Tetris (Atari)

Tetяis
Developer(s)	Atari Games
Publisher(s)	Atari Games
Platform(s)	JAMMA (arcade) with Atari 8-bit custom PCB
Release	1988
Gameplay info
Next pieces	1 (one extra during line delay)
Playfield size	10w x 20h
Hold piece	no
Hard drop	no
Rotation system	Atari

Arcade game published by Atari Games.

Gameplay and Rounds

The game is based around "rounds", where a set number of lines are required to clear the round, and the playfield is reset after clearing the round.

Groups of 3 rounds have the same gimmick:

• Rounds 1-3: No gimmick.
• Rounds 4-6: Starting configuration of blocks.
• Rounds 7-9: Single blocks spawn on the field. Their appearance can be delayed by clearing lines.
• Rounds 10-12: Garbage appears on the field.
• Rounds 13-15: Starting configuration of blocks.
• Rounds 16-18: Starting configuration of blocks, based on high score initials.
• Rounds 19-21: Single blocks spawn with round 4-6 configrations.
• Rounds 22-24: Garbage spawns with round 4-6 configurations.
• Rounds 25-27: Single blocks and garbage spawn simultaneously.

After round 27 gimmicks loop through rounds 16-27.

Round	Lines required	Notes
1	5	Easy mode starting round.
2	10
3	12
4	10	Normal mode starting round. Start with a column of 8 blocks on each side of the playfield.
5	13	Start with 10 blocks scattered across the bottom 5 rows.
6	16	Start with blocks in a pyramid formation.
7	12	Hard mode starting round. One block spawns on the surface of the stack every 8 pieces where no line is cleared.
8	15	One block spawns on the surface of the stack every 5 pieces where no line is cleared.
9	18	One block spawns on the surface of the stack every 3 pieces where no line is cleared.
10	12	A row of garbage appears every 8 pieces.
11	15	A row of garbage appears every 6 pieces.
12	18	A row of garbage appears every 3 pieces.
13	12	Start with two triangles, one on each side
14	15	Start with six blocks, two each on rows 2, 4 and 6 from the bottom.
15	18	Start with four diagonal lines of blocks.
16	12	Start with blocks forming the initials of the first high score.
17	15	Start with blocks forming the initials of the second high score.
18	18	Start with blocks forming the initials of the third high score.
19	12	Starting position from round 4, one block spawns on the surface of the stack every 8 pieces where no line is cleared.
20	15	Starting position from round 5, one block spawns on the surface of the stack every 6 pieces where no line is cleared.
21	18	Starting position from round 6, one block spawns on the surface of the stack every 3 pieces where no line is cleared.
22	12	Starting position from round 4, a row of garbage appears every 8 pieces where no line is cleared.
23	15	Starting position from round 5, a row of garbage appears every 6 (?) pieces where no line is cleared.
24	18	Starting position from round 6, a row of garbage appears every 3 pieces where no line is cleared.
25	12	A row of garbage appears and one block spawns on the surface of the stack every 8 pieces where no line is cleared.
26	15	A row of garbage appears and one block spawns on the surface of the stack every 6 pieces where no line is cleared.
27	18	A row of garbage appears and one block spawns on the surface of the stack every 3 pieces where no line is cleared.

Rotation rules

The rotation rules are identical to those of the game's NES port, except the tetrominoes are colored differently, and they do not change color once they lock. In addition, the player can rotate the tetrominoes only counterclockwise (columns in order 0, 3, 2, 1).

Because basic rotation can fail when a piece is against the right wall, but not when the same piece is against the left wall, this game will wallkick one square to the left if basic rotation fails. If that fails the piece will not rotate. This allows for a few very unique wallkicks.

Scoring

Next to each player's score is a horizontal bar called the rainbow meter. Every four lines cleared adds 1 to the rainbow meter. If the player tops out and continues, the rainbow meter is set the way it was before the player added.

The score for each tetromino that the player places is d*min(r*(r + h),250), where

• d = 1 for normal gravity or 2 for soft drop when the tetromino lands
• r = the number of bars on the rainbow meter plus 1
• h = the row on which the tetromino was placed, minus 1 (0 = bottom)

Line clear scores:

Line clear	Points
1 (single)	50
2 (double)	150
3 (triple)	400
4 (tetris)	900

After finishing each round, the game awards a "BONUS FOR LOW PUZZLE" of up to 2100 points based on the number of empty rows above the highest block left in the playfield. The formula is 5*e*(e + 1), where e is the number of empty rows.

In a two-player game, finishing the level before the other player gives a 2,000 point bonus. This bonus is awarded both for skill and for putting more money into the machine.

Trivia

• The game's platform did not support sprites. The whole game ran in "text" mode, just as many of the early PC versions of Tetris did.
• Except in copyright notices and in the name Vadim Gerasimov, all letter 'R's appeared as a Cyrillic letter Ya ('Я').

See also

• Games

External links

• Manual