Top out
A top out occurs when:
- a tetromino cannot be place at least partially within the play zone.
- garbage pieces are sent, pushing the top pieces above the spawn zone.
Top outs result in a game over.
Loss condition
Different games have used different conditions to detect whether a top out has occurred:
- This list is incomplete.
- Tetris (NES, Nintendo): a piece locks overlapping at least one block, but in some cases it is possible to move or rotate out of such a situation
- Dr. Mario, Tetris and Dr Mario, Tetris DS (standard mode and mission mode): a piece is spawned overlapping at least one block
- Bombliss: at least one block remains in the rows above the visible playfield after a line is cleared or garbage is added
- Tetris (NES, Tengen), The New Tetris, and Tetris DS (push mode): a piece is placed partially off the top of the playfield, even if it would clear a line, or garbage pushes at least one block above the top of the playfield