Choose Zen Garden
Choose Zen Garden if it matches what drew you to this matchup. Zen Garden launched in 2017.
Zen Garden vs Unlock the Block
Zen Garden and Unlock the Block both land in Indie, Casual on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Indie, Casual on Steam. Zen Garden (2017) is 4 years older than Unlock the Block (2021). Both sit near 69% positive on Steam (Zen Garden: 51 reviews, Unlock the Block: 16). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Unlock the Block
Choose Unlock the Block if it's currently about 90% cheaper on the Steam Store. Unlock the Block launched in 2021.
Both Zen Garden and Unlock the Block sit in Indie and Casual on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (68.6% vs 68.8% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Zen Garden |  Unlock the Block | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Genres | Indie, Casual | Indie, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 0.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 68.6% positive (51 reviews) | 68.8% positive (16 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | 300 fps | Hilarious Games |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Casual on Steam.
- Zen Garden (2017) is 4 years older than Unlock the Block (2021).
- Both sit near 69% positive on Steam (Zen Garden: 51 reviews, Unlock the Block: 16).
- Unlock the Block is currently ~90% cheaper on Steam than Zen Garden (0.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
Zen Garden vs Unlock the Block — FAQ
- Should I play Zen Garden or Unlock the Block first?
- If you want chronology, Zen Garden (2017) came out before Unlock the Block (2021). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Zen Garden and Unlock the Block similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Casual on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.