle | Gourd |
| Barely inflated | Paperweight |
Even with the same shape, the name changes with capacity. For straight-sided vessels, names farther left in the list are smaller vessels.
Very thin walls add “Paper-Thin” to the start of the name. Very thick walls add “Chunky”.
If something goes wrong, these are the results.
| Mistake | Name | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Blowing too much | Shattered … | The walls get too thin and the glass bursts |
| Too much heat or a neck squeezed too thin | … Cracker | The glass drops off the pipe and flattens on the floor |
| Pressing cold glass | Cracked … | Keep pressing hardened glass and it cracks |
Tips
- ★ Match the amount to what you want to make
- If you try to make something big with Small, the walls will get too thin and burst first. Choose Large for a big piece such as an Umbrella Stand.
- ★ Use Small for a Tumbler
- Choose Small, hold Reheat for about a second, then Blow for 2–3 seconds. Tap Open the lip and widen the opening to about the width of the body to make a Tumbler.
- ★ Reheat to make it taller
- Hot glass stretches downward under its own weight. Reheating makes it stretch faster, so use the furnace longer for tall vessels. Blowing without reheating makes a low, round vessel.
- ★ Watch out for too much heat
- Holding Reheat for more than two seconds at a time can make the glass stretch suddenly and drop.
- ★ Widen the lip before finishing
- Just after you tap Open the lip, the opening is about half as wide as the body. Tap Done without widening it and a shape that could have been a Tumbler may become a Bud Vase instead.
FAQ
- Q. Can I still blow after tapping Open the lip?
- A. No. You can still reheat the glass and change its shape with your finger.
- Q. Why doesn't the shape change when I press it?
- A. The glass has cooled and hardened. Reheat it before touching it. Keep pressing while it is cold and it will crack.
- Q. Can I play in Japanese or Korean?
- A. The game normally follows your browser's language automatically. To change it yourself, tap the language label in the top right and choose a language.
- Q. Are my vessels saved?
- A. No. To keep one, share it on X from the result screen or take a screenshot.
Guides to my other games
- How to play Chez Weeds
- How to play Hiragana Tower
- How to play Soft Serve Challenge
- How to play Rokuro
- How to play Kitsune Den
- How to play Dig It!
For help or bugs, see the Contact page.
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