Wordtris

Did You Know?

• Computer Gaming World stated that "Wordtris, like its predecessors, is as infuriating as it is incredibly addictive ... Tetris is a classic game. Wordtris does it one better."
• The SNES version of the game was scored a 65% by N-Force Magazine.

Gameplay

In Wordtris, players must form words of at least three letters from falling tiles. These words can be arranged either horizontally or vertically, and different words may share tiles. A special magic word appears at the top of the screen; spelling it clears the entire well and awards a significant bonus. Occasionally, a tile marked with a "?" drops. Players can choose its letter—by typing on PC or scrolling with a button on consoles—but if no selection is made, it becomes a random letter upon landing. Eraser blocks also fall, removing any letter they hit. In the SNES version, these erasers are replaced by bombs and acid vials. The Super NES version progresses players through levels labeled from "A" to "J."

Development

The visuals for Wordtris, with the exception of the title screen, reuse backgrounds from Spectrum Holobyte's earlier Super Tetris. Ed Bogas wrote the music for the MS-DOS, Game Boy, and Macintosh releases, while Paul Mogg composed the Super NES soundtrack. Only the Game Boy and Super NES versions feature looping music. Bogas created his score using his own Macintosh software, Super Studio Session, converting MIDI files for the game. Mogg composed for the SNES using Studio Vision Pro, also on Macintosh. David Warhol handled sound engines and musical arrangements for both the Game Boy and SNES ports.