The New Tetris

Game differences

The New Tetris changes the classic formula in a few notable ways. Instead of just clearing lines, you can now build 4x4 squares out of four tetrominoes to create special blocks. If all four pieces are the same type, the block turns gold and is called a monosquare; any other mix makes a silver multisquare. You can only form these blocks from whole pieces—if any part of a tetromino has already been cleared away, it can't be used. Clearing a line that includes pieces from a block earns bonus points. To help plan these constructions, the game shows three upcoming pieces and offers a storage slot for one spare piece; pressing the L button swaps the falling piece with the stored one. The rotation system is much looser than in earlier Tetris games, allowing several small adjustments—known as wall kicks—before the tetromino locks into place. Some of these nudges can even push pieces away from walls or over other blocks. The game also rewards spin moves: if you clear a line with one, all pieces above or below that line break into individual blocks and tumble down, potentially clearing multiple lines and filling gaps below. However, performing a spin move turns any gold or silver blocks back into ordinary pieces, so they lose their point multiplier. Tetris Worlds later included these rules under the name Square Tetris, with even more flexible wall kicks, though its definition of a spin move is quite different. After the game came out, hackers discovered a hidden rant in the code left by lead programmer David Pridie.