Last week, we detailed a massive update for Majic Jungle’s Minecraft-y world building simulation The Blockheads (Free) which would fundamentally change the way the game and its free-to-play model worked. Like many free-to-play games, The Blockheads is outfitted with various cooldown timers and a premium currency system which you can use to speed them up.

The thing which was different about The Blockheads compared to similar titles is that the timers would only count down while the game was open and running, which was inconvenient to say the least. Initially this was to encourage players to warp in a second character, and while one was busy with timer-based tasks you could use the other to continue on with your progress.

That’s not really the way it worked out, though, as Majic Jungle looked at their data and realized the majority of players were never getting to the point of introducing additional characters, and in fact were hitting game-stopping timer walls where they were left with nothing to do but sit there and stare at the game until the counters finished.

This wasn’t how the game was intended to be, so with today’s update you can now queue up your tasks and exit the game and they will continue to count down while you’re gone. It’s also cheaper to warp in another character to help out with your various endeavors, and the maximum number of total characters available in a single world has been increased from 3 to 4.

While the change in timer behavior is the big news in this update, version 1.2 of The Blockheads is chock full of tons of other new stuff too. Sharks and fish have invaded the oceans, and you can build yourself a fishing pole to get out there and catch some of them. You can also craft your Blockhead a tin foil hat, which will give him or her their own free will, meaning they’ll run around your world collecting resources, mining or exploring while you’re away.

There are plenty more details on what’s new in this update in the App Store description, but if you tried out The Blockheads initially and were turned off by how the timer system worked, then now is the time to give it another chance. Or if you’re like me and just plain put up with the waiting because you enjoyed the game so much, today’s update should make for a much more enjoyable experience all around. Be sure to check it out.