THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE

TETRIS

PUBLISHER
Mirrorsoft

AUTHOR

YEAR
1988

CATEGORY
Puzzle

CONTROLS
Keyboard, Kempston

 KEYS:  I       - Left          }
        P       - Right         } Joystick controls
        O       - Rotate        }
        SPACE   - Drop          - Joystick fire

        Y       - Speed up
        S       - Show next block
        Q       - Quit

INSTRUCTIONS
For the very few people who don't know how to play Tetris:
blocks of different shapes drop from the top of the screen into
a box.  Each block is made up of four small squares arranged to
make a larger square, an L-shape or a column. As the blocks fall
they can be rotated or moved horizontally so that every space in
the box is filled. When a horizontal line is completed, that line
is "destroyed" giving you more points and moving the rest of the
placed pieces down by one square.

If a line remains incomplete, another line must be finished above
it.  The more lines that stand incomplete, the higher the blocks
above them stack, reducing the space in which falling shapes can
be manipulated.  Eventually the blocks reach the top of the
screen and the game ends.

The statistics box at the left of the screen shows the number of
shapes of different colours that have been positioned, and
another box at the bottom right shows what shape of block will
appear next. There are ten skill levels; the higher the level,
the faster the blocks fall.

CASSETTE INLAY

GETTING LOADED

After loading select your starting level of difficulty. The higher the number,
the greater the rewards, but the harder the task.

PLAYING TETRIS

A variety of differently shaped blocks fall, one by one, from the top of the
screen, or playfield. You can manipulate these shapes left/right and rotate
them before they land at the bottom of the playfield. The idea is to create
complete horizontal lines of blocks across the playfield. When one of these
unbroken lines is completed it disappears, and any blocks above fall into the
now vacant area.

OBJECTIVE

The aim is to create as many complete lines as possible. If you leave gaps, the
playfield will fill up rapidly, leaving you less room to maneuvre. Should the
pile of blocks reach the top of the screen, the game ends.
The show key displays the shape of the block that will fall after the current
block has landed - useful for formulating you optimum strategy.
The rate at which the blocks fall speeds up automatically as your score
increases.

SCORES RECEIVED
"This looks destined to be one of the best thinking games yet -
and a never-ending source of fun and frustration for players."
77% (CRASH #50, March 1988)

GENERAL FACTS

NOTES
Crash were absolutely right; this has become one of the most-
played computer games ever. It has appeared on virtually every
computer and console you can think of and its clones are too
numerous to list. (Sonic, eat your heart out...) An all-time
classic! It has to be said, though, that there are public domain
versions (TWINTRIS on the Amiga springs to mind) that are far
better than this one.
