Thank you for the thoughtful feedback — it's really helpful!
You're right: once I started building the game, it turned out that starting from the top was the most effective strategy. The bottom blocks are harder to knock out because of the weight above. I tried tweaking things like friction, but ran out of time during the jam.
That said, I do think there's some room for skill — like removing lighter or slipperier blocks first, since they collapse more easily, or being careful with higher blocks that can fly farther and cause more damage.