Brick Block

A Brick Block, sometimes simply known as a Brick, is a block that has made an appearance in nearly every Super Mario game to date. As its name implies, Brick Blocks are blocks made of bricks.

In most Super Mario games since Super Mario Bros., Mario can only break this block as Super Mario or another form of Super Mario, such as Fire Mario or Cape Mario. Brick Blocks can be broken in many ways (usually just by jumping into them); they give the player ten points (fifty in Super Mario Bros.). If Small Mario hits a Brick Block, it just bounces up slightly. However, if Brick Blocks contain an item, they work just like ? Blocks, as the item pops out and the block turns into an Empty Block. Either way, any enemies walking on the block will be injured. Rotating Blocks replaced Brick Blocks in Super Mario World.

Bigger versions of these blocks first appear in Giant Land of Super Mario Bros. 3, and return in a few other games. They usually take more effort to break, and usually don't hold items inside.

In Super Mario Sunshine, Brick Blocks appear again, most often in the secret levels. However, they are otherwise no different from their earlier counterparts. Starting with New Super Mario Bros., Brick Blocks can also be Ground Pounded to break them.

In Super Mario 64 DS, generic Blocks are re-skinned to resemble Brick Blocks, though they behave the same as in Super Mario 64. This visual change does not affect Crates. They can be broken by most of Mario, Luigi, and Wario's attacks. There is also a large, black variation of the block that can only be broken by Wario. Yoshi cannot break any Brick Block unless he is under the effects of a Super Mushroom.

Brick Blocks reappear in the Super Mario Galaxy games, resembling their original design due to having four layers of bricks. These Brick Blocks could only hold Coins inside, but they always break apart when hit.

Brick Blocks also appear in other games, such as the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi games.

In Super Princess Peach, they have various appearances, like Rotating Blocks and Egg Blocks, though they work as they do in the Super Mario Galaxy games. Darker and sturdier variations also appear; these blocks can only be broken by Poundbrella.

In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games in the event Dream Snowball Fight, Brick Blocks are used as walls to guard any characters behind them from opponents' snowballs.

Brick Blocks reappear in Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, New Super Mario Bros. U, and Super Mario 3D World, working as they do in the 2D Mario games.

Crystal Blocks are a similar kind of Brick Block, first appearing in Super Mario 3D World.

Brick Blocks also reappear in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. They are activated by throwing turnips at them.

Brick Blocks reappear in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS as objects that can be placed into the level (excluding the Super Mario World style).

Trivia

 * Brick Blocks appear in the 2010 version of Nintendo Monopoly, assuming the role of Community Chest spaces and cards. In this game, they are referred to simply as "Blocks". In the 2006 version, Coin Blocks filled the role instead.
 * When downloading a Virtual Console or WiiWare game from the Wii Shop Channel, Mario, Luigi, or both will hit two Brick Blocks and one Coin Block while the game is being downloaded.
 * In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Super Koopa", Mario erroneously calls a Brick Block a Super Block.
 * The Brick Block shines differently in New Super Mario Bros., as there is a 2-second delay between every shine.
 * In Super Mario Bros. 3, Brick Blocks were as yellow as ? Blocks due to graphical limitations. This carries over into the Super Mario All-Stars version and Super Mario Advance 4, where they both use the golden coin palette.
 * In the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack in Minecraft: Wii U Edition, Bricks are replaced by Brick Blocks.
 * In Super Mario Bros. and the New Super Mario Bros. series, Brick Blocks' colors change to fit those of their environment (blue while underground, gray/white in castles, red in volcanic areas, etc.)
 * In the original Super Mario Bros. manual, it's stated that Bowser turned the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom into brick blocks with black magic. This was later retconned by Nintendo, and Brick Blocks are now just a natural part of the Mushroom Kingdom scenery.